Color Code Challenge

Color Code Challenge is a fun therapy activity for kids that uses a color spinner and matching color cards to support movement, communication, sensory exploration, fine motor skills, memory, and playful participation.

Before beginning, write your own prompts on the blank color cards after printing them out. Each color can focus on a different skill area. Once the cards are ready and the wheel has been assembled, the child spins the color wheel, picks a card that matches the color they landed on, and completes the challenge.

Download this activity in our app!

What You Need

• Color spinner wheel

• Spinner arrow and paper fastener

• 10 blank cards for each color

• Marker or pen

• Optional: small objects, toys, blocks, crayons, or therapy tools

How to Play

1. Write prompts on the cards before playing.
   Use the color categories below to guide what type of activity goes on each card.

2. Place the cards in color piles.
   Keep the red cards together, blue cards together, and so on.

3. Have the child spin the wheel.

4. Pick a card that matches the color landed on.

5. Read the card and complete the challenge.

6. Keep taking turns.
   Play for a set number of rounds, a set amount of time, or until each child has completed several challenges.

Suggested Color Categories

Red — Let’s Move!

Use red cards for gross motor and body movement challenges.

Examples:

1. Hop 5 times.

2. March in place for 10 seconds.

3. Touch your toes, then reach for the sky.

4. Walk like a bear across the room.

5. Do 3 big jumps.

Orange — Let’s Talk!

Use blue cards for speech, language, vocabulary, and communication challenges.

Examples:

1. Name 3 animals.

2. Say a word that rhymes with “cat.”

3. Use the word “happy” in a sentence.

4. Name 2 things you can eat.

5. Make up a sentence about your favorite toy.

Yellow — Sensory Time!

Use yellow cards for sensory exploration, body awareness, and calming activities.

Examples:

1. Find something soft.

2. Take 3 slow balloon breaths.

3. Give yourself a big bear hug.

4. Rub your hands together and notice how they feel.

5. Touch something smooth, then something bumpy.

Green — Busy Fingers!

Use green cards for fine motor, hand strength, grasping, and coordination activities.

Examples:

1. Pinch your fingers open and closed 10 times.

2. Stack 5 small objects.

3. Trace a circle in the air with your finger.

4. Pretend to pick up tiny crumbs with your fingers.

5. Roll an imaginary ball between your hands.

Blue — Silly Challenge!

Use orange cards for playful, confidence-building, and imaginative challenges.

Examples:

1. Roar like a lion.

2. Wiggle like spaghetti.

3. Make your funniest face.

4. Pretend to be a frog.

5. Dance for 5 seconds.

Purple — Brain Boost!

Use purple cards for memory, attention, sequencing, and thinking skills.

Examples:

1. Repeat these 3 words: dog, cup, tree.

2. Copy this pattern: clap, clap, stomp.

3. Name 3 things you see in the room.

4. Remember 2 items, then say them again after your next turn.

5. Follow this direction: clap once, touch your head, then smile.

Ways to Adapt the Activity

For younger children, use simple one-step prompts, visual examples, or model the action first.

For older children, use two-step or three-step directions, add memory challenges, or have them create their own cards.

For group play, let children take turns spinning, choosing cards, reading prompts, or leading the activity.

For home practice, choose just 2–3 colors at a time to keep the activity short and easy.