The Color Game (ages 5-10)

Here’s what you’ll need:

Paper
Pencil
Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
Bell (optional)
Two cups of cocoa (optional)

Here’s what you do:

Read the following story to your child:
THE COLOR GAME
by Josephine Nakata

I grabbed Grandpa’s hand as we walked up the path. The sun rose over the mountain and made thousands of tiny diamonds dance across the snow in the valley below us.

“Wooo…weeee!” cried Grandpa. His breath puffed up in the cold mountain air. “Sure is a beautiful morning. How about a round of the color game?”

I clapped my mittens together and giggled at Grandpa’s enthusiasm. The color game was our secret. The rules were simple. We had to think of a good color for every month of the year. No color could be repeated.

January: Black
Warming us during a January blizzard, the hot black coal blazed in the furnace and kept our house warm.

February: White
I huddled under a fuzzy white afghan on cold February nights.

March: Orange
Brilliant orange flames from the fireplace waved good-bye to us in March until its return next autumn.

April: Red
In April, our red checkered picnic table was piled high with Grandpa’s favorites: fried chicken, coleslaw, and apple pie.

May: Brown
The old brown wheelbarrow overflowed with colorful moss roses in May.

June: Gold
June was gold for the shiny cross necklace that my grandparents gave me on the day I was born.

July: Gray
The early morning gray fog rose from the pond on our July fishing trips.

August: Yellow
The yellow sprinkler quenched the thirsty lawn and cooled the neighborhood children in August.

September: Pink
Grandma made me a pink dress, lined with lace at the bottom, to wear on the first day of school in September.

October: Blue
In October, a large Rocky Mountain blue jay perched on our window sill and stayed long enough for us to take a picture.

November: Silver
Delicious juice trickled down the side of Grandma’s turkey as the silver knife carved into it.

December: Purple
Grandma and I wore purple aprons in December to bake cookies for our friends in the nursing home.

It started to snow as we finished our color game. As we approached my grandparents’ house, Grandma waved to us from the kitchen window. We entered the house and found three cups waiting for us on the counter. Grandma poured her homemade hot chocolate and gave us freshly-baked cinnamon rolls to eat.

Grandpa sipped the hot chocolate and winked at me. “Next time,” he whispered, “brown for January. Rich, thick brown hot chocolate warms our bellies on cold January mornings.”

I giggled at Grandpa, eager for our next round of the color game.
Make a Color Game book with your child by filling in the blanks with your own personal memories:January was _____ for the _____ that _____.
February was _____ for the _____ that _____.
March was _____ for the _____ that _____.
April was _____ for the _____ that _____.
May was _____ for the _____ that _____.
June was _____ for the _____ that _____.
July was _____ for the _____ that _____.
August was _____ for the _____ that _____.
September was _____ for the _____ that _____.
October was _____ for the _____ that _____.
December was _____ for the _____ that _____.

Example: January was white for the snowman that we built in our yard.
Illustrate the book when it is done.

Other ideas:

Enjoy a cup of hot cocoa with your child.
Read The Polar Express together. You may want to give your child a special bell to hold as you read it. Ring it at the end of the story to feel the magic of spending special times with your child.

Picture book suggestion: