Colour Match Nature Walk (With Paint Chips)

After a long, cold winter, we have found ourselves wanting to be outside as much as possible.

We take walks in the afternoon to get the babies nice and sleepy for their naps, but often the older kids get "bored" along the way. Today, we fixed that. Today we had a walk that was fun for everyone, including me!

I created a special scavenger hunt, using paint chips: the kids had to hunt for all the colours as we walked outside. 

This activity cost next to nothing, but it's rich in visual stimulation, tactile discovery and cognitive development, including eye-hand coordination, colour discrimination and writing skills. 

I went to the local hardware store earlier this week and gathered up a stash of paint chips, making sure to get as many of each chosen colour as I had pre-Ks. I put one of each colour chip on a binder ring and tied it to a clip board along with a pencil. This gave the children easy access to their tools without fear of dropping and/or losing them on our walk.

You Will Need:

• clipboard
• string
• paper
• pencil
• paint chips
• ring clip

As I pushed the stroller, the pre-Ks looked for things outside that would match the paint chips on their rings.

Once they made a match, we sat down and I "dotted" the shape of each letter of the word we were trying to spell. For example, if the colour was grey, I wrote "grey" on their paper and then I "dotted" the word "sidewalk" for the girls to trace over with their pencils...

This way, they could practice writing. They felt so official and accomplished at the end of their task. I mean—what kid doesn't feel proud to write on a clipboard like a real grown-up teacher or something? The girls were thrilled to be given such a professional task!

You'll Also Love: Printable Spring Scavenger Hunt

We searched the park, driveways, skies and alleys for things outside that would match our paint chips, each time stopping to write and report what we had found.

The girls even asked the Shaw Cable worker if they could match turquoise to his polo shirt! He kindly agreed!

In the end, the girls had a full list of objects they had found outside and couldn't wait to show their parents how they had written the list all by themselves!

To extend the play value on this project, I am having the photos we made printed so the girls can match the photos to the paint chips and create a collage on poster board to take home.

This post was originally published in June 2014.