I use this activity to help my kindergartener son practice his spelling words. Because let’s face it, memorizing things isn’t fun for young children. Since my 3 year old daughter thinks she should do everything her big brother does, I adjusted this for her to practice her letters, numbers, and writing practice.
All you will need to do this simple activity are paper and crayons. That’s it.
I drew an upper and lower case A for my daughter and her friend. But we also did a couple of numbers and threw in some shapes, too.
Have your child trace the letter, shape, or number with any color crayon. As they are tracing it have them say it out loud, too. For letters we say the letters and then say the sound they make. For shapes we will say the shape and then say something that is that shape. You get the idea.
Have them trace over the object again with a different color crayon.
Then have them repeat it again with another color, and so on until all seven colors of the rainbow are used.
Our friends had a little trouble getting the idea at first, they wanted to draw another one next to the one I had drawn. But with a little bit of guidance they saw that it would make that one a rainbow and then they were eager to do it.
Now you have a rainbowed letter (or number or shape).
This is a very easy way to get your child to do repetition without making it seem like doing the same thing seven times. It is great for handwriting and pencil grasp practice, along with recognition of letters, shapes, numbers, and colors. It really is a lot of fun and your refrigerator will soon be covered with rainbowed objects. Just a warning.
Kim is a contributing writer for No Time For Flash Cards, a mom to a toddler, a preschooler, and a foster parent, too. She juggles her day by trying out fun activities and crafts with the kids. After all, she is just a big kid herself. See what she has been up to over at Mom Tried It.
Cheena says
Interesting! You need to create a playful activity out of everything, and the kids love it. Learning is so much fun too. And they will retain so much more. Nice idea, will surely try it out.
Thanks!
Tabitha (a.k.a. Penny) says
I love this. I mean L-O-V-E. Since my daughter with Autism hates writing but loves rainbows, I am going to try this soon. Thank you. 🙂 (pinning)
Robyn Bartram says
Hi Alison, I am an Australian Occupational Therapist. I love rainbow letters and use them a lot. I notice your daughter is still developing a mature pencil grip. You can promote this further by providing a lower table surface – belly button height – so that her elbows are able to flex to 90 degrees and by using Crayon Rocks or by breaking your crayons into little chunks no more than 1 inch long. This encourages her to use a pincer grip and to hold the crayon between her thumb tip and index finger tip. Happy writing from Robyn.
Allison McDonald says
That is actually a contributing writer’s daughter, but your advice is welcome ALWAYS! Thank you I will add your tips into my handwriting tips.