Join Harold as he draws his way through a wonderful adventure using his purple crayon as his guide.

 Materials

• Paint chip samples (these can be gotten free most anywhere paint is sold)  Get 2 of each sample that you collect.
• Waxed paper cut into 8 inch strips
• Yarn, many colors or just one. Cut into lengths of 6-12 inches

Vocabulary

• Adventure-a journey or an exploration to some place new or special.

Before Reading the Story

            Ask the children if they can think of things that are red. Younger children may only be able to name concrete items in your room. Older children should be able to use their minds eye to recall things that they have seen that are red. Do this also with one or two other colors ending with asking, “what is purple”? After the children have named any purple things that they can think of, tell them that the story today is about a purple adventure. Explain to the children that an adventure is to go on a journey or exploration to someplace new or special. Give the children time to respond (My Mom and Dad and me went to the beach and spended the night, I like to go to the park). Tell the children that your story today is about a boy named Harold who goes on an adventure with his purple crayon.

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

Reading the Story

As you read the story, slow down at parts where Harold is drawing. Can the children guess what he is going to draw by looking at the picture and listening to your clue? (He needed something to walk on, he didn’t want to get lost in the forest so he made just one, suddenly he realized what was happening, picnics made him hungry, etc).

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

 After Reading the Story

            Ask the children to recall all the things that Harold drew with his purple crayon. Ask the children if they might be able to guess what color crayon Harold liked best. Take 4 different color crayons and put them in 4 areas of your classroom. Ask the children to walk to the color that they like best. Count the number of children at each color station. Leave the one with the most children and add 3 more colors. Ask the children to again walk to the color that they like best.   Again, count the number of children at each color station. Which one had the most this time? If the same had the most both times, announce that today the color ______had the most votes. If a different color had the most votes, take the top two colors and put them out. Have the children walk to the color that they like best. Count how many children are at the two color stations. Then say, after this final color vote today, the color ________had the most votes.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from book sand experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story.  AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.  

Discovery

Put out red, blue, and white paint at the easel today, encourage the children to make shades of purple.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; shows increased awareness and beginning understanding of changes in materials  and cause-effect relationships.

Music and Movement

Go on a Bear Hunt with the children.

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

Blocks

Ask the children if they can remember something that Harold made on his adventure. Encourage the children to try to build whatever it was that Harold drew that they recalled. (a boat, buildings, a sidewalk)

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from book sand experiences; to act out stories in dramatic play; and to predict what will happen next in a story. AND Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; demonstrates increasing ability to set goals and develop and follow through on plans.

Art

Put out the many pieces of yarn that you have cut from 6-12 inches in length. Put out bowls of school glue with forks. Show the children how to dip a piece of yarn into the glue and then lay it on the waxed paper. Allow the children to add as many pieces of yarn as they like but tell them that they all must cross over another piece of yarn. Once the children have finished their yarn art, lay it flat to dry. When completely dry, carefully peel from the waxed paper, attach a string/yarn, and hang it from the ceiling or door frame.

Creative Arts/Art; develops growing abilities to plan, work independently, and demonstrate care and persistence in a variety of art projects.    

Sand and Water

            In the story Harold made an ocean. Fill the table up with water today  and  float and sink items to explore.  Science/scientific Skills & Methods; begins to participate in simple investigations to test observations, discuss differences, and comparisons among objects and materials.

Library and Writing

            Put out purple crayons, markers, and pencils today. Encourage the children to draw their own adventure. Write their dictations of their artwork or adventure on the bottom of the page or on a piece of paper attached.

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

 Dramatic Play

            In the story Harold drew a picnic. Encourage the children to use a small blanket and a basket to pretend to cook and go on a picnic adventure. Move your dramatic table out of the way and have the children set up their blanket on the floor and spread out all the foods they cooked.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; participates in a variety of dramatic play activities that become more extended and complex.  AND Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; shows increasing abilities to use compromise and discussion in working, playing, and resolving conflicts with peers.

Math and Manipulatives

            Put out your pairs of paint samples for the children to match. For younger children I usually put out maybe two shades of green, two of red, etc.. For older children I put out many shades of similar colors so the children must really examine and sort. Try using many shades of purple today with the children.

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

Outdoor Play

            If you have a parachute, take it outside today and play Color Change. Have each child hold a loop or a color on the parachute. Practice making waving motions up and down while holding onto the parachute. This works best if you have two teachers evenly spaced. Once the children have the hang of making the parachute wave up and down, call out a color as you begin an upward wave. “All children holding red run under the parachute”! The children holding red let go and run under the parachute and come back out to hold on somewhere else before the parachute makes a down wave. Continue until the children lose interest.

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

Transitions

            Dismiss the children to the next activity by colors today. If you are wearing the color ______, you may go line up. Have the children show you the color on their clothing.

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

Dear Parent, today we read a story about a boy who drew many objects using his purple crayon. Give your child paper and crayons/pencil and encourage them to draw you something special. Or help your child review their colors by going on a color walk through the house. How many things can your child find that are purple in 3 minutes? Play this game using several colors that you may be helping your child to learn.