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PEEP Family Science: Colors

Parents and children explore the colors they see around them, indoors and outdoors. Together, they’ll experiment with mixing two colors to create a new one, notice colors that blend in with their environment, compare different shades of the same color, and discover how light can change colors.

Download the App

Download the App

This PEEP Family Science app features four weeks on the science of colors. It includes:

  • Videos of animated stories from the TV show PEEP and the Big Wide World
  • Live-action videos featuring real children
  • Hands-on activity instructions
  • Parent videos, which model how to do the activities

Instructions

If you need help downloading the app to your phone or tablet:

  • We recommend you download the app over Wi-Fi if you don’t want to use your phone’s data plan. 
  • Home visiting organizations may want to supply parents with Wi-Fi or suggest places where they can get free access.
  • Once the app is downloaded, it works completely offline: you won’t need your phone’s data plan or the Internet to use the app!
For Educators

For Educators

The Educator Guide covers everything you need to support and encourage parents as they explore colors with their children. It walks you step-by-step through each week of the PEEP Family Science app.

For educators who want more background on the PEEP approach to preschool science, you can find sections on the PEEP parent strategies, problem-solving tips, and using educational media with children.


 
 

Weekly Printouts for Colors

To explore colors, all parents need is the PEEP Family Science app. However, in case parents want to refer to a printout rather than the app while doing the activity, here are the printouts of all the activities that are in the app.

Colors Week 1: Colors Everywhere!

Explore the colors around us, indoors and outdoors.


 

Colors Week 2: Mixing Colors

Explore mixing colors to make a new one.


 

Colors Week 3: Color and Light

Explore what happens when light shines through colors.


 

Colors Week 4: Hard-to-See Colors

Some colors are hard to see because they blend in with the colors around them.

Videos

Videos

Educator Video

This video outlines the critical role educators play in supporting and encouraging parents doing PEEP Family Science. Educators can watch the video on their own, or their organizations may want to feature it during a staff meeting or orientation.

Educator Video: Getting Started (6:15)

Watch a home educator introduce the PEEP Family Science app to a mom; model a science activity; discuss the PEEP parent strategies; and help build the mom’s confidence in doing science with her child.

Parent Videos

Parents will find these videos in the app at the beginning of Week 1 and Week 3. Watching them is a great way to get started with that week’s activities. If educators have the time, we recommend they watch and discuss the videos together with parents. To enhance the viewing experience, there are video-viewing questions in the Educator Guide.

Colors Week 1 (4:41)

Watch a mom and her son explore the colors around us, indoors and outdoors.

Colors Week 3 (4:28)

Watch a mom and her son experiment with color and light.

Peep Videos

Week 1

A Peep of a Different Color

Peep, Quack, and Chirp discover paint and how fun it is to look different.

Week 2

Mixing Paint

Children mix paint and make a colorful map.

Week 3

Peep’s Color Quest

Quack has an exciting new toy: a pair of orange sunglasses on loan from the Fish Museum.

Juicy Light

Children explore color and light as it passes through bottles of juice.

Week 4

Hide and Go Peep

Peep and Chirp invent a game about color.
Games

Games

Some PEEP games can be played online (requires Wi-Fi); others can be downloaded as apps. If parents have room on their phones for additional apps, encourage them to download these free PEEP games on colors, which are closely related to the science activities families will be doing. The games can be found in the app store along with the PEEP Family Science apps. High-quality educational games are a great way to increase children’s learning (but parents should limit their young children’s overall screen time to an hour a day).

Paint Splat

Help Quack mix paint to make the color Chirp asks for!

Which Fish?

Help Quack and his fish friends make color patterns!
Parent Handouts

Parent Handouts

Recommended Books and Online Games about Colors

Books and online educational games are a great way for children to explore colors. This handout lists recommended books and PEEP online games about colors and includes guidelines for reading together and using online media.

The Parent Strategies

Throughout the app and the videos, PEEP encourages parents to use three strategies to help get their children excited by science: Play and Explore, Ask Questions and Talk about Ideas, and Explore More! Distribute this handout to remind parents of the strategies. They’re not only useful for doing PEEP but help with many other family interactions.

For Site Coordinators

For Program Site Coordinators

This brief guide offers a quick rundown of all the PEEP Family Science resources and can help organizations put together a meeting or orientation session for educators and other staff members.