The Art of Observation: A Study of GREEN

St. Patrick’s Day is a fun holiday to celebrate with kids. We integrate geography, history, culture, practical life and sensorial work into our St. Patrick’s Day activities. We even squeezed in an art project using only crayons with various shades of green. I will share these activities with you over the next few weeks.

First we read this fantastic book appropriately called Green. When I saw the book at the library, it’s vibrance called to me. The colors within the books are beautiful and the illustrations tie the shades of green into a child’s environment. Here is the cover of book. So lovely.

Once we read this book and had a nice conversation about the color green, I introduced a simple work to the boys. All you need is a basket, various green colored items to fill the basket and shades of green to match the objects. We used paint samples from the hardware store but you could also use crayons as another example. I love sensory basket isolating one color, like this one on our December shelves. We used FREE paint samples from our local hardware store. Montessori Print Shop has very inexpensive downloads to use for color tablet work that I highly recommend for this work.

Name the objects
Name the shades of green
Match the objects to the shade of green
Extend the activity into your home and community. (e.g. green leaves, green light, etc)

My son took this one beyond the basket into our home and our neighborhood. I loved this extension because it truly involves observation, which is so important for children, especially within the context of botany {e.g. leaves changing color} and zoology {e.g animals that adapt by changing color like chameleons and frogs}. The work really opened his eyes a bit more to the world of green. His desire to extend this activity reminded me of a post on identifying and matching colors by one of my favorite bloggers, Valerie at Inner Child Fun.

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Marnie Craycroft

Founder, Publisher, Writer & Editor at Carrots Are Orange, Inc.

Marnie began Carrots Are Orange in 2010 after the birth of her first son. Carrots Are Orange is a Montessori inspired homeschooling blog for parents and educators. She hails from Maine, a wonderfully down to earth place to grow up. Marnie moved to the west coast in 1999, currently living in Seattle with her husband and two young boys. She is pursuing Montessori certification.