One Colour Treasure Basket

What you need

• a low basket
• six to eight safe household things all in one colour, like a cup, a sock and a spoon

How to do it

1. Fill a low basket with six to eight safe things that are all the same colour.
2. Sit beside them and let them pull things out one by one.
3. Name the thing and the colour each time: 'red cup', 'red sock'.
4. Gather everything back in and let them start again.

Why it matters

A basket of one colour lets them notice the one thing that stays the same while shapes and textures change.

What they're learning

Noticing what's the same

Every item is different except the colour, so the colour is what they keep meeting.

Exploring objects

Turning, mouthing and banging each thing is how they find out about it.

Colour words

The same colour word comes back with every new thing they pull out.

What to look for

Watch for them lining things up or holding two up together.

A tip

Check every item is too big to fit in a mouth and has no small parts, and stay with them while they explore.

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