Using Nature to Learn Colors: A simple way to make your walks educational
You guys, I discovered the best hack for enjoying long walks with the kids! Today I am sharing my spin on a nature color wheel. These activities I have seen circulating on Pinterest, so I finally decided to come up with a version that would be best for my kids. *insert egg carton*. Learn more about this easy way to teach colors while taking a nature hike or simply walking through your neighborhood.
Where the Idea Came From
Like I said before, I have seen this activity circulating on my Pinterest, for a couple of weeks. These creative accounts gave me the idea I needed to make my own version. Check them out!
The first one is from mothernatured.com. Penny Whitehouse is behind this genius activity, and I love the color wheel style. If I had ink in my printer and some clothes pins laying around I totally would have done it this way.
The second inspiration for this activity was from teachbesideme.com This one was designed in a way that reminded me of a game board. If you follow the links above I believe both blogs provide a free printable of their color wheels. So definitely check it out!
Creating My Version
When I saw some of the other versions of these nature color wheel activities, I knew I wanted to try them. However, if you have been following me for a while, you know I also prefer little prep and money-required activities. I didn't have the materials on hand for the awesome versions above, so I reimagined it with what I had on hand. I also thought an egg carton would be easier for my kids to carry without breaking or spilling it everywhere.
Materials
One major reason I love my version of the nature color wheel is that it requires little materials and costs me absolutely nothing to create. To create a what my kids termed a "color box" like ours all you need is:
an old egg carton
markers
optional white paper and tape to make a sign (this is not needed, I just like to be extra 😂)
Directions
Again, this nature color wheel activity is awesome because of how simple it is. All you need to do is:
Step 1
Clean out the egg carton.
Step 2
Using regular old washable markers or permanent ones, color the inside of the carton. I did one color per egg spot and because I had an 18 count carton I did different shades of colors as well as brown, black, and gray.
Step 3 *optional*
Using white paper, create a sign for the inside of the box. Mine said "We live in a COLORFUL world", "How many colors can you find?" Obviously, my kids can not read, but they enjoyed me reading it to them. Plus I thought the sign looked cute.
Step 4
Go on a walk around your neighborhood or take a hike through a nature preserve. Let the kids explore with the color box and fill it with matching colors they find.
Final Thoughts
My kids are notorious for wanting to stop walking after 5 minutes. So I was impressed to see them last 30 minutes walking the trail and another 30 exploring the rest of the park. Not to mention they filled nearly all of the color spots. They were missing blue and bright pink. We might have seen these if we passed a flower garden but the trail we were on was all wild plants. We did see a bright blue dragonfly though. The kids thought it was the neatest thing!
I would say if your kids' struggle on walks like mine, this activity is a great boredom buster. Also, a fun way to learn colors. You should definitely try it out!
💕💕sending love & momma to momma support,
Kaylin