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Preschool Color Book

In Cleo’s Color Book a little orange cat named Cleo finds and identifies the colors in her world. Your preschooler can make their own color book, even if they do not really know their colors yet. Gathering and organizing the different objects is not only a learning experience for your preschooler, but a way to spend quality time together as well. The simplest version requires only a self-adhesive photo album and pictures of objects that represent different colors.

Materials you will Need

Photo album with adhesive pages
Book Cover Template (When new window opens, scroll down to see template.)

Pictures gathered from magazines, grocery ads, or anywhere else

Scissors, if your preschooler is ready for them

Zipper storage bags for sorting, pre-labeled by color
Glue

How to Make It

Step 1:
Print the template and glue it to the cover of the photo album.

Step 2:
Write your preschooler’s name on the blank line, or have them write it themselves if they are able.

Step 3:
Decorate the cover with bright colors.

Step 4:
Either by yourself or with your preschooler, label the zipper bags with an example of the color and the color word.

Step 5:

Look through magazines or other sources for pictures of objects that are mostly one color.

Step 6:

Identify the colors as you find them.

Step 7:

As you find the objects, have the preschooler cut them out and put them in the bag labeled for that color.

Step 8:

Choose a color to start with.

Step 9:

Let your preschool put the objects for one color on one page. When they are through, go on to the next color or save the next color for another day.

Step 10:

When all of the color pages have been finished, your preschooler can glue any remaining pictures to the cover if there is room.

Make it More Challenging

If your preschooler is ready for it, they can draw objects they see in their surroundings rather than cut out pictures. Let your preschooler draw on drawing paper or newsprint and then cut the drawing out and put it on the adhesive page.

Helpful Tips for Parents

Tip 1:
Try arranging the color pages in rainbow order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Your preschooler can add black, white, gray, and pink at the end, if they’re ready.

Tip 2:

If your preschooler is too young for scissors, you can precut the pictures and lay out a few at a time, asking them to find the blue ones, etc.

Tip 3:

Depending on your preschooler’s attention span, this may take more than one day to complete.

Tip 4:

If you want to, you can add the color words to the pages. Print neatly in preschool sized print.

Tip 5:

To label the zipper bags, tape a piece of colored paper the same color as the pictures that will go in it. Write the color word on the paper with black marker.

Tip 6:

Read the color book together frequently.

Other Preschool Color Activities

Combining Colors with your Preschooler
This great preschool science experiment uses ice cubes to teach what happens when colors mix.

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