The Day the Crayons Came Home Color Word Game
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This free Crayon Color Word Game is a fun book extension activity for The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt and provides great practice for reading color words. Color words are common sight words that can require a lot of exposure and practice. This activity is great for independent work, small groups, and literacy centers in Pre-K and Kindergarten. Your kids will love it!
*Pair with our Color Centers and Activities for Pre-K & Kindergarten!
The Day the Crayons Came Home Color Word Game
The Day the Crayons Came Home is the fun, quirky companion to The Day the Crayons Quit. In this story, wayward crayons return home, and air their complaints of poor treatment. It’s perfect for starting a discussion about how kids should treat their crayons. Both books make fun read alouds to accompany a lesson on color words.
We love making up games. One of my son’s favorite games when he was in Pre-K and Kindergarten was Concentration. I remember playing over and over with him using a colorful deck of fruit and vegetable cards that our grocery store had given away as a promotional item.
Later, when my twins were that age, the cards somehow got mixed in with all the toy kitchen items. The girls would match the plastic grapes to the purple grapes card, the fake carrots to the carrot card, etc. But I’ll never forget how much fun they had with those cards. So we decided to make up our own card game!
To get started, first gather your supplies!
- Game cards and recording sheets (download below)
- Cardstock or tag board
- 10 crayons: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, and white
- Opaque bag or empty tissue box to hold the crayons
Ways to Play
This Crayon Color Word Game involves matching actual crayons to cards with pictures of crayons, and to cards with just color words on them. There are three versions, all using basically the same cards and recording sheets, and offering multiple options for differentiation.
Beginner Version
This version gives non-readers exposure to color words and practice playing card games.
- Spread out only the picture cards, face up.
- Pull a real crayon from the bag, and lay it on the matching card.
- Repeat with the rest of the crayons.
- Finally, use the crayons to color the recording sheet.
Intermediate Version
Students who are just learning to read color words will love this version. It is similar to the game of Concentration with an extra element of fun thrown in – crayons!
- Spread out all the cards face up.
- Pull a real crayon from the bag.
- Then, match both the picture card and the word card for that color.
- Next, use the crayon to color in the recording sheet.
- Repeat with the rest of the crayons and cards.
Challenge Version
Once students can fluently read color words, they are ready for an additional memory challenge. This version is also a fun twist on the game of Concentration.
- Spread out all the cards face down in rows.
- Pull a real crayon from the bag. Then, turn over 2 cards trying to match the crayon color with a picture card and a word card.
- If the cards and crayon all match, set the cards aside, and use the crayon to color in the recording sheet.
- If they don’t match, then flip the cards back over and return the crayon to the bag.
- The crayon box cards are wildcards. If you turn one over, set it aside and go again.
- Repeat until all cards and crayons are matched.
I set up the challenge version of this game to test it out, and all three of my kids were eager to play. It turns out that even though they’ve already learned their color words, Concentration is fun at any age!
Grab Your FREE Copy
Ready to practice color words? Get your free copy of this super fun color word game by clicking the large, yellow download button below!
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