The Painter's Palette Hunts for Colors Outside
In pairs, little painters carry a cardboard palette with four color blobs and search the playground for something in nature matching each color: a green leaf, a brown trunk, a yellow flower. When they find the color, they paint a big stroke in the air with their whole body.
How to play
- Show the palette (green, brown, yellow and red) and practice the giant brushstroke, from tiptoe down to a squat, using the arm as a brush (2 min).
- In pairs, search the playground for something in nature that matches the first color and hold the palette up to compare, without picking anything (3 min).
- When you find it, both partners paint three strokes in the air and go after the next color (3 min).
- The teacher calls “Everyone to red!” and each pair jogs gently to the nearest red thing they found (2 min).
- Sitting in a circle, each pair shares one color treasure they discovered (1 min).
- Paint an invisible picture together in the air with slow strokes to calm down (1 min).
Rules
- I look and compare, but I don't pick leaves or flowers.
- My partner and I stay together.
- We can only pick up leaves that are already on the ground.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, use a two-color palette with very clear colors (green and brown), and the teacher searches with them.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, use four colors on the palette.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, the palette has two shades of one color (light and dark green) and kids must find both.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the pair searches along flat paths and the child paints strokes with the arms only.
- Visual impairment: use a texture palette (smooth, rough, soft and a little prickly) and search nature by touch.
- Color blindness: each blob on the palette also has a picture (leaf, trunk, sun, strawberry) to go by.
Learning goals
- Recognize colors in nature.
- Explore the playground while caring for plants.
- Express big movements with the body.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Cardboard palettes with four colors: 13
Teacher tip
Make the palettes from cardboard and finger paint, choosing colors actually found in your playground that season. The usual mistake is picking leaves to show them: the palette goes to the plant, not the plant to the palette.
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