Free Colors & Diversity Printables and Montessori-Inspired Colors & Diversity Activities

Rainbows and color mixing are often popular in March. I decided to use a different twist on color mixing and color wheel activities by focusing on diversity and multicultural colors.

Here, you’ll find free printables and activities for a colors and diversity unit. As usual, you’ll find a new printable pack (a Montessori-inspired colors and diversity pack) for our newsletter subscribers’ resource library!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Montessori Shelves with Colors and Diversity Themed Activities

You’ll find Montessori-inspired colors and diversity numbers, letters, and and more (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber).

Note: The Montessori-inspired colors and diversity pack isn’t designed as a complete colors and diversity unit but as supplemental materials. I design the packs using realistic images that I’ve often looked for when preparing a unit study (such as font cards and phonogram cards featuring the letter and phonogram related to the theme and math cards with realistic images that fit the theme and can be adapted for math activities at a variety of levels.)

You could mix your colors and diversity themed activities among your shelves according to curriculum area. Or you could have a special colors and diversity themed area something like the one pictured. My shelves at the beginning of our unit have a mixture of skill levels. Many of the activities can be adapted for a variety of levels. Many of these are designed for early elementary as well as preschoolers. If you’re a homeschooler, just choose the activities that work for your child’s interests and ability levels. If you don’t have room for all the activities you’d like to do, simply rotate them.

Notice the framed copy of Composition: Light Color Planes with Grey Contours (1919) by Piet Mondrian. It’s a free download from Wikiart.

For our monthly featured art print, I purchased a Li’l DAVINCI art frame that opens in the front for easily changing a free art masterpiece printable or vintage illustration to fit with the month’s theme. The frame can be switched from horizontal to vertical without changing the hanger, which is perfect!. It’s a free download from Wikimedia Commons.

If you’re wondering about the rugs and rug box I use, both the rugs and wooden rug holder are from Montessori Services. I love the Montessori Services rugs and rug holder! I used to use an umbrella stand something like these. I loved that for 1-3 rugs, but I needed something different when I had more grandchildren and some projects that needed more than one rug.

Colors and Diversity Books for Kids

Even though I have books on shelves, I’m now keeping many of my themed books in a forward-facing display after placing a bromeliad plant where the themed book basket was before. My seasonal books are now in that book basket.

For toddlers and preschoolers, at least ¾ of the books I use are typically Montessori friendly (focusing on reality without smiling or talking animals or smiling or talking vehicles).

Books Celebrating Multicultural Diversity

Colors and Diversity Themed Books We’re Using:

Top Shelf of Main Themed Shelf:

Top Shelf of Forward -Facing Display:

2nd Shelf:

3rd Shelf:

Honeysmoke: A Story of Finding Your Color
The Colors of Us (This is a family favorite. I have a review of it here.)
Whoever You Are

4th Shelf:

Bottom Shelf

Shelf with Color Books and Diversity Books

On a shelf across the room, I have these books:

You can also see lots of multicultural diversity books as they’re published here.

Favorite Shelves, Trays, Baskets, and More for Montessori Homeschoolers

I often get asked about the trays, baskets, etc., that I use, so I published a post with many of the items. You can find lots of helpful resources here. They’re not all essential, so don’t feel you need to have everything. Just choose what’s best for your budget and your unique family’s needs. You’ll find more ideas in the Living Montessori Now Amazon shop.

The Big Book of Color, The Color Wheel Kids, and Multicultural People Playdough Tray

Free Printable: People Playdough Mats and Faces Playdough Mats from Picklebums

You’ll see the books The Big Book of Color and The Color Wheel Kids along with a tray featuring free people and faces printables in four different skin tones.

My grandkids were all very attracted to this tray. They’ve used it a number of times already!

**Color Wheel Pages from My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things with Multicultural Sign Language Movable Alphabet Work in the Background**

Color Wheel Pages from My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things with Multicultural Sign Language Movable Alphabet Work in the Background

On the cookbook easel, I show two color wheel pages from My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things.

You can see more multicultural activities behind the book. They aren’t free, but I’m excited about them. They’re from our American Sign Language movable alphabet in four different skin tones. They were part of the recent World Around Me Mega Bundle sale. If you purchased that, you already have our ASL and BSL movable alphabets!

Colors and Diversity Writing Tray

Colors and Diversity Sand Writing Tray

Free Printable: Multicultural letter m for colors and diversity sand writing tray (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

You’ll see a variety of simple letter writing trays in my previous unit study posts. I often used the wooden tray from the Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Shapes. You can use whatever tray or container work best for you, though.

I typically now use this lovely spelling/alphabet tray from FamilyTreeWW on Etsy. I love that it has a slot that fits sandpaper letters as well as any type of cardstock! The sandpaper letters I use are available in print or cursive. My grandkids love the multicultural Safari Ltd. Babies TOOB, so I added them to the sand writing tray for interest.

If you would like help with introducing phonetic sounds, introducing objects with sounds, or beginning phonics in general, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics with Preschoolers.

Working with Multicultural Alphabet Cards and Command Cards

Free Printable: Multicultural alphabet in print (the print and cursive multicultural alphabet are included in my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

Free Printable: Command Cards from Montessori Album.

My shelf photo shows a different set of command cards, but I like the ones from Montessori Album when they’re printed on red cardstock.

Here, my 8-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, is acting as the teacher for her almost-4-year-old cousin, Caleb, while he sounds out and spells a word on the command cards. Then they acted out the command together. Caleb does a great job of blending and word building, so this is a good activity for them to do together.

Tray with Shades-of-Brown Work

Tray with Shades of Brown Work

Free Printable: shades “a_e” phonogram card (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

Free Printable: Montessori – Sensorial – Color Box 3 – DIY by lily fadliah at Teachers Pay Teachers

Free Printable: Sensorial Material Labels from Montessori Print Shop

I know it’s best to have only one phonogram in a card like this, but I wanted to analyze the silent e aspect. We studied “sh” in last month’s dental health unit with the “sh” in brush.

I did this work with Caleb, and he loved it! It uses the brown and white Stabilo pencils and watercolor option to make shades of brown.

Color Mixing and Math Activity

Stirring Together Red and Yellow to Make Orange

Free Printable: 3 sets of color wheel math cards 1-5 (The math cards are included in my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber.)

You can purchase parts to this activity individually, or you can purchase a ready-made color mixing activity from Montessori Services. If you like super-easy-to-prepare activities or want help in knowing how to set up an activity, you might like the ready-made option. The directions are included, telling exactly where to place everything on the tray and how to present a acolor-mixing activity. With the ready-made activity, it takes about 5 minutes to set up the activity from start to finish! Note: My tray has a bit of a different set up from theirs because I added the math cards (which aren’t so much for identifying numbers as for seeing how many drops of each color are added).

I like to use a plastic tray for activities like this that could stain an unfinished wooden tray. You can use plain food coloring or paint to make each of the primary colors for your dropper bottles. With food coloring, I add 3 drops of red (or 2 drops of yellow or 2 drops of blue) food coloring to water in a bottle. For paint mixing, I add washable liquid paint to each bottle and add water as needed to make true red, yellow, and blue colors. (With the paint I have, the blue was overpowering and needed a good amount of water added to make a true green when mixed with yellow, etc.)

Pouring Colors Together After Making Brown With Red, Yellow, and Blue

There are a number of ways you can do this activity. I wanted to show that equal parts of two primary colors make a secondary color, and equal parts of all 3 primary colors make brown. My 4-year-old granddaughter, Sophia, loved this activity!

Caleb also loved this activity. After making the 3 secondary colors and brown, we experimented with 3 droppers of one primary color and 1 of another to make a color like blue-green.

More free printables to use with the color mixing during the unit:

Free Printable: Paint Palette Color Wheel from Mama Miss

Free Printable: Color Wheel Mixing Chart Template by Mrs. Allain Art at Teachers Pay Teachers

Free Printable: Primary Colors (Color Mixing) by PreK Kristin at Teachers Pay Teachers

Free Printable: Color Mixing Scientist by Miss Angotti at Teachers Pay Teachers

Multicultural Hundred Chart

On the bottom right side of our themed shelf is our multicultural hundred chart.

Free Printable: Happy Hundreds Chart (Multicultural Kids) by Brenda Troyer-White at Teachers Pay Teachers (Note: There are 2 typos in the printable so that it says 1 instead of 11 and 2 instead of 21. With a black pen, you can easily print the missing numerals on the chart so that it’s correct but still looks very good.)

I just placed a bowl of 100 clear glass gems on the tray. I like that you can see the numbers through the glass gems. They have an appealing feel, which makes them a fun material for young children to work with. Of course, be careful with children who still mouth objects. Glass gems are a choking hazard!

I hope you find these printables and activities helpful!

More Free Colors and Diversity Printables

Free Multicultural Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)

Free Multicultural Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)

Montessori-Inspired Colors and Diversity Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my newsletter to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).

Color Mixing, Grading, and Rainbow Activities

Color Mixing for Kids

More Multicultural Color Resources

Diversity Books for Kids

If you’d like ideas for calendar-based themes throughout February and March, see my February-Themed Activities for Kids and March Themed Activities for Kids.

Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!

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