Celebrate the Color Red Theme and Activities

Red is the color of love. During February, with Valentine's Day, you can have a lot of fun in your preschool celebrating the color red with these activities.

Make Things Red

Liquid Starch Finger Paint
1/4 cup liquid laundry starch
2 drops food coloring
or 1 tsp. tempera paint
Mix ingredients until blended.

Red Playdough
1 cup flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
Food coloring
Mix all ingredients in saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly until ball forms. Cool and knead until smooth.

Sing About Red Things

If Your Clothes Have Any Red (Tune: If You're Happy and You Know It)
If your clothes have any red, any red
If your clothes have any red, and red
If your clothes have any red, put your finger on your head,
If your clothes have any red, any red

Four Red Cherries (Tune: This Old Man)
Four red cherries on the tree,
Two for you and two for me.
So-o shake that tree and watch them fall.
One, two, three, four -that is all.

Red (Tune: Three Blind Mice)
Red, red, red.
Red, red, red.
What is red?
What is red?
Apples, cherries, and-me, oh my-
Tomatoes to bake in a pizza pie.
Red is the color, and that is why
We sing of red.

Red is the Color (Tune: Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah)
Red is the color of Apples.
Red is the color of Cherries, too.
Red is the color of a fire truck.
I like red don't you?

Make Red Treats

Red Fruit Dip
Whip one tablespoon of brown sugar into a container of strawberry cream cheese. Serve with cherries, strawberries and apple slices

Pink Toast
Mix milk with tiny bit of red food coloring, Kids paint bread then toast it.

Read About Red

• Is It Red? Is It Yellow? Is It Blue? by Tana Hoban
• Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
• Red Is a Dragon : A Book of Colors by Roseanne Thong
• Little Red Cowboy Hat by Susan Lowell

Fun With Red

Apple Prints
Cut apples in half and let dry slightly. Provide a pan of red paint for the children to dip the apples in. Let them make apple prints on white paper or other painting surface.

Sand and Water Table
Fill the sensory table with shaving cream tinted red by using tempera paint. Add red glitter to the table.

Kool-Aid Art
Srpinkle a little dry red Kool-Aid mix onto a piece of paper. Have children spray water from a spray bottle onto the paper.