This month we explored the cheerful color yellow. Soft butter. Singing canaries. Sunshine. Daffodils. Cheery sunflowers. Caution. Happiness. Tart lemons. Dandelions. Taxis. Cheese.
There is no ‘right’ way to do this. It’s play and discovery and celebration of the gift of color. But these are some resources that we enjoyed through the process. For us, the transition to studying a new color usually begins here, with the yellow discovery tray.
YELLOW DISCOVERY TRAY
I hang bunting made from paint chips, tape, and string. I gather up all of the predominantly yellow board books we own and place them on the bookshelf beside this tray which we then fill together via a slow, month long scavenger hunt for all the yellow toys and household items.
NATURE + NOTICING WALKS
I’m calling these noticing walks because the term ‘scavenger hunt’ feels like an exaggeration. We’ve found that time spent outdoors does all of us a world of good and we’ve been working on getting outside each day, even if only for a short while. And so we’ve just kind of added the color exploration to that practice. It’s been surprising as the month goes on, our eyes just seem drawn to the color we’ve been studying. We seem to encounter it everywhere.
BOOKS FEATURING THE COLOR YELLOW
- Curious George by H.A. Rey
- Sunflower House by Eve Bunting
- Press Here by Hervé Tullet
- Dandelion by Don Freeman
- The Old Man Who Loved Cheese by Garrison Keillor
- Yellow Time by Lauren Stringer
MUSIC FEATURING THE COLOR YELLOW
Our exploration of “yellow” music began with collecting songs that contained the word “yellow”. Then expanded to include titles containing things that are yellow. And then expanded further to contain music that just sounds yellow. I have personally loved this practice for discovering new music. Here’s what we’ve found so far:
POEMS FEATURING THE COLOR YELLOW
- In the Days of the Golden Rod by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Forsythia by Billy Collins
- To the Dandelion by James Russell Lowell
- The Yellow Violet by William Cullen Bryant
- Dandelions in the Sun by Annette Wynne
- Dandelion by Nellie M. Garabrant
- Buttercups and Daisies by Joseph Horatio Chant
- Buttercups and Daisies by Eliza Cook
- Daffadowndilly by A.A. Milne
- Sunflowers by Clinton Scollard
Please share your favorite yellow books, songs, and poems with us! Our collection is ever growing.
