Rainbow color sorting starts with these bears.
These bears give life to just about any preschool activity, and we’ve used them for years. It comes as no surprise that we have found a way to integrate them into a quick and easy prewriting activity for preschoolers for rainbow color sorting.
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This prewriting activity uses supplies you already own.
I believe it took a total of 2 minutes to set up, and all I needed was a fresh pack of markers.
And these bears are the BEST.
So what makes them the best?
Kids gravitate towards them. My four-year-old uses the bears to create patterns, and my three-year-old sorts them by color before taking them for a train ride.
RELATED: Here are 35 of our favorite color activities for kids.
The prewriting supply list for this is super simple.
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Setting up is just as easy.
This colorful, prewriting activity makes a terrific Breakfast Invitation.
The Night Before
- Tape down a sheet of white paper.
- Add a rainbow with your markers.
- Place all the bears to the left of the rainbow.
The Morning of the Breakfast Invitation
- Allow your preschooler to think about what they should do.
- Encourage and prompt by saying things such as: “Wow, look at all of those bears in your bin! I wonder if any are the same color of the rainbow? Where should we place them?” – With this, they are beginning to think about color sorting and classification.
What makes this Breakfast Invitation perfect for prewriting?
Encourage left to right movement.
Invite your preschooler to begin on the left of the rainbow.
Grip the bears to also strengthening small hand muscles, which will help later with holding a pencil.
RELATED: Holding a pencil begins long before forming a letter. Start with these fun fine motor ideas.
Quality comes over quantity.
Having conversations about five bears moving left to right is just as important as 30 bears.
Preschoolers can have short attention spans. Prewriting momentum takes time.
If your preschooler moves 5-10 bears in the correct sequence before moving on to their agenda, that is still pretty awesome!
They heard you.
Your child practiced.
They moved on to their creative way of learning.
Do not expect your three-year-old to complete this entire rainbow from left to right. Most three-year-olds will not sit that long, nor should they. Allow it to evolve.
The prewriting skill we are working on:
Keep left to right in mind, and remind your preschooler the next time you come across a teachable moment.
