Rainbow Unit Part 1

I LOVE COLORS

CHORUS:

I love colors, yes I do!
Red and orange and green and blue!
I love colors, dark or bright,
Yellow, purple, black, and white!

What is red? Juicy Beets!
What is brown? Chocolate treats!
What is white? A shiny moon!
What is gray? A big baboon

CHORUS

What is orange? Carrot sticks!
What is yellow? Baby chicks!
What is gold? Bright goldfish!
What is black? Licorice!

CHORUS

What is green? Grass so high!
What is blue? The open sky!
What is purple? Eggplant shells!
What is silver? Silver bells!

CHORUS

Sometimes I think of colors
one by one by one...
Pink for puffy evening clouds
Yellow for the sun.

I think of watermelon
for something that is green,
or an orange jack-o'-lantern
on the night of Halloween.

I think of purple eggplant,
and sky that's bright and blue,
or white for sneaker laces,
especially when they're new.

Sometimes I think of traffic lights
when they just turn to red,
or else I think how black it is
at night when I'm in bed.

I might think of an elephant
for something that is gray.
I like to think of colors
and have some fun that way.
poem by Vivian Couled

Red, orange, green, and blue
Shiny yellow, purple, too.
All the colors that you know
Show up in the rainbow. Write this on chart paper using colored markers for the color words and voice point as sung.

A traditional color poem that I use in a similar way is:
I Can Read Colors
Orange is a carrot,
Yellow is the sun,
Red is an apple,
And purple is a plum.

Green is the grass,
Blue is the sky,
Black is a witch's hat,
And red is cherry pie!

Note: as you go on into the other colors, a good way for mixing two primary colors to get the secondary color is to put a little of one color on one the child's thumb (tempra paint works fine) & the second color on the index finger--at your signal, have them rub thumb & finger together. Ask them to wait for a signal so they all get the experience on their own rather than someone having done it before they get their paint.

If your clothes Have any Red
Sung to: If You're Happy and You Know It

If your clothes have any red, any red
If your clothes have any red, and red
If your clothes have any red, put your finger on your head,
If your clothes have any red, any red

If your clothes have any blue, any blue
If your clothes have any blue, any blue
If your clothes have any blue, put your finger on your head,
If your clothes have any blue, any blue

Additional verses: If your clothes have any green, wave your hand so you are seen.
If your clothes have any yellow, smile like a happy fellow
If your clothes have any brown, turn your smile into a frown
If your clothes have any black,put your hands behind your back.

Pre-cut shapes from colored paper & laminate (if you have it avalabel) I would do one of each color for each child. Substitute the color each time you sing the song.

Put your Red shape in the air
Hold it high & leave it there.
Put your red shape on your back
Now please lay it in your lap.
Hold your red shape in your hand
Now everyone please stand.
Wave your red shape at the door
Now please lay it on the floor.
Hold your red shape and jump, jump, jump.
Throw your red shape way, way up!

Smell, smell, smell a banana.
Sweet, sweet, sweet is banana.
See, see, see my banana.

My yellow banana is there
See, see, see it is yellow.
Long, long, yellow banana
Smell, smell, smell a banana.
Sweet, sweet, sweet is banana.

Growing in a field
On the farm is a row of yellow corn
Yellow corn
Yellow corn
Yummy vegetable to eat.

Make up additional verses:
Growing in a field
On the farm is a (row or bush or tree) of (color) (fruit/veggie)
(color) (fruit/veggie) .
(color) (fruit/veggie) .
Yummy (label as fruit or vegetable) to eat.

Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It" ~~ Have available a bingo type game board for each child which has pictures of various colors of fruits/veggies...give them squares to cover up the fruit/veggie that you sing about in this song. (The "Fruit Bingo Game" board may be a good board to use with this song...)

If you see an orange pumpkin, cover it now.
If you see an orange pumpkin, cover it now.
If you see an orange pumpkin,
If you see an orange pumpkin,
If you see an orange pumpkin, cover it now.

Make up additional verses for each fruit or veggie on your board.

I'm picking blueberries one by one (pretend to be picking berries and placin in a pail)
Picking blueberries is so much fun. Way up high and way down low (reach up high then reach down low)
Pick the blueberries wherever they grow! (spread arms wide)

I'm picking red apples one by one
Picking red apples is so much fun.
Way up high and way down low
Pick the red apples wherever they grow!
You can make up other verses to fit the color you are focusing on.

The Blueberry Bush (Sung to the tune The Mulberry Bush)
Here we go round the blueberry bush,
The blueberry bush, the blueberry bush.
Here we go round the blueberry bush,
So early in the morning.

Pick the blueberries small and round,
Small and round, small and round.
Pick the blueberries small and round,
So early in the morning.
(Taste the blueberries, ripe and sweet.)

Lemon yellow- make lemonade. Show them how you can squeeze fresh lemons to make your own juice.

If you want to see a rainbow, check the sky.
Just as its raining, look up high.
With the sun behind your back,
you will see the colors stacked.
Oh, I love to see a rainbow in the sky!

The rianbow train is coming to town
coming to town, coming to town.
the rainbow train is coming to town
It's moving very fast!

The rainbow train is full of toys
Full of toys, full of toys
The rainbow train is full of toys
For all the girls and boys!

The red car's filled with bats and balls
Bats and balls, bats and balls.
The red car's filled with bats and balls
For all the girls and boys.

The orange car's filled with puzzles and blocks,
Puzzles and blocks, puzzles and blocks.
The orange car's filled with puzzles and blocks
For all the girls and boys.

The yellow car's filled with dolls and planes,
Dolls and planes, dolls and planes.
The yellow car's filled with dolls and planes,
For all the girls and boys.

The green car's filled with cars and boats,
Cars and boats, cars and boats.
The green car's filled with cars and boats,
For all the girls and boys.

The Blue car's filled with whistles and drums,
Whistles and drums, whistles and drums.
The blue car's filled with whistles and drums,
For all the girls and boys.

The purple car's filled with marbles and tops,
Marbles and tops, marbles and tops.
The purple car's filled with marbles and tops,
For all the girls and boys.

Red and orange, yellow and green
Blue and purple cars I see.
The rainbow train is here at last
I'm glad it came so fast!

Did you ever hear a rainbow,
a rainbow, a rainbow
Did you ever hear a rainbow
FORGET TO SAY PLEASE?

Did you ever hear a rainbow,
a rainbow, a rainbow
Did you ever hear a rainbow say
ICKY OLD PEAS?

Did you ever hear a rainbow
a rainbow, a rainbow
Did you ever hear a rainbow say
______ BROKE THE CHALK? (insert a child's name)

Did you ever hear a rainbow,
a rainbow, a rainbow
No, I never heard a rainbow
CAUSE RAINBOWS CAN"T TALK!

Under The Rainbow (Up On The Housetop)

First comes the rain cloud passing by Dropping raindrops in my eye
Then comes the sunshine up so high
Now a rainbow in the sky
Yea-Yea-Yea who wouldn't go
Under the rainbow, yes, siree,
Under the rainbow you and me.

Barney's Rainbow

Simple and beautiful a rainbow So pretty for the eyes to see
There's red, orange and yellow
green, blue and purple
And it's curved like this you see.

Somebody told me that a rainbow
Has a pot of gold at the end
I don't really know if that's so
But it's kind of fun to pretend
It was made for you and me.

The first umbrella is red.
It keeps rain off my head.
The second umbrella is yellow
For a very lucky fellow.
The third umbrella is blue.
It is one that I drew.
The fourth umbrella is brown.
I will carry it to town.
The fifth umbrella is green
Fit for a king or a queen!

(Suggest that the children draw and color umbrellas as a rainy day activity.)

Umbrellas help in many ways.
This black one is for rainy days.
In summer, when there's too much sun,
I carry this bright yellow one.
This umbrella pink and neat
Fits at the table where I eat.
This red one when I put it up
Looks like an upside-down big cup.

(Ask the children to take out their crayons and hold up the correct color as you red the poem aloud. Suggest that they draw and color their favorite umbrella. Ask, "How many umbrellas are mentioned in the rhyme?" Ask them to say the rhyming words in the poem. Read the poem again and ask the clas to help you with the words.)

Invite discussion about: COLORS

The wolrd is full of colors.
The coldest color I can think of is...
The warmest color I can think of is...
The softest color I can think of is...
The scariest color I can think of is...
When I think of yellow, I think of...
When I think of red, I think of...
When I think of blue, I think of...
When I think of green, I think of...
My favorite color for a house is...
My favorite color for a flower is..
The funniest color I can think of is...
The color that makes me the happiest is...

I see a rainbow.
It is more coloruful than...
My favorite rainbow color is...
If I look uner the rainbow, I will find...
To catch a rainbow, I will...
I can use my rainbow to...
If I had two rainbows, I would give one to...

Cut colored construction paper in half--to give each child a half--making sure each will have a partner to match. Go around in a circle singing this song:

Colors, colors all around
See them here and there
When the singing finally stops
Find a friend to share

As they are going around the circle you could have them either hold the color behind their back or show it as they're walking. At the end of the song, they find the color that would match theirs. Extend this activity by then having the friends that match talk about things that are that color, find something in the room that is that color, etc.

Rainbow, Rainbow, GOLD!!
Play like you would Duck, Duck, Goose!

Color Hop...sing to the tune of Old MacDonald.

I see something that is_____[color].
Do you see it too?
I see something that is [same color].
HOP there if you do.
With a hop, hop here
And a hop, hop there. Hurry up! Hop it up!
Hop as fast as you dare.
I see something that is [color].
Do you see it too?

(Have children tell you what they found.)

Children really enjoy looking through binoculars.
Supplies:

• 2 empty toilet paper rolls for each child
• 2 rubber bands for eachchild
• Colored plastic wrap cut into squares about 4 x 4 inches (adjust as needed)

O Necklaces

Have the children string a fruit rings kind of cereal on yarn or string. Be sure you knot the one end before they start stringing their necklace to prevent the O's from falling off.

Rainbow Stew

• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1 c. cornstarch
• 4 c. cold water

Rainbow Plates

• 2 Paper Plates
• Colored Cellophane
• Glue

Rainbow Snow Slushies

• crushed or shaved ice to fill, 2 tall glasses
• 2 cups milk
• optional flavor, colors or foods, such as food coloring, banana, fruit juices, berries
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons sugar
• icecrusher
• measuring cups and spoons
• tall, large glasses
• mixing bowl,
• blender
• fork or whisk
• long spoons

Cut a half circle out of each of the following colors of construction paper: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Make each half circle slightly smaller than the one before it. Set out the colorful half-circles and let your children take turns arranging them from large to small, one on top of the other, to make a rainbow!

Set out pieces of white paper and crayons in six rainbow colors. Invite your children to create their own rainbow art, drawing whatever they want with the 6 colors colors. Display their artwork in a rainbow shape on a wall or board.

Let your children work together to create this rainbow on the floor. Ask your children to look around the room, collect all the red objects in a pile. Repeat with the remaining 5 rainbow colors. Then let your childrenn arrange the objects on the floor in a rainbow shape. First have them put all the red objects in a big arch, then the yellow objects under them and so on, until the rainbow is completed.

Cut a circle out of heavy paper. Divide the disk into 6 equal sections. Color each section a different color of the rainbow. Poke the circle onto the point of a sharpened pencil. Show the circle to the children. Ask them to predict what they will see when you spin the circle. When the circle is spun, instead of seeing 6 colors, you will see white ( or close to white, depending on the purity of the colors and how equal the sections are). This is the reverse of what happens when a raibow is made from white light seperated into the six colors seen. This experiment take those 6 colors and whirls them together to make white.

• 2lb Noddles( wheels, long tubes) any thing that you can string
• 3 bottles Alcohol
• Food Coloring

Remove the label from a clean, clear 16oz. plastic soda bottle. Pour at least 1/2 cup of light corn syrup into the bottle. Then add a few drops of food coloring and some glitter and/or confetti. Hot glue the lid onto the bottle. Have the children swirl and shake the bottle and watch it's movement. Use a certain color--or a rainbow of colors!

Have each child wear a different color. Eat Froot Loops for snack. Make and eat Rice Crispy treats that are colored with food coloring. Color rainbows or make rainbows with construction paper and do glitter pots of gold at the end.

Another rainbow idea that I have used is to crush egg shells and glue them in the shape of a rainbow on thick construction paper. Now paint the rows of the rainbow. Pre-dye the egg shells with easter egg colors and then glue them on the paper in the shape of the rainbow. They can be dyed either on a hard boiled eggs, or just with the shells.

When ever we make a rainbow, we act out the story of Noah. We put all of our stuffed animals into a boat (made with couch cushions) and the kids are Noah and fam. I always get to be God...LOL! They all carry umbrellas, and I squirt them with a squirt bottle. They totally love it!!! You can finish this story time with the song "Rise and Shine..."

Place a small mirror in a clear glass of water and tilt it against the side of the glass. Stand the glass in a window, in direct sunlight, so that the mirror reflects a rainbow on a wall. Give your children glasses of water and mirrors and let them help you make as many rainbows as possible. Do all the rainbows have the same colors? How many colors are in each rainbow? Are there any double rainbows?

On a sunny day, use a garden hose to spray a fine mist of water across the sun;s rays. have your children stand with their backs to the sun and look for a rainbow in the mist.

Collect 6 empty spice jars and remove the labels from them. Let your children fill the spice jars with water. Add a different color of food coloring to each jar to make the colors of a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet) Let your children line up the jars on a window sill so the sunlight can shine through them.

For each child mix 1 tablespoon Epsom salts and 1 tablespoon water in a baby food jar or a clear plastic glass. Then stir in 1/4 teaspoon of the desired food coloring. Have the children observe over the next few days as the water evaporates and small crystals begin to form. Keep a magnifying glass handy for closer examination.Hint: For the best results, use colors other than yellow.

Cut feather shapes out of selected colors of construction paper and place them in a paper bag. Have the children sit in a circle. let one child at a time reach in the bag and take out a feather. Explain that in order to keep the colored feather, the child must name something that is a matching color (a red apple, a yellow banana, my blue shirt, etc.). Continue the game as long as desired, making sure that everyone ends up with the same amount of feathers.

Pour milk into a shallow glass dish. Drop 4-5 drops of red food coloring into the milk. Drop 4-5 drops of yellow near but, not on the red. You now have a red area and a yellow area. Color magic Pour milk into a shallow glass dish. Drop 4-5 drops of red food coloring into the milk. Drop 4-5 drops of yellow near but, not on the red. You now have a red area and a yellow area. Drop 2-3 drops of clear dish washing liquid between the two areas. Watch the action! Voila... orange! Try this with yellow/blue and red/blue, too!

Fill all of the cups in the muffin tin with water. Place, red, yellow, blue, food coloring in each cup of water. Children use eye droppers to transfer colored water to other cups, thus creating different colors.

Make up 4 cards with a 5x5 grid on them. I used a 6-inch ruler & it was the perfect size for length and width of each box so that it is uniform. Choose 5 shapes (circle, square, rectangle, triangle, oval, etc.) and 5 colors. Draw one of each shape & color per square (Use a 6-inch ruler with a shape stencil so that they were all the same size, and colored them with markers). Do the same with the other 3 cards, but vary the shapes and colors. Next, take index cards & quarter them. Draw one of each colored shape in each quarter & cut the cards. Put these in a container so that a 5th child can draw the card and call out the color and shape to the other 4 players. Use dried beans or whatever as markers (we used mini-marshmallows which made it even more fun!). Laminate the cards so that they will last.

Make a little felt frog, with a wiggle eyes in front, to make him fancy! Make "logs" from different color felt pieces. Put the frog in the middle of the flannel board and the logs all around it. Say: "That Little Frog's FAVORITE game is hide and seek. His FAVORITE place to hide is in our color logs. And if we can sit quietly he just might hide for us today! Now, Little Frog is very shy so we must close our eyes and not peek while he hides!" Then hide the frog under one of the colors. Say something like, "Does anyone think Little Frog might be hiding here today? You do! Well, let's call for him and see!" Then all chant " Little Frog, Little Frog, are you in the (color) log?" Remove the log. "Is he under there? No? Where else might he be hiding?" Etc, until the frog is found. It can be varied with Mouse/House and Cat/Hat.

Colors, by John J. Reiss
Is It Red? Is It Yellow? Is It Blue?, by Tana Hoban
Harold and The Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson

Look around the classroom for objects that may be sorted by color, such as colored blocks, buttons, and jar lids. Provide the children with as many sorting-by- color tasks as possible.

Help the children make color caterpillars. Give the children construction- paper circles, one for each of the eight basic colors. Tape one circle to a classroom wall Add eyes and antenna to make the caterpillar's head. Then invite the children to add a colored circle for each color they can identify.

Cut at shapes out of red, blue, yellow, brown, green, black and white construction paper. Let the children decorate the cat shapes with crayons or felt-tip markers. Attach Popsicle sticks to the backs of the shapes to make puppets. Have the children sit in a circle. Ask them to name the colors of their cat puppets. Then read the poem below. As the children hear the names of colors that are the same as the colors of their cats, have them raise their cat puppets and say "Mee-ow".

When the cat that is red
Is finally fed,
He raises his head
And says- "Mee-ow"

When the cat that is blue
Has nothing to do,
He comes up, too,
And whispers- "Mee-ow"

When the cat that is yellow
Is feeling mellow,
He tends to stretch
And bellow-"Mee-ow!"

When the cat that is brown
Starts stalking the town,
You'll hear his sound
When he cries-"Mee-ow"

When the cat that is green
Is finally seen,
You'll know what I mean
When I say he can really "Mee-ow!"

When the cat that is black
Arches his back,
He has an uncanny knack
Of screeching-"Mee-ow!"

When the cat that is white
Comes into sight,
You very well might
Hear his famous-"Mee-ow!"

Okay, little cats,
Let's hear some "Mee-ows!"
And now it's time
For curtsies and bows.

Oh, Mary is wearing blue
Oh, Mary is wearing blue
High Ho, the derry oh,
Mary is wearing blue.

Make A Rainbow
(Tune:"Skip to my Lou")

Take some cherries; put them in a pot
Stir them, stir them, stir them a lot!
Pour it out now; what will it be?
The prettiest RED - you ever did see!!

Take an orange; put it in a pot
Stir it, stir it, stir it a lot!
Pour it out now; what will it be?
The prettiest ORANGE - you ever did see!!

Take a lemon; put it in a pot
Stir it, stir it, stir it a lot!
Pour it out now; what will it be?
The prettiest YELLOW - you ever did see!!

Take some limes; put them in a pot
Stir them, stir them, stir them a lot!
Pour it out now; what will it be?
The prettiest GREEN - you ever did see!!

Take some berries; put them in a pot
Stir them, stir them, stir them a lot!
Pour it out now; what will it be?
The prettiest BLUE - you ever did see!!

Take some grapes; put them in a pot
Stir them, stir them, stir them a lot!
Pour it out now; what will it be?
The prettiest PURPLE - you ever did see!!

Red and orange, yellow and green-
Blue and purple colours are seen!
Put them together; what will it be?
The prettiest rainbow you ever did see!!

Play this like musical chairs but place a piece of color on the seat of each chair. Have children circle chairs to music. When the music stops, draw a color from a hat and take that chair away.

Paint shapes of different colors on an old sheet (or use an old Twister Game). As you call out the colors, have the children hop on it. Do this with small groups of children at a time, or call children's names to hop on a certain color.

Red and yellow and pink and green,
purple and orange and blue.
I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing along with me.
Listen with your eyes, listen with your eyes and sing everyting you see.
You can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too.
Red and yellow and pink and green,
purple and orange and blue,
We can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too.

One day I mixed up yellow and blue
just to find out what they would do.
I mixed them up and stirred them around,
And you woun't believe the next thing I found.

The yellow was gone ! The blue was no more!
Instead I saw stuff that was not there before.
It happened the day I mixed yellow and blue -
Suddenly I had great gobs of green goo.

Now that sounds strange; just try and you'll see
The very same thing that happened to me.
'cause if you go mixing yellow and blue,
You, too, will have great gobs of green goo!

• Dinosaur Shapes
• Crayola Glitter Crayons
• Extra paper
• Iron

Give each child a man shaped in one of the following colors red, blue, green, or yellow. Have the children listen for their color and move the man accordingly.

Red, green, blue, and yellow:
These are the color fellows.
Hold yours up when you hear it's name.
It's time to play the color game.
Red, Red, move so high.
Reach and try to touch the sky.
Green, Green, move round and round.
Circle up and down.
Blue, Blue, move left and right.
Move until you're out of sight.
Yellow, Yellow, move front and back.
Keep on moving. Stay on track.
Our color game is almost done.
Let's play again: oh what fun!