Color Bags - Littlest Leaners

One of Nixon's skills this month is learning his colors! Our focus colors are red and yellow. Just picked these two colors to start with mainly because he LOVES Lightning McQueen and he just happens to be Red.  Added Yellow because when you mix red and yellow together, it makes Nixon's favorite color...Orange!  Perfect for when we paint with red and yellow!

Jackson and I created these Color Bags for Nixon.  One afternoon, I handed Jackson a galloon zip-lock baggy and asked him to put 5 Red things inside. "Easy Breezy", he said as he handed me the bag.  So then, he worked on the Yellow Bag.  I added a few things as well before showing them to Nixon.

Nixon with his Red bag

Nixon with his Yellow bag, but more interested in the book that I picked out to go with this skill.

 I cut out a simple rectangle out of construction paper and taped it on the front of each bag.  This helps Nixon and I with sorting skills (which colored object goes into which bag)  I even included the word "red" and the word "yellow" (written in their colors) on sentence strips.  This is more for matching up the word with the color.  But more useful for when Jackson is working with us because he can "read" the color words on the sentence strips and put them in the correct Color Bags.

Here's Nixon and I working one day while Jackson was resting...

I don't "formally instruct" him everyday...he is only 16 months.  Right now, he learns so much more through mommy-baby talk and Big brother-baby brother talk during play.  So I'll keep it that way!

I keep Nixon's Color Bags in a Basket in the kitchen along with some books on Colors.  He enjoys dumping the bags out (to find the Red Tractor), plays for a few minutes and then he is usually off to something else!  I usually invite him back to help clean up.  And this is when I add a sprinkle of instruction.

Other "Bag" ideas?
Shape bags, Letter/Sound Bags, Touch and Feel Bags

Got some ideas? I'd love to hear them!