SNAP Storytime at Home: Colors

Welcome to SNAP Storytime at Home! SNAP refers to Special Needs and Autism-Friendly Programming, a category which includes a selection of specialty programs for a very important audience. Keep reading to see the books, flannel activity, and movement activity that will let you create your very own SNAP storytime experience at home.  

Read About the Topic & Activity

Today’s SNAP Storytime is all about colors. In addition to recognizing and identifying different colors, children start to associate them with different items or even ideas and emotions. Many people associate the color blue with the sky and the color yellow with happiness, for instance. These connections may not be as intuitive for everyone, particularly younger children. Talking about colors in storytime helps develop those connections. 

Prepare for a successful storytime by talking about the subject ahead of time. What colors can your child name or identify? Do they have a favorite color? Assist your child in communicating nonverbally by having crayons or other colorful examples available for them to point to or otherwise indicate.  

You know your child best! For many children, naming the colors can be a fun game. For others, identifying objects of particular colors provides an engaging activity. Build your storytime on your child’s existing knowledge for the most meaningful experience.

Gather Your Books

Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd

This book is a lot of fun and a perennial SNAP favorite! Watch as the dog goes about his day and encounters ten different colors. With realistic examples of these colors and simple, bold images that are easy to see, this is an excellent option for practicing identifying colors as well as counting! 

Mix It Up! by Hervé Tullet 

Tullet’s colorful work makes a great hands-on activity in its own right. Follow along with this interactive book, touching each page as you play pretend with the different paints. Take it a step further and create your own masterpiece, game, or activity using fingerpaints and fabric. 

Movement Song

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Pete the Cat, a regular visitor in any storytime, isn’t going to have his white shoes for long! Jam out with Pete in this recorded version, reading along with your own copy—and shoes. For children who like to move around, this is a great activity for walking in place together as Pete admires his shoes after they change colors each time. 

Flannel Activity

White Rabbit’s Color Book by Alan Baker

Check out this flannel adaptation of the well-known book by Alan Baker. Flannel activities provide great hands-on opportunities for children in any storytime. If you don’t have felt material to use with the rabbit template, use construction paper, or have your child color in the rabbits ahead of time on printer paper! 

Here are the flannel activity instructions and template from Sunflower Storytime.  

We hope you enjoy your SNAP Storytime at Home on colors! Check back with us next month for more SNAP blog posts.