Spring has sprung! Images of splashing in mud, baby birds emerging from their eggs, and planting colorful flowers all come to mind. Spring is nature’s rebirth and a celebration of all of the beauty Mother Nature has given us. Celebrate new life and its vibrant colors with our Planting a Rainbow activities below.
Planting a Rainbow Book
Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert is a beautifully illustrated book with a simple story about an annual tradition a child and her mother have planting bulbs, seeds, and seedlings together.
Share in their special time by reading about the ways in which the Earth works in every season to bloom a beautifully colored garden.
Planting a Rainbow Activities
Letter & Color Sort
Using craft popsicle sticks, color the top of each of them with the different colors of the rainbow and write the letter that corresponds to the color name on the top as well. For example, R = Red Tulip (or any of the other red flowers mentioned in the text).
Write the name of the flower on the bottom of the craft stick and perhaps a small drawing of the type of flower.
Students can then sort them by colors or by letters/beginning sounds.
“I Spy” Color Walk
Take children outside and play “I Spy” with the colors of the rainbow. For example, “I spy something red in the tree!” and talk about what you see. To keep building vocabulary, ask your students what else they see that is red.
Continue this with each color. If you don’t see something of a particular color, talk about what you may see in that color in another setting. For example, “I don’t see anything yellow outside right now, But inside the classroom, I have a yellow pencil and yellow blocks in the play area.”
Misty Rainbows
Post images of rainbows where all children can see. You can even draw one yourself!
Then, using white cardstock or watercolor paper, have children draw a rainbow with markers, naming each color together.
Once the rainbows are complete, use a small spray bottle of water to mist the rainbows so the colors appear to blur into each other.
Make a connection to the book and talk about how the colors are just like the colors of the flowers and in a rainbow. These would make a beautiful gift for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day!
Shapes and Sizes
Using Lois Ehlert’s signature illustration style, create your own flowers using a collage style with a variety of sizes and shapes! Try this with different colored shapes.
If you don’t have time to cut them out, try these! Arrange them on a plain piece of construction paper and make your own unique flowers!
Related Posts
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities
*Thank you to Katy from Reading Lady Katy for contributing to this post for Growing Book by Book. Katy Klimczuk is a mother of two little ones who lives with her family in the Detroit, Michigan area. She is a former elementary school teacher and literacy specialist who now works remotely as a book curator and blogger sharing her passion for early literacy. She can on Instagram and Facebook @readingladykaty.
Leave a Reply