The Day the Crayons Quit, by Drew Daywalt

Duncan just wants to color but when he opens up his box of crayons, he finds notes from them that explain that they are not very happy. Why? And what will Duncan do so that he can again color with his crayons again? This book is not only a review of colors but hits upon emotions also.

Materials

Color chart
Oil pastels
Crayon letter in an envelope
color domino game
A piece of construction paper in all the colors
Emotion cards
Food coloring

Vocabulary

Quit- to stop doing something.
Proud- happy or satisfied with someone or who you are.
Empty- to feel sad or unimportant.
Persuade- to try to make someone understand your point of view/opinion by giving examples.

Before Reading the Story

Hold up an Emotion Card. Ask the children if they can name the emotion. Ask them to give an example of what makes them feel that way. (Angry-when someone tells me I can’t play with them. When my Mom doesn’t let me watch TV).

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions; and for other varied purposes.

Tell the children that you are going to teach them a new word today. Say the word persuade and ask the children to repeat it. Tell them that it means to try to make someone understand your point of view or opinion by giving examples. Ask the children to persuade to you why your class should go outside early today (Cause I like to run! My sister’s class will be outside and I can say hello). Or why you should not have to wear your jackets when you go outside (I will be too hot, I have long sleeves on). Explain to the children that today’s story is about a box of crayons that are not happy. That they write letters to a boy named Duncan to try to persuade him/explain why to use them more often.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; progresses in abilities to initiate and respond appropriately in conversations and discussions with peers and adults.

Reading the Story

As you read each letter, stop and ask the children if they can tell you in their own words why the crayon was unhappy or had a concern.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

After Reading the Story

Ask the children if they thought that the crayons had a reason to complain? If you were a crayon, what color would you want to be and why? Do you think writing a letter was a good idea for the crayons to do? Why/Why not?

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; shows progress in expressing feelings, needs, and opinions in difficult situations and conflicts without doing harm to self, others, or property. AND Literacy/Early Writing; develops understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes.

Make a letter from the crayons that asks the children to please use all the colors today. Open the letter from the crayons and read it aloud to the children. Ask them if they can think of some things they can draw that use many colors? List their responses and hang it on the wall along with the letter.

Literacy/Early Writing; develops understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem-Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Discovery

If you have a computer, watch How Crayons Are Made with Mr. Rogers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPAF50bdO1U

If the weather is hot, have the children peel the paper off the crayons and sort old broken crayons into plastic cups by color. Put the cups out into the direct sun and ask the children what they think will happen to the crayons? Have the children check on the crayon cups through the day to see and report what is happening. When the crayons have melted, bring them back inside and let the children experiment with them by writing with very softened crayons or pouring the melted crayons onto the paper. Have them discuss what happened, what they are doing, and what they think will happen to the crayons in another day or two.

Science/Scientific Skills & methods; develops growing abilities to collect, describe, and record information through a variety of means, including discussion, drawings, maps, and charts.

Music and Movement

Put on the song Rock Your Bodies to the Colors by Jack Hartman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_oeKDVJTss

Creative Arts/Movement; expresses through movement and dancing what is felt and heard in various musical tempos and styles. AND Literacy/Phonological Awareness; progresses in recognizing matching sounds and rhymes in familiar words, games, songs, stories, and poems.

Sing and Dance to This is a Song About Color by Hap Palmer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-nocdm20g

For children who are able to better follow directions, try Parade of Colors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXTaknCm0lg

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Sing My Favorite Color. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxIpA5nF_LY. As you sing, go around the circle and let the children name their color. The teacher then holds up that color sheet of construction paper as the children sing. Allow every child to have a choice of their favorite color to sing about.

Social & Emotional Development/Self Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Blocks

Put out colored blocks today to be sorted by color and then made into towers of ten.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size. AND Mathematics/Number & operations; begins to make use of one-to-one correspondence in counting objects and matching groups of objects.

Art

At the easel add red, yellow, blue, and white paint today. Encourage the children to experiment making new colors.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

On a piece of white construction paper use tape to make each child’s name. Give the children oil pastels to color the paper. Encourage them to add many colors and to fill the paper in. Make a light wash of watercolor paint over the entire picture. When it is dry, carefully pull the tape off the page. See resources for example.

Creative Arts/Art; gains in ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation. AND Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; identifies at least 10 letters of the alphabet, especially those in their own name.

Library and Writing

Put out crayons today and ask the children to draw using their favorite color/colors/ When they are finished, help them write why it is their favorite color. (Dear blue, you are my favorite color because…).

Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experiences through pictures, dictation, and in play. AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushed, and various types of technology.

Sand and Water

Ahead of time make colored sand to put into the table today. Unfortunately this is a job for the teacher as food coloring will stick to your skin until well mixed. In a bowl add sand and several drops of food coloring. Mix with a spoon. Continue to mix sand and food coloring until your get the color desired. Keep it on the lighter side so that the children’s hands will not be colored by the dye. Make two primary colors and dump into piles in the table. Let the children mix and combine.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Dramatic Play

If your play dishes are in various colors, encourage the children to set a red place setting, a blue place setting, etc.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Math and Manipulatives

Make a domino game for the children to play. On one half of the domino write the name of a color in that color marker. On the other half of the domino make a dot of a color using a marker. Make 20 or so domino pieces and mix them up by colors. The children then use the domino to make chains by connecting color names to color dots. Alternate, use craft sticks. On one end write the color name and on the other end make a dot of a color.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows growth in matching, sorting, putting in series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Outdoor Play

Bring your crayons out to the playground and let the children color outside.

Arts/Creative Arts; begins to understand and share opinions about artistic products and experiences.

Transitions

Dismiss the children to the next activity by colors. (If you are wearing _____ line-up, wash hands, etc). For children who already know their basic colors, introduce words like rust, magenta, violet, lime, etc..

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understand an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary.

Resources

Dear Children, After reading about us we hope that you can think of something that you can draw using all us beautiful colors. Please share your ideas with each other because we really want to be used. Signed, All Your Crayons.

White Rabbit’s Color Book, by Alan baker

White Rabbit explores color mixing by jumping in and out of buckets of paint. This is a nice first story about primary and secondary colors.

Materials

Food coloring, red, blue, and yellow
Empty clear plastic water bottles
Spray bottle of water
Paint samples (can get free anywhere paint is sold)
Playdough recipe and ingredients, see Discovery

Vocabulary

Quick dip (to go for a quick swim)
Royal (to be a king or queen, prince, or princess)

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children to show you a color that they are wearing. (Who’s wearing red? I see green on Mabel’s skirt, Mabel can you show us the green?),

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Reading the Story

Make sure to stop along the way so the children can guess what new color rabbit will be.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; grows in recognizing and solving problems through active exploration, including trial and error, and interactions and discussions with peers and adults.

After Reading the Story

Fill the plastic water bottles up with water. At the rug, drop several drops of red food coloring into the bottle. Now add several drops of blue, what happens? Do this mixing red, yellow, and blue food coloring in various ways. Let the children guess as you work.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to use senses and a variety of tools and simple measuring devices to gather information, investigate materials and observe natural processes.

Discovery

Make play dough with the children today. (Mix together well; 1 cup white flour, .5 cup table salt, 2 Tbls. Veggie oil, 1 tsp alum. In a small cup add .5 cup of warm water and food coloring to make color of choice). Have the children each mix their own and choose their own color play dough. Keep these in small ziplock baggies that are airtight.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss and draw conclusions, and form generalizations.

Music and Movement

Play the Color Song by Hap Palmer, have the children hold up sheets of colored construction paper and follow the songs directions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-nocdm20g

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Blocks

Put out small colored blocks today for the children to build with. As they work comment upon their structures. (I see you used that tall red block on top, What color block will you use next? You are making a pattern of red, blue, red, blue-good for you!, How many square yellow clocks did you need to use to make that wall?).

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their attributes and parts. AND Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; shows growing capacity to maintain concentration over time on a task, question, set of directions or interactions, despite distractions or interruptions.

Art

Today would be a good day to finger paint with red, yellow, and blue. (If you do finger painting on cookie sheets you can do your major clean-up later in the day).

Creative Arts/Art; begins to understand and share opinions about artistic products and experiences.

Library and Writing

Have the child spray a piece of construction paper with water from a spray bottle until paper is dampened. Then have them write their name or draw on the wet paper with magic markers. The colors will bleed from the water and make new colors where they touch.

Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from scribbles, shapes, or pictures to represent ideas , to using letter-like symbols, to copying or writing familiar words such as their own name.

Sand and Water

Put water into the table today and add some food coloring to make the color the child asks for.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; demonstrates increasing capacity to follow rules and routines and use materials purposely, safely, and respectfully.

Dramatic Play

Math and Manipulatives

Collect paint samples in various colors. Make sure to get two of each color sample. Put them in a bowl and let the children sort and match them. For younger children gather a variety of colors, for older children try various shades of the same or similar colors.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such shape, sixe, or color.

Outdoor Play

Bring out a sheet of green and red construction paper and play Red Light, Green Light. The children stand on one side of the playground and the teacher on the other. The teacher turns her back to the children and holds up the green paper shouting Green Light! The children move towards the teacher. The teacher then holds up the red paper and shouts Red Light! and turns around quickly. If any children are seen moving, they must go back to the starting point. The object is to reach the teacher following the red light, green light prompts.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Transitions

Play I Spy using colors. I spy with my little eyes something on the block shelf that is red and has black wheels. I spy with my little eyes someone who is wearing a green and white flowered shirt. Let the children take turns guessing as they move onto the next activity.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; understands an increasingly complex and varied vocabulary. AND Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & problem Solving; develops increasing abilities to classify, compare,and contrast objects, events, and experiences.

Resources

Idea for finger painting.

Mary Wore Her Red Dress, by Merle Peek

Today is Mary’s birthday and her friends are coming to help her celebrate. Sing your way through this folk song and name colors and articles of clothing along the way.

Materials

Pictures of articles of clothing
M&M’s or jelly beans for math
Swatches of various fabrics, two of each
Box of birthday candles/silk flowers
Birthday party supplies, crepe paper, wrapping paper, hats, etc..

Vocabulary

Sneakers (gym shoes)
Bandana (a scarf that you can wear on your head or around your neck)

Before Reading the Story

Talk to the children about their birthdays. Who is the next in your classroom to have a birthday? Who was the last birthday? How many children are 4 and will turn 5? How many are 5 and will turn 6? Let the children share with you any birthday experiences that they choose. (When it was my birthday I had a pink cake. I got a scooter for my birthday).

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; progresses iin abilities to initiate and respond appropriately in conversation and discussions with peers and adults.

Reading the Story

First time through, sing the story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N284P3zpL_4. As you turn to the next page, ask the children if they can name the color.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasing complex and varied spoken vocabulary. AND Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

After Reading the Story

Second time, go back through the story and this time read the pictures with the children. On each page let the children talk about what they see. (What kind of animal is Mary? Where is she? What is she doing? Why is she walking across that log? What is on her head? What do you think is inside the box?) Allow plenty of time for the children to discuss and share their party experiences with one another.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and past experiences; too act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.

Discovery

Make several copies of the clothing and color them. Put a piece of tape on the back or make them into flannel board pieces. On an index card write the colors that you made the clothes (blue=shirt) and color the card to correspond. Now hold up a color card and ask a child to find the piece of clothing that matches the color. The children can match color words to colored clothing. Ask them to name the article of clothing.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Bring in swatches of various types of fabrics. Talk about the textures and patterns that the fabric have. Let the children match the two pieces of fabric that are the same.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape, or size.

Music and Movement

Put on the song This is a Song About Color by Hap Palmer and follow the directions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-nocdm20g

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions.

Use the tune of the story today and sing about the children in your classroom. Go around the circle and ask each child to name one article of clothing that they are wearing today. Sing about it. While you are singing, clap to the beat of the song. What other movements can you do to the beat of the song? (Sean is wearing his cowboy boots, cowboy boots, cowboy boots. Sean is wearing his cowboy boots all day long. Ryan is wearing his dinosaur shirt…).

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characterstics, and preferences.

Sing any song you have about colors, for example, The Rainbow Song. Have the children point to any colors that they might be wearing.

Red and yellow and pink and green,

Purple and orange and blue, black, brown and white

I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems.

Sing the Happy Birthday Song.

Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities, including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Blocks

In the story Mary is crossing a log-bridge. Challenge the children to make bridges (balance beam) today that they can walk across or their cars can drive across.

Physical Health & Development/Gross Motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency, control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Art

Put large balloon shapes at the easel and let the children paint the balloons. When they dry they can be hung up together with yarn to look like balloon strings. Hang near your birthday chart.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; progresses in abilities to use writing, drawing, and art tools, including pencils, markers, chalk, paint brushes, and various types of technology.

Library and Writing

Copy the clothing page to a large format and let the children choose which they choose to color. After they color their clothing article, ask them to describe it. Underneath it write _____ wore her _____all day long (Kerry wore her green and white striped sweater all day long). Put these together and make a classroom book that the children can learn to sing.

Literacy/Early Writing; begins to represent stories and experieinces through pictures, dictation, and in play.

Sand and Water

Dampen the sand add birthday candles and silk flowers. Let the children be a birthday bakery and design cakes.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Dramatic Play;

Add birthday party materials; crepe paper, birthday hats, gift bags, wrapping paper. Let the children play birthday party.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.

Math and Manipulatives

This would be a fun day to do M&M math activities or jelly bean math.

Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to use language to compare numbers of objects with terms such as more, less, greater than, fewer, equal to.

Make three sets of each clothing article. Color one that corresponds with the story and color 2 that do not. Ask the child, can you remember what color shirt, dress, shoes, were in the story? Put out the book and the articles of clothing and show the children how to look up the answers.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading related activities, such as asking to have a favorite book read; choosing to look at books; asking to take books hoe; and engaging in pretend reading with other children.

Outdoor Play

Have the children all line up on one side of the playground. Tell them the object of the game is to be the first to the other side of the playground but you have to follow the directions to get there. Call out different colors and actions. If the child is wearing the color, they may do the action. (If you are wearing red take 5 giant steps, if you are wearing green take 3 skips).

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multiple-step directions. AND Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; demonstrates increasing capacity to follow rules and routines and use materials purposefully, safely, and respectfully.

Transitions

Play I Spy as the children head to the next activity. (I spy a child who is wearing a red shirt with yellow stripes, I spy a child who is wearing black shoes with a white laces)