Preschool Program - Discovering Colors /
Descubriendo los colores

Books to Share

La historia de coloresby Subcomandante Marcos
Los colores de Elmo by David McKee
Spicy Hot Colors by Sherry Shahan
What Can You Do With a Paleta? / ¿Qué puedes hacer con una paleta? by Carmen Tafolla

Books to Show or Booktalk

Color Farm by Lois Ehlert
Colors and Shapes / Los colores y las figuras by Gladys Rosa Mendoza
De Colores and Other Latin American Folksongs for Children by Jose Luis Orozco
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

Bulletin Board

Colors of the World / Los colores del mundo

Cover the bulletin board with white butcher paper.  Using Ellison letter dies, cut out “Colors of the World / Los colores del mundo” from black construction paper and affix it to the bulletin board.

Nametag

Rainbow / Arco Iris

Print out the rainbow templateprovided at the end of this program onto white paper. Cut out the rainbows and let children decorate them with crayons.

Display

Colors of the Rainbow / Colores del arco iris

Display fiction and nonfiction books about colors about colors on a table covered with a bright tablecloth and confetti.

Decorations

Decorate the storytime room with objects in primary colors such as apples, bananas, books, toys, etc.

Refreshments

Skittles Rainbow / Arco iris de skittles

Give each child a small bag of Skittles for a snack.

Incentives

Give each child a rainbow sticker.

Fingerplays

Colores

(Translated by Johana Resendez and Priscilla Celina Suarez)

Arriba el cielo
es azul
cuervos son negros
y las nubes son blancas.

Abajo a continuación
la tierra es marrón
los brotes de las plantas son verdes
y hay muchas flores rojas. 

En algún lugar por ahí
el mar es azul
los peces son color de oro y
puestas amarillas de sol.

Todo lo que nos rodea
es un mundo de colores
del rosa al púrpura
y naranja a sapphire.

Colors

(by Priscilla Celina Suarez)

Up above
The sky is blue
Crows are black
And clouds are white.

Down below
The earth is brown
The plants sprout green
And red flowers bloom.

Somewhere out there
The sea is blue
The fish are gold
And yellow sunsets glow.

All around us
Is a world of colors
From pink to purple
And orange to sapphire.

Songs

“De Colores” in De Colores and Other Latin American Folk Songsby Jose-Luis Orozco

Action Rhymes

Colores del arco iris

(by Johana Resendez and Priscilla Celina Suarez)

¿Arco iris, arco iris
de qué color eres?
¿Eres púrpura o eres azul?
¿Existen hoyuelos de color verdes y amarillos,
O naranja y rojos brillantes?
¿Hay brillantina en tu cara
o una bonita mañana
cuando tu sonríes?

Rainbow Colors

(by Priscilla Celina Suarez)

Rainbow, rainbow
What color are you?
Are you purple or are you blue?
Are there green and yellow dimples,
Or orange and red twinkles?
Is there glitter
In your face
Or a morning sunshine
When you smile?

Rhymes and Poetry

Colores de mi

(by Johana Resendez and Priscilla Celina Suarez)

Today I look at me
and see how bright I am
when all the colores de mi
make me think about how
this bright thought I have
is not of being blue,
but about how much I love you!

Puppet Plays

“The Day the Rainbow Fell from the Sky” in Summer Surprise by Mary Jo Huff

“Whoosh!” in Finger Tales by Joan Hilyer Phelps

Crafts

Rainbow Mobile

Materials

• 5-inch piece of yarn
• Crayons
• Glue
• Hole puncher
• Scissors
• Streamers cut into foot long pieces (blue, green, orange, purple, red, yellow)
• White cardstock paper

Directions

Print the “Rainbow Template” at the end of this program onto cardstock. Each child will color the rainbow with crayons and leave the “cloud” areas white. Children will glue three streamers on the back of each cloud. Hole-punch the top center of rainbow and tie a piece of yarn around it.

Games and Activities

Somewhere in this Room

This game will be played in the format of “Truth or Dare. ” Let the children sit cross-legged in a circle and place an empty plastic bottle in the middle. Children take turns turning the bottle. Before the bottle is turned, call out a random color. The child who the bottle points at when it stops spinning must stand and find an item that color.

Guest Speakers

Invite a local weather forecaster to talk to the children about weather.

Professional Resources

Finger Tales by Joan Hilyer Phelps

Summer Surprise by Mary Jo Huff

Rainbow Nametag

Download this PDF file of the Rainbow Nametag template, cut out the image, and use it as a nametag.