Planting a Rainbow, by Lois Ehlert

This book has bright lively pictures and a simple planting information to help children understand the world of gardening.

Materials

Seed catalogs of any kind
Silk flowers. If you do not have stems, attach pipe cleaners
Small paper plates, one per child
Many triangles cut in rainbow colors. They will be the pedals of the flowers
Long strips of construction paper about ½ inch wide
Large sheet of paper where you have drawn a simple rainbow: using the colors in your color strips.
On a large piece of paper draw a red circle, an orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple circle.

Vocabulary

Catalog-a directory magazine
Soil-dirt
Seedlings-baby plants
Sow-to plant
Petals-a part of the flower on a plant.

Introducing the Story

Show the children the front and back covers of the book. Tell the children that the title is called, Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert. Ask the children what they think the author meant by planting a rainbow? Ask the children if they have ever helped to plant flowers before? What do they think flowers need to grow? (Dirt, water, and sunshine).

Science/Scientific Knowledge;Expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Reading the Story

As you read, stop occasionally on pages and ask the children to name some of the colors that they see. On others, point to a color and name and ask the children if they are wearing that color.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

After Reading the Story

Put the sheet of paper on the wall with the colored circles. Ask the children which color flower they would be if they were a flower. Write their name inside the circle. Count how many of each color flower you would have in your garden. Act out the poem, Dig a Little Hole.

Literacy/Print Awareness & Concepts; develops growing understanding of the different functions of forms of print such as signs, letters, newsletters, lists, messages, and menus. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness if numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.

Music and Movement

Dig a Little Hole

Dig a little hole and put the seed in. Act out digging a hole with your hands.

Cover it with dirt and let the sun shine in. Pretend to cover the hole and lift arms over head.

Add a little water and keep it fed Wiggle fingers like rain

Pretty soon a little plant will show it’s head. Use one arm to grow up towards sky.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes. AND Creative Arts/Music; participates with increasing interest and enjoyment in a variety of music activities including listening, singing, finger plays, games, and performances.

Discovery

At the easel put out red, yellow, and blue paint and encourage the children to mix the colors as they paint. What colors did you make?

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

If you have extra monies to spend, there is a fun science experience using a bag of M&M’s, a plate, and water. Have the children line the edges of the plate with M&M’s. Carefully pour a little water onto the plate so that all the M&M bottoms are standing in it. Then wait. As the color starts to dissolve and run towards the center of the plate, a rainbow will appear.

Blocks

Let the children use colored blocks today and challenge them to make a flower. How many shapes did they use? What shapes did you use? Show me the stem, the leaves, or the petals.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; progresses in ability to put together and take shapes apart.

Art

Give each child a paper plate and show them how to glue the triangle pedals onto it. When they have dried you can cut out stems and leaves or let the children cut out stems and leaves. These make a cute wall display. As the children are gluing the triangles on, ask them about the colors that they are using. If by chance you have foam squares, the colors are much more vibrant.

Creative Arts/Art; develops growing abilities to plan, work independently, and demonstrates care and persistence in a variety of art projects. AND Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activities, experiences, and projects.

Sand and Water

Add dampened sand or dirt to the table and the silk flowers. The children can pretend to plant a garden. Give them spoons or small shovels and watering cans. Do not let them add any more real water or you will have a mess.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Library and Writing

Put out colored markers or crayons and encourage the children to draw flowers, around shapes cut from cardboard, or to practice writing their names.

Literacy/Early Writing;experiments with a growing variety of writing tools and materials, such as pencils, crayons, and computers.

Dramatic Play

Take some of the silk/plastic flowers that you have and put them into dramatic play along with a plastic vase (a mayonnaise jar works well). Remind the children that in the story they picked the flowers and took them home. Encourage the children to make a bouquet for the vase. This can then be left on the table for future arranging.

Dramatic Play; shows growing creativity and imagination using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Math and Manipulatives

Give the children the long strips of construction paper and the large rainbow design. Let the children snip the paper into little squares and glue to the coordinating rainbow arch.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, and hammer.

Outdoor Play

If you are working on a school garden, let the children help by watering and /or planting seeds. Remind the children that in the story, the narrator and mother dug holes to plant the bulbs. Give the children shovels or spoons and let them dig holes in the sand or dirt. How big a hole can you dig? Encourage the children to work together to dig a really big hole

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games or using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Transitions

Dismiss the children to the next activity by naming colors. Put one of each color strip that you made for manipulatives, or puffballs, under a blanket or into a sack that the children cannot see through. Have a child pick out a strip and name the color.

Or have the child find something in the room that is that color.

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.

A Color of His Own, by Leo Lionni

Every animal has his own special color/s except the chameleon. He changes colors wherever he goes. This is the story of a chameleon that wanted to have a special color like all the other animals. It was not until he met another chameleon did he learn how special he really was.

Materials

Seek and find letter C
Several sponges cut into small pieces.
Chameleons for hiding

Vocabulary

Chameleon (a kind of lizard that can change his color)
Heather (a kind of flowery bush)
Camouflage (to be able to hide or change color into the environment)

Before Reading the Story

Tell the children that you are going to play a same and different game today. Have two children (a boy and a girl) come up to the front of the group. Ask the other children to name ways that the two children are different. (He’s a boy, she has darker hair, he’s wearing pants and she’s wearing shorts). After the children have exhausted how the two children are different, ask them to tell you ways they are the same. (They both have arms and hands, they both are smiling, they are both tall).

Scientific Knowledge and skills; observes and discusses common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects.

Ahead of time, make a simple graph labeled, “Our Favorite Colors” and a name card for each child to stick on. Explain to the children that we are all alike in some ways but each of us is also special and different. Not all people like the same things. Pull out your Favorite Color Graph and hand out the name tags. Ask the children to come up and put their name beside their favorite color. When everyone has done so, talk about the colors and how some people like one color better than another.

Literacy Knowledge and skills; recognizes print in everyday life, such as numbers, letters, one’s name, words, and familiar logos and signs. AND Social & Emotional Development/Self-Concept; begins to develop and express awareness of self in terms of specific abilities, characteristics, and preferences.

Reading the Story

Pause on each page so the children can name the colors.

After Reading the Story

After reading the story ask the children why the chameleon was unhappy at the beginning of the story? (He did not have his own special color). What happened to make the chameleon know he was perfect just the way he was? (The other chameleon said that that was the nature of chameleons). How did the story end? (Happily ever after) If you were a chameleon, what color/s would you like to be?

Social & Emotional Development/Social Relationships; progresses in responding sympathetically to peers who are in need, upset, hurt, or angry; and in expressing empathy or caring for others. AND Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and non-fiction, and poetry.

Discovery

Put out red, yellow, and blue stamp pads or paint in shallow dishes. Tell the children that when you mix two colors of paint together you get a new color. Give each child a sheet of white paper. Ask them to dip their left hand in one color and their right hand in another color. Have them print their left hand on the left side of the paper and their right on the right. Ask them what color they think it will make when they mix the two colors together. Then have them make a left hand print and put the right hand on top and mix. What new color did you make? On the bottom of the paper write color left + color right =_____. Have the child repeat the sentence back. Have the children wash their hands before they try two other colors together and see what new color you can make.

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

Music and Movement

Explain to the children that chameleons move slowly. Put on some slow music and have the children move slowly about the room while looking for an object that is a color on their shirt. Find the object and slowly bring it back to the carpet. Name the color. Put the music back on and the children can slowly go and put the object away.

Creative Arts/Movement;shows growth in moving in time to different patterns of beat and rhythm in music.

Blocks

If you have colored blocks or cubes, feature these in your center today. As the children clean-up their structure, encourage them to clean by colors. (Ryan you put all the red blocks away and Paula you can put the green blocks away).

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.

Art

Explain to the children that the illustrator of the story made his pictures by doing sponge printing. Put out small trays of red, blue, yellow, and white paint. Show the children how to sponge print by dipping the sponge lightly in the paint and then moving the sponge up and down, up and down on the paper.

Creative Arts /Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Library and Writing

Chameleons are very good at hiding because they blend/camouflage right in. Ask the children what letter chameleon starts with. Give children a Seek and Find page and ask them to take their favorite color and find all the C’s on the page.

Literacy/Alphabet Knowledge; increases in ability to notice the beginning letter of familiar words.

Sand and Water

Put water in the table today. Ask the children at the table what color food coloring they would like you to add. After they name the color, find a corner of the table and add their color. As you add the second color in a different corner, ask the children what they think is going to happen to the colors when they get mixed.

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

Dramatic Play

Add many colorful dress-ups today (scarves, hats, jewelry)

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; increases abilities to sustain interactions with peers by helping, sharing, and discussion.

Math and Manipulatives

As the children are using the manipulatives today, encourage them to make patterns using color and naming the colors in their patterns.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, and extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Outdoor Play

Make a number of chameleons in colors that are on your playground. Before the children go outside, hide these outside yet in plain view (put a yellow chameleon in a yellow bucket, a brown chameleon in the sand)). Tell the children that there are chameleons camouflaged about the playground today so while they are out they can be on the lookout for them. Bring out a pen and as the children find the chameleons and bring them to you, you can write their name on it. When you go back in the classroom, you can count who found the most.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; demonstrates increasing capacity to maintain concentration over time on a task, question, set of directions or interactions, despite distractions and interruptions.

Transitions

Go back to your Favorite Color Graph and dismiss the children to the next activity by the colors that they chose.

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

Resources

The Mixed-Up Chameleon, Eric Carle

Materials

Poster Board with a simple rainbow design drawn across (see blocks)
Books or pictures off the Internet that show animals camouflaged into the environment.
26-52 Popsicle sticks
Insect page
Chameleons page

Vocabulary

Camouflage (when an animal blends in with the world all around him)
Mixed-up (to be confused about something)

Before Reading the Story

Put a piece of paper on the wall and ask the children what their favorite animal is. Ask them to tell you something that makes that animals really special. Write their response on the paper. I would like to be a ________because______ (A big dog because I could jump on my brother, A butterfly because I could fly).

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Reading the Story

As you introduce the story, hold up the cover and ask the children what do they think it means to be a mixed up chameleon. If no one can answer, explain that to be mixed up means to be confused about something. Ask the children if they can predict what the chameleon might be confused/mixed-up about. As you turn to each new page and the chameleon wishes to be another animal, pause and see if the children can name the animal first.

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; begins to describe and discuss predictions, explanations, and generalizations based of past experiences.

After Reading the Story

Go to the last page of the story (the one with the rainbow). Can the children name the animals and the colors? Ask, “Which animal is the color blue? Which animal has wings? “ Look on your chart from before reading to see if any of the children’s animals matched the ones in the story.

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.

Discovery

Bring in pictures or books that show animals camouflaged in nature. Use these to generate discussion of different ways that animals camouflage into their environment.

Literacy/Book Knowledge & Appreciation; shows growing interest and involvement in listening to and discussing a variety of fiction and non-fiction books and poetry. ALSO Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Music and Movement

Sing Everybody Do This to the tune of Mammy’s Little Baby (Pick a motion/action for all to follow)

Everybody do this, do this, do this,

Everybody do this just like me.

Everybody do this, do this, do this,

Everybody do this just like me.

(Now choose a child to lead)

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

Sing The Rainbow Song (bring pieces of construction paper to hold up as you name the colors while singing) https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/songs/childrens/sing-a-rainbow/index.htm

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. Can you?

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

Blocks

On a piece of poster paper make a simple rainbow using the colors of a block set you have (Legos, Duplo’s, unifix cubes, or small colored wooden blocks). Put out the blocks and encourage the children to match the colors and fill in the rainbow.

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.

Art

Ahead of time, use the chameleons’ page to make chameleons of different colors and cut out. Put these out on the art table with plenty of supplies for the children to collage. Explain to the children what the word camouflage means. You might even bring in a picture of an animal/s that are camouflaged in natural settings. Give each child a chameleon. Challenge the children to camouflage their chameleon within their picture?

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects and materials.

Library and writing

Use the list that the children made during the ‘Before Reading the Story’ Session. Encourage them to draw their animal. Write the name of their animal on a piece of paper and ask them to try to copy the animals name onto their picture.

Literacy/Book Knowledge and Appreciation; shows growing interest in reading-related activities, such as asking to have a favorite book read; choosing to look at books; drawing pictures based on stories; asking to take books home.

Cut out/around each insect on the page. Write an alphabet letter on each one. Take a loop of tape and attach to the insect at one end. Attach a loop of tape to the end of a Popsicle stick. Explain to the children that the chameleon has a very long and sticky tongue like a frog. Tell the children that they are going to pretend the Popsicle stick is their long and sticky tongue and to see if they can pick up letters with it. Make small cards ahead of time with a letter written on it. The child can match the letter to an insect. Ask the child to find a letter that is in their name. To make this more challenging, we have done this with party blowers by attaching the tape to the end and then the children blow it causing it to unroll and catch an insect. You can also include several numbers to see if the children can distinguish letters-numbers.

Literacy/Alphabet knowledge; knows that letters of the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics that can be individually named.

Sand and Water

Put small animals and sand in the table today. Give the children tongs to use to poke around in the sand and pick up the animals. Can they name the animals that they have picked up?

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; develops growing strength, dexterity, and control needed to use tools such as scissors, paper punch, stapler, hammer.

Dramatic Play

Put out any dress-ups that you might have that represent animals. (We have tiger striped gloves, a scarf with a snake looking skin design, several animal tales, and a chicken suit.) Again, take your list of the children’s favorite animal and why. This time ask them to act their animal out. Can they remember any of the animals in the story? What did these animals have that made them special? Can the children act out these animals?

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

Math and Manipulatives

Make many chameleons and color them in 1-3 different colors. Use these to make patterns for the children to copy. ABAB, ABCABC,ACCBACCA. Encourage the children to try to make their own pattern for you to copy.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; enhances abilities to recognize, duplicate, and extend simple patterns using a variety of materials.

Outdoor

Play Simon Says using colors. “If you’re wearing red, jump across the yard. If you’re wearing purple skip across the yard.”

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

Transitions

As the children go to the next activity, ask them to think about and respond to the following sentence; ‘I like to be me because I can__________. ‘ Write their responses on another piece of large paper and hang next to the first chart.

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

Dear Parent- Today we read a story that involved many colors. Think of two colors that your child may not be too sure about and go together on a color hunt looking for that/those colors around the house.

Resources