Colour Fun #1 - "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

Teaching colours is probably one of the first and most natural things to teach one's tot. Most of us do it automatically and we label colours spontaneously for our little ones. There are also many terrific books about colours and I want to share with you a "must-have" book that you need for your tot. I only discovered this absolute gem earlier this year. It's actually been around since 1984 and is very well-known.

"Brown bear, brown bear,

 what do you see?

 I see a red bird
 looking at me.

 Red bird, red bird,
 what do you see?

 I see a yellow duck
 looking at me."

 And so the book continues with rhyme, rhythm and repetition.

The best part is that once your baby or tot is familiar with it (which won't take long), you can then apply this rhythmic rhyme to just about any game. I play this game with Little One with our colour foam fish in the bath..."Red fish, red fish, what do you see? I see a yellow fish looking at me." And so on...

When I am labeling Little One's plastic animals, I also find myself chanting this little rhyme...using different voices...and always getting giggles and grins from him, as he learns and has fun at the same time!

So in my (humble) opinion, this is one of the very best gifts you can give a baby turning one or two. And just in case you are Afrikaans-speaking and reading this and thinking, "Why are all the great books only available in English?" I have a translation for you!

"Bruin beer, bruin beer, wat sien jy daar?
 Ek sien 'n rooi voël wat vir my staar."

There are many different versions of this book available, including hardcover, paperback and a board book, ideal for little hands.

Some more colour fun in up-and-coming posts this week, including a quick tutorial on how to make colour foam bath fish! Till then...