Infant and Toddler Book Club - March 2025
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Shamrock Color Hunt
What We Do: Children search the area for colorful laminated shamrocks and match them to a color chart.
Skills Supported:
- Color recognition – Identifying and naming colors is an early cognitive skill that builds language and classification abilities.
- Gross motor movement – Walking, bending, and searching help develop coordination and body awareness.
- Problem-solving – Children use visual scanning and decision-making skills to complete the hunt.
Sensory Table – Flower Garden Play
What We Do: Children explore a sensory bin filled with black beans (pretend soil), colorful artificial flowers, scoops, shovels, and small buckets.
Skills Supported:
- Sensory development – Digging and feeling the textures of beans and flowers stimulates the senses and supports brain growth.
- Fine motor skills – Scooping, pouring, and “planting” flowers help strengthen hand muscles and hand-eye coordination.
- Imaginative play – Pretending to grow and care for flowers encourages storytelling, role-play, and creativity.
- Early science concepts: Children begin to understand gardening, plant life, and how things grow through playful exploration.
Bubble Wrap Rainbow Painting
What We Do: Children roll paint over bubble wrap and press it onto paper to create colorful rainbow textures.
Skills Supported:
- Tactile exploration – The bubble wrap and paint texture offer fun sensory feedback.
- Color recognition and sequencing – Rainbow patterns help children learn color order and visual organization.
- Artistic expression – Encourages creativity and pride in making something beautiful!
Flower Blocks
What We Do: Using a variety of snap-together blocks, children build flowers and explore their parts (petals, stems, leaves, etc.).
Skills Supported:
- STEM learning – Children learn basic plant anatomy and practice early science concepts through hands-on exploration.
- Fine motor development – Connecting and stacking blocks strengthens finger and hand muscles.
- Problem-solving and creativity – Kids experiment with shapes, sizes, and design as they build.
