A manipulative is an object that can be moved around with your hands. Manipulatives help children understand abstract concepts and remember new ones. To link the concept of the letter Y with the color yellow, make homemade molding dough with yellow food coloring. Children can use the dough to make upper and lower case Y's.
Young children respond well to textured objects. On a large poster board draw a large outline of the letter Y. Have the children cover the letter with pieces of yellow yarn. Glue yellow objects such as pencils, crayons, and small yellow Legos to the poster board.
To link new concepts to old, have children look through magazines and cut out Y's and pictures with yellow in them. Help them glue their clippings to a large piece of paper to create a collage. Older students can glue yarn to their collages to spell out words that start with the letter Y.