Giveaway!..... and, Color Tablets to make at home.

I am currently in the midst of my very first Giveaway, and, well, um, no one has entered.! Which is good news for you! After all, if you are the only one to enter, you are guaranteed to win! :)

To enter, you must leave a comment on my giveaway post.

There are multiple ways to get extra entries:
***If you would like extra entries, you may do any of the following:***

1. Blog about the giveaway and provide a link in the comment section.

2. Tell me your favorite memory of your Mother.

3. Comment about your most valuable lesson as a Mother.

4. Leave me your favorite quote about Parenthood.

5. Tweet about the giveaway or announce it on your Facebook page.

6. Visit my Etsy Shop and tell me your favorite item from the shop.

7. Become a follower of my blog (if you are already a follower this counts too!  Just leave a comment letting me know you are a follower.)

*** For your extra entries to count, you must leave a separate comment for each entry.***

Contest closes at 11:59 PM CST on Wednesday night.

Winner will be randomly selected and announced on Thursday morning.

Easy {and very, very cheap} Montessori Material for today:

COLOR TABLETS!

Traditionally, Montessori color tablets are a rectangle of color sandwiched between 2 wooden ends.  The child is presented the material in 3 boxes of the tablets.

Box 1 (6 tablets: a pair of each of the primary colors (red, yellow, blue), the most highly contrasted colors) and Box 2 (22 tablets: a pair of each of the primary colors, the secondary colors green, orange, and purple, and also pink, brown, black, white, and grey) are for color matching and color naming.

Box 3 is for gradient ordering from light to dark in multiple shades and colors (63 tablets: 7 shades of 9 colors: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, brown, pink, and grey).

The color tablets are ideally kept in a special box with a lid, created for holding the tablets upright in an organized manner.

To introduce the colors using the Montessori three part lesson
(after child can correctly pair them up by themselves):

1. Begin with primary colors. Point to and name the colors (repeat several times).

2. Mix the colors up. Ask the child to show you a color ("Point to red. Point to blue. Put yellow in the box.")

3. Mix up the colors. Select a color tablet and ask your child "What color is this?" Ask the names of all the colors.

When the child has the names of the primary colors, you may repeat with Color Box 2 (secondary colors).

Color tablets can be very expensive, or less so, depending on the supplier and the quality.

But, you can make a variation of them easily at home, too!

The simplest way to create color tablets is just to pick up pairs of paint sample cards at your local hardware store.  Choose the paint sample cards that have only one color on the card (as pictured above), not the kind that are long rectangles and have multiple shades per card.  You will need 2 of each shade for the first 2 boxes to allow the child to discriminate between colors and match them up.  Usually stores are pretty lax about allowing you to take paint sample cards.  If you mention that you need them for an educational project, I've found that stores are usually happy to oblige.  You can leave use the cards as-is, or glue them to foam board, cardboard, or wooden tablets.

You can also easily color your own color tablets, cut them out, and laminate them for durability.  You can also cut out construction paper and glue them to paper or cardboard, and laminate with a laminator or contact paper for durability. 

This post by My Montessori Journey, has a great idea for a color tablet book. This can be used as an extension for the color tablets, and her drawings in the book show you a great way to draw your own set.

If you just want to be able to print, cut, laminate, and use your color tablets, you can visit Montessori Color Tablets, created by Jo Ebisujima of A Bit of This and a Bit of That, a great Montessori blog!  These are $4.71 and are an instant download, including all 3 color boxes of tablets.

Another fun way to create color tablets is by purchasing spools of thread in a variety of colors.  You can also wind embroidery floss, thread, or yarn around a bobbin, wooden tablet/block or piece of thick cardboard and secure the ends with glue or a strong knot.  Be sure materials are age appropriate and supervise when using thread, yarn or floss.

You can also purchase wooden cubes and paint them, or use Modge Podge or a similar product to adhere colored tissue paper to the outsides.

A final idea is to laminate rectangles of tissue paper between 2 pieces of contact paper, and cut them out leaving a clear, sealed edge around the tissue paper rectangles.  Tissue paper can even be purchased for a small cost in rainbow packages, giving you many color options.

To use up the rest of your contact paper and tissue paper,  you can create Tissue Paper Color Wheel Sun Catchers by ordering and sandwiching pie-shaped tissue paper cutouts in between 2 pieces of contact paper, punching a hole, and hanging in the window with yarn. The sun shines through the tissue paper and makes for a very pretty sun catcher! 

Related:

Free Printable Color Nomenclature Cards, by Montessori Mom.

Color Nomenclature Cards, printable, from Montessori for Everyone.