A Is for Azure: The Alphabet in Colors — Azure Fun Facts and Prompt!

There are over ten million colors in the world, and that’s just the ones we can see. We tend to learn about the basics, but why limit ourselves? Colors have cool histories, intriguing origins, cultural meanings, wonderful names. Plus, they are often quite beautiful. And beauty is showing promise as a way to help kids (and us!) learn.

With all this rich possibility swirling in the world, we invite you to take a journey into colors—whether you are 5 or 50 or even 85. Use them to teach yourself fascinating things about history, science, language, and culture (maybe even math!). Go on color treasure hunts, taste them or tinker with them. We’re here to send you on your colorful way, starting with azure.

Of course, in our very own alphabet book, we also include old favorites like red, orange, yellow, green, blue (as part of the denim page) and purple. But with 26 letters to illustrate, we also saw a beautiful opportunity: to paint the world from an azure sky to a zaffre goodbye.

How to Pronounce Azure

5 Fun Facts About Azure

1. It seems simple to just say that azure is a variation of blue. But you could also say that azure is a little to the right of blue (assuming you are looking at your color wheel and have it turned so that yellow is on top and blue is on the bottom). You’ll find it just about midway between blue-blue and cyan (an even lighter blue variation).

2. Azure got its name from the Arabic al lazuwar(d) or Persian lāzhuward, which refer to lapis lazuli, the metamorphic rock that gets its rich blue color from the mineral lazurite.

3.The planet Neptune is azure in color, which scientists say is because of some mystery gas in its atmosphere. Methane in Neptune’s atmosphere absorbs red light and creates the bright blue hue. But the planet Uranus has about the same concentration of methane, and its color is more cyan, so that makes scientists think there’s some other compound at work on Neptune they haven’t identified yet.

4. Azure is also known as United Nations Blue, a color used in materials created by the United Nations, like the background color of its flag.

5. People who believe in a psychology of color (the idea that color can affect your mind, whether conscious or unconscious) say that azure is a “color of true contentment, azure inspires determination and ambition to achieve great things, a sense of purpose in striving for goals.”

Take a Color Walk

One great way to become more attuned to the colors around you is to take a color walk. It’s easy to do: simply decide on your color-of-the-day, and look for it wherever you roam. Take pictures, jot notes, or just keep your findings in mind. If you feel so inspired write a color vignette when you get home.

Count Your Colors

For younger color walk participants, we’ve created a special My Color Counting Book that reinforces color names, days of the week, sorting, counting, and adding. Just print and enjoy, at home or for a math or literacy center in the classroom!

Azure Haiku Poetry Prompt

Try your hand at an azure haiku. Use the “fun facts” or findings from your color walk as inspiration if you like. Need more inspiration? Check out our haiku infographic.

Brilliant ink-on-tile illustrations created with a secret process bring the alphabet to colorful life. Children will delight in the rich, poetic language of colors like emerald, jasmine, and quartz—while also meeting old favorites like yellow, orange and purple.

Browse A Is for Azure Now

Related Article at Huffington Post: 5 Picture Books to Make the School Year Beautiful—And Why Beauty Even Matters for Kids

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T.S. Poetry

Helping you get inspired. With poetry & poetic things.

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