Rainbows/ Colors

Book Ideas: The Teeny, Tiny Mouse by Laura Leuck
“A teeny, tiny mouse and his mommy point out objects of various colors all around their teeny, tiny house.”

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? By Bill Martin Jr.
“Children see a variety of animals, each one a different color, and a teacher looking at them.”

A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman
"A small boy imagines what it would be like to have his own rainbow to play with."

A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni
"The charming story of a chameleon searching for his own color, who ends up finding a true friend."

Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
"Three white mice discover jars of red, blue, and yellow paint and explore the world of color."

Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
"Dog starts off the day with one black spot on his ear. But it seems that wherever he goes, he runs, rolls, and trots right into colors. As he wanders around town, Dog collects spots made of red jam, blue paint, pink ice cream, and more. When he finally arrives back home, Dog has ten different colored spots. And then it's bath time for this colorful canine, who makes learning colors and numbers easy, messy, and fun! "




Activity Ideas:

Idea#1: "Color a Rainbow" Dice Game

Read one of the stories and then play this rainbow game.

You will need crayons, dice, and a numbered rainbow printout.

Take turns rolling the dice and coloring the corresponding number on your rainbow paper. (Example: if you roll a six than you color-in the rainbow band numbered 6.

The first to color all the bands on their rainbow wins.

Activity #2: Paper Plate Rainbow

Read one of the stories and then let your child paint their own rainbow using all the colors talked about in their books.

Cut a paper plate in half and then cut a small semi-circle at the bottom. Draw lines arching across the plate.

Give your child colorful paints and a paintbrush and have them paint each band a different color. This is good fine-motor skills practice to see if your child can steady the brush as they paint between the lines.




Activity #3: Rainbow Mosaic

Read one of the book titles and then make a rainbow Mosaic.

First draw a simple rainbow outline like the photo above.

Next, cut small pieces of paper in each color.

Squirt glue, one row at a time, and have your child smear the glue around using a q-tip. Then let them sprinkle and press down the various colors in each row.

Glue on Cotton balls for the clouds.







Activity #4: Rainbow Toast

Read one of the stories and then paint some edible rainbow toast.

Fill small containers with milk and add a few drops of food coloring to each.

Using a clean basting brush for cooking, let your child paint on the colored milk to their bread. Make sure to tell them only a thin coat of "paint" (Don't let them saturate the bread or it won't toast well). You can use a paint brush if you are not going to eat it afterwards.

Once your child has covered the bread in the colors they want, place the bread in the toaster (you may have to put it in a couple of times to dry out the bread). Enjoy!

Activity #5: Paper Towel Tie Dye

Read one of the stories and explore colors further by making your own colorful designs using a paper towel and some watered down food coloring.

Mix the water and food coloring and place in small bowls or cups.

Scrunch up various sections of a paper towel and loosely place rubber bands around each. Then let your child dip the sections in various colors. You may need to ring out the paper towel to squeeze out the extra liquid before opening up their paper towel to lay flat and dry.

****Another way to do this activity is by using an old medicine eyedropper. Lay the paper towel flat on the table and then let your child squeeze little drops of the colored water on the paper towel in various patterns.

Activity #6: Color Guessing Game/Eye Spy Color Game

Read one of the stories and then play a guessing game. This can be done two different ways.

Version 1- Give your child small paper squares of various colors. Then tell them a clue and have them hold up the correct color square. Here are some possible clues:

"I am thinking of a color that tells us it is night"

"I am thinking of the color of a sunny day"

"I am thinking of the color of fire"

"I am thinking of the color of grass" etc.....

Version 2- Play "Eye spy" using colors as clues. For example: "I spy something orange" and then your child would make a guess of something that is in the room that is orange and continue guessing until he/she guesses the item you were thinking. This is a really good way to assess what colors your child knows.