Color Box No. 3
A detailed guide to understanding the Color Box 3 material and how it is used within the Early Years curriculum.
How does it work?
Color Box 3 is as engaging as it is beautiful! This material develops the child’s ability to discriminate shades of color from dark to light. The child arranges the mixed-up color tablets in order from darkest to lightest, starting with 1 color hue and working up to all 9. Guidepost's Color Box 3 includes:
- 63 graded color tablets in 9 colors
- A wooden box with 9 compartments and a lid
Prerequisite Skills - As with all Sensorial materials, the benefits of the Color Box 3 material are best enjoyed by the child who has developed their ability to work logically through multi-step tasks. The exercises of Practical Life are the ideal training ground for this. Extensive work with Practical Life activities or other real, everyday tasks is the best way to prepare a child for this and other Sensorial activities.
Because it is a longer activity that requires persistence and concentration, Color Box 3 is one of the later Sensorial activities presented in the Children’s House curriculum.
Sample lesson
Start by watching this sample lesson from our Guidepost Homeschool platform that will familiarize you to the Color Box 3 and its use.
If you are already subscribed to Guidepost Homeschool, scroll down to see all the corresponding lessons where this material is used in our curriculum. To unlock more than 2,000+ lessons subscribe to Guidepost Homeschool today.
How to set up
Setup - Carefully remove all packaging material. Adjust the tablets in their compartments so that each color series is oriented in the same direction inside the box, e.g. from darkest at the bottom to lightest at the top. It’s best to keep the colors in order from darkest to lightest inside the box so that the child sees them repeatedly in that manner; however, when the child takes the colors out to use them, they should scatter the tablets randomly on the work surface before beginning. When not in use, store Color Box 3 alongside other Sensorial materials at the shelf.
Usage Tips:
- Start with just 1 color at a time for your child to grade
- Increase with additional colors to augment the challenge as well as the length of time that it takes to complete the activity. After much practice, the child can create a beautiful sun ray-shaped arrangement using all colors as shown in the sample image.
For Guidepost Homeschool subscribers
If you are already subscribed to Guidepost Homeschool, start in the order below to navigate to the corresponding lesson plans using the Color Box 3 in our Altitude learning platform.
Wondering about supplies used in particular lessons? Detailed materials lists can be found at the beginning of each lesson in Guidepost’s Altitude system, as well as on the materials cards at the beginning of each unit.
- Corresponding Altitude lessons
Lessons where the Color Box 3 is used
Sensorial: (3-5) Visual Sense
- Introducing Color Box 3
- Follow Up: Using More Than One Color
- Follow Up: Using All the Colors
- Follow Up: Language Extension
- Follow Up: Building at a Distance
- Follow Up: Building at a Distance Using Language
- Follow Up: Matching to the Environment
- What is Guidepost Homeschool?
