Dog’s Colorful Day activities for preschool
Dog starts his day with one black spot. Then a little red jam lands on his coat, and suddenly there’s something new to count. In Emma Dodd’s Dog’s Colorful Day, the mess grows one color at a time until Dog comes home for a bath. That makes the book a good fit for a preschool read-aloud where children can name what they see, move the story pieces, and help remember what happened first.
Bring a copy from your classroom shelf or library, or find Dog’s Colorful Day on Amazon. The paper pieces in these activities are from the Playtime Felts printable story set. For more stories you can turn into stick puppets and felt board pieces, see what’s inside Storytime Club.
Start with a small pile of pieces
Choose the white Dog with his original black spot, the jam jar, and the Dog with the red jam spot. Keep the other pictures nearby so you can add them as needed. Print on cardstock if you plan to pass the pieces around, and cut around the circles. Tape a wide craft stick to the back of the first Dog picture, leaving enough room for children to hold the handle comfortably.
Keep the jam and color-clue pieces flat for matching and counting. If you want the bath and bedtime pictures to stay on a felt board, add small hook-side dots to their backs and test one piece before setting out the rest. The classroom flannel board guide has more setup ideas. A tabletop or a strip of felt works just as well for building a row in front of one or two children.
Activity 1. Read along with Dog’s stick puppet
Show the first Dog puppet before you open the book. Ask, “What do you notice about his coat?” If someone points to the black spot, name it and count it together. A child who says “one” or points without speaking has already found the detail you need. Turn to the first part of the story and let one child hold Dog up so everyone can see him.
When the red jam appears, let a second child hold up the jam jar. Pause and show the two Dog pictures side by side. Ask what changed. Point to the red spot if the group needs a clue, then count the original black spot and the new red one together. Swap the first puppet for the red-spotted picture as you read. Children can see the change happening right in front of them.
For a small group, pass Dog to a different child after each turn. Give the rest of the group a simple job, such as pointing to the matching picture in the book or saying the color name together. In a larger group, hold the puppet yourself on the first reading and hand out only two or three helper pieces on the second. For more ways to share jobs during a read-aloud, visit Storytime Ideas.
When you reread the book, invite children to predict what Dog will look like after the next mess. Have the next picture ready, but give them a moment to look and guess before you reveal it. They may notice where the new spot landed or point out a color Dog already has. If you’d like a library of stories to act out this way, join Storytime Club for annual access.
As you get to later pages, pick a few of the illustrated props to bring out at the right moment. The bee and yellow splash can cue a quick buzz, and the ball and muddy splash invite a quiet pretend bounce. Show one clue and ask the group to predict the color before you turn it over or show the matching splash. The sound and movement give children another way to participate, especially if they are still getting comfortable saying color words aloud.
Activity 2. Match each mess to its color clue
Set three story clues across the table, starting with the jam jar, the blue paint bucket, and the grassy park picture. Below them, spread out the red, blue, and green splashes in a different order. Show children how to move one splash under the picture that explains it. Start with red if you just read the jam scene. Say, “The jam left a red spot,” while you place the two pieces together.
Now let a child choose a splash. If they pick blue, ask what in the story could leave a blue mark. They can look at all three clues or choose between the bucket and the jam jar. Follow up with “How did you know?” They might say “blue paint,” point to the bucket, or hold the pieces close together. For a follow-up on paper, browse the free preschool worksheet themes and pick one that fits your group.
After everyone has tried matching, mix up the clue pictures and ask the children to put them back in the order Dog met them. Keep the book open for checking. The same pieces now give children a different job as they remember what came before or after. If they’re still learning the story, use only the jam and paint pairs, then add the park on a later day. Let a child tell you how they knew which one belonged first.
Give the pictures another job by holding up one Dog with several spots. Ask a child to touch a different spot each time they say a number. Keep the picture still and count slowly so it’s easier to track which spots have already been counted. Try asking, “Can you find the spot that came from the jam?” It brings the color-matching game back into the story. For another picture-based counting lesson, try The Very Hungry Caterpillar activities.
For a quick extension, look around the classroom for another red, blue, or green object. Set it beside the corresponding pair and let children name what they found. A blue block and the blue paint picture can both belong in the blue group even though they’re different things. You can also invite children to draw their own pretend mess, choose a color, and explain how Dog might have picked it up. To find more picture pieces for color games, explore the Storytime Club library.
Activity 3. Retell bath time and bedtime on a felt board
Gather three circles showing Dog with his colorful spots, the bathtub, and Dog asleep in his bed. Lay them out in a mixed-up order. Ask children to find Dog before his bath and put him at the left. Next, place the bathtub in the middle. Finish with the sleeping Dog at the right. Leave enough room between the pieces for children to move one picture without nudging the rest.
Point to each circle while you tell the ending in three short sentences. Dog came home with colorful spots. He took a bath. Then he went to sleep. Invite a child to retell the same events while pointing, using whichever words come naturally. Another child can move the pieces while their partner talks. See the felt board literacy center guide for ways to set this up as an activity children can revisit.
Take away the middle picture and leave a space. Ask what happened between the colorful Dog and bedtime. A child might say “bath” before seeing the picture, or they might choose it from two pieces you offer. Put the bath back and ask what it did to Dog’s colorful spots. Look at the sleeping Dog together and see if children can spot the black mark he had at the start.
To connect the ending with everyday life, ask what children do before bedtime. Someone might talk about pajamas, brushing teeth, or choosing a book. You can draw one of their ideas on a slip of paper and use it in a new sequence about their evening. For a year of printable stories to use in routines like this one, sign up for Storytime Club.
Leave the three ending pieces in a small basket beside the book for another day. Invite a child to start the story at the bath and then tell you what happened before it. Going backward one step can help you hear which details they remember. If they ask for the beginning, bring back the first Dog picture and the jam jar, and let them decide where to begin.
Use the pieces again tomorrow
You can spread the three activities across a few short storytimes. Start with the puppet and the jam spot. Bring out the matching pairs when children recognize more of Dog’s messes, then save the bath and bedtime sequence for a quieter moment. If the group asks for the book again, let them choose which activity to repeat. Look through the Playtime Felts shop for more story pieces to keep beside your favorite books.
For another read-aloud that gives children a chance to point, match, and name colors, try the Brown Bear read-aloud and felt board activity. Read a little, pause for a child to find a clue, and let them show what happens next. Once the group knows that routine, ask one child to lead the next pause and pick the piece everyone should look for.
