Colors, Numbers and Shapes!

Starring:
Mouse Paint
Mouse Count
Mouse Shapes

Books by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Activity Ideas by Lisa Martin
Printables by Ami Brainerd

© www.homeschoolshare.com
Lessons for COLORS using Mouse Paint

Make “Mouse Paint”

You will need small Ziploc bags and washable tempera paint (primary colors). Put a small
amount of two primary colors in separate spots of a Ziploc bag and seal it. Let your child
decide the colors that will go in the bag and let him discover what happens when they
mix. As he discovers new colors, it will be exciting for him! Use the Color Mixing printable to
extend this activity.

After the paint is made, let your child use his fingers as “mouse feet” to mix the colors togeth-
er – on the outside of the bag, of course. When he is finished blending his colors, open the
bag and use a watercolor paintbrush to make his own “mouse paint” painting. Repeat with
other combinations of colors. Note: You can use a muffin tin instead of a bag – just put two
primary colors in a single muffin cup and use a popsicle stick to mix the colors together.

Make a Color Matching Game

Use sample color chips from a home improvement store. With younger children, use primary
and secondary colors along with black, brown and white if desired. With older preschoolers,
you can introduce shades of colors by picking various shades of a single color, or you could do
warm colors or cool colors.

Make Color Collages

Give your child a piece of colored construction paper and have him look for pictures in maga-
zines that are that color. You can help him cut the pictures out and glue them on the con-
struction paper. When you have done all the colors, you can bind them together and make
“My Color Book.” Cover page is included in the printables section.

Mouse Tracks: On a warm, sunny day, go outside with bare feet. Walk in a tray of cool
squishy paint, and then on paper, making your own version of mouse tracks. Walk through
previously made footprints so colors will mix and create new colors.

Color Words: For an addition to a Word Wall or sight words, write the different color words
on flashcards using that color marker. Color cards are provided in the printables section.

Color Songs: Teach your child a song, poem or nursery rhyme with a color in it. You can find
some suggestions at Enchanted Learning.

Color of the Day: Have a designated color of the day – make a craft with the color, read a
book that goes with the color, eat foods that are the color, wear the color, etc.

Color Scavenger Hunt: Take a walk and have a color scavenger hunt – see how many things
you can find that are the color of the day or keep a tally and see which color you spot the
most often.
My Color
Book

by
Color Mixing
Print this page on cardstock. Give your student paint. Let
him mix the colors together and paint the new color on
the square.
Color Matching Paste the matching paint cans under the flaps.

Cut on solid lines. Fold on

dotted.
Mouse Maze
Help Matisse the Mouse find his masterpiece.
Oh no! The mice have mixed up their paint brushes, and they can’t
figure out which one is which. Can you help them by finding the right
size brush for each mouse? Cut out the brushes and paste them to
the corresponding mouse.

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically.
© Homeschool Share
Mouse Sizes
 Color Scavenger Hunt
Use tally marks or dots to keep track of what you find on your hunt.
purple black

red brown

orange green

yellow blue
Lessons for NUMBERS using Mouse Count

Numeral Matching Game: cut out a cardboard circle and divide it into pie-shaped sec-
tions. Label each section with a specific number of dots. Label clothespins with the corre-
sponding numerals. Your child can match the numerals to the correct number of dots. Two
different number wheels are provided. One matches the RS math program (the one with
groups of five).

Numeral Sequencing with the clothespins mentioned in the above activity, have your child
clip them onto a piece of cardboard, a ruler, a clothesline or a paint stirrer in numerical order.

Count . . . all the time! Some suggestions: steps as you climb stairs, cars you pass in the
parking lot on your way into the store, flowers in the garden, plates on the table, clouds in the
sky.

Number Songs: Introduce a song, poem or nursery rhyme that has numbers in it. “The Ants
Go Marching One by One” is a fun one to sing with your little ones. You can find some poem
and nursery rhyme suggestions at Enchanted Learning.

Play with dominoes: Teach your child how to count the number of dots and match the same
number of dots on another domino.

Draw numerals in shaving cream, sand or finger paint! To save on mess, put the shaving
cream or paint in a Ziploc bag and then draw on it with a Q-tip.

Sandpaper Numbers: Cut out numerals in block letter format from sandpaper; your child can
trace it with his finger.

Make the “How Many Mice?” book (found in printables section).

Make a Numbers Book: Write the numbers 1-10 on construction paper. Have your student
find items he likes in a magazine. You can help him cut the pictures out and glue them on the
construction paper. (one item on the 1 page, two items on the 2 page, etc.). When you are
finished, you can bind them together and make “My Numbers Book.” Cover page is included
in the printables section.
My Number
Book

by
Print out on cardstock. Label spring-type clothespins with numerals 1-8. Your
child can match the numeral to the corresponding dots.
Print out on cardstock. Label spring-type clothespins with numerals 1-8. Your
child can match the numeral to the corresponding dots.
Cut your way to the numbers!
 How Many Mice?

2 4
3 5

I see 2 mice.
I see 3 mice.

I see 4 mice.
I see 5 mice and 1 snake!

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically.
© Homeschool Share
mice are in the jar.

Math Mat
Cut apart numbers (2-10) and mice. Put a number on the math mat.
Read the sentence together. Ask your student to make the state-
ment true by adding the corresponding number of mice.

2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
10
 Sing a Song of Numbers!
Tune: “Sing a Song of Sixpence”

Sing a song of numbers,

Count them one by one.
Sing a song of numbers,
We’ve only just begun.

When we finish counting them,

We’ll start them once again!
Lessons for SHAPES using Mouse Shapes

Draw shapes in shaving cream, sand or finger paint.

Shapes made from Plastic Lids: Provide shapes for your child to trace. (Plastic lids – from a
coffee can or oatmeal container – make great templates. Draw a shape on the lid and cut it
out using an exact-o knife, leaving the outside of the lid intact.) Younger children can simply
trace the shape and color it in, while older children may wish to make shape patterns or put
different shapes together to make pictures.

Felt Shapes – cut different shapes out of felt and let your child use them to make pictures on
a flannel board. An alternative to this would be to purchase a bucket of foam shapes at a
craft store and have your child glue them to make pictures, designs or patterns.

Chalk Shapes – draw the outline of shapes on the driveway or sidewalk. Then give your child
a shape to find and stand on. Start with basic shapes, then add new ones as they learn the
basic ones. (Some shapes you may wish to include: circle, square, rectangle, oval, triangle,
crescent, pentagon, trapezoid, hexagon, semicircle, rhombus (diamond), octagon) As your
child learns the names of different shapes, have him jump from one to another – good prac-
tice in following directions.

Shape Scavenger Hunt: Take a walk and have a shape scavenger hunt. See how many things
you can find that are a particular shape or keep a tally and see which shape you spot the most
often.

Make a shape book – look for pictures in magazines or online that are a particular
shape. Have your child cut them out and glue them onto a page with that shape drawn on
it. After you have done all the shapes, bind them together into “My Shape Book.”

Play-doh Mats — Use play-doh to recreate the shapes on the cards (at the end of this file).

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically.
© Homeschool Share
My Shape
Book

by
 Shape Scavenger Hunt
Use tally marks or dots to keep track of what you find on your hunt.
What Do You See?
I see a circle, rectangle, triangle, and square. What do you
see? Add details to each shape to show me what you see! You
can turn your paper upside-down or sideways, if you need to!
Trace the Shapes!
Triangle

Rectangle
Circle

Star
Octagon

Square
Diamond

Pentagon