It's a Rainbow World

Books to Share

Baby Shoes by Dashka Slater
The Deep Blue Sea by Audrey Wood
Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
Warthogs Paint by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Books to Show or Booktalk

Birds by Kevin Henkes
Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton
Freight Train / Tren de carga by Donald Crews
Red is Best by Kathy Stinson

Bulletin Board

It’s a Rainbow Library!

Cover your bulletin board with a rainbow and add scanned book jackets from books about colors.

Nametag

Rainbow

For each child, make a rainbow shape. Write each child’s name as they enter storytime.

Graphic of a pattern of a rainbow nametag to cut out

Songs

What Color is the Rainbow?

(by Patricia Peters)

What Color is the Rainbow? song (mp3)

What color is the rainbow?
Please tell it now to me.
What color is the rainbow?
Wait! Now I can see.

Red…orange…yellow…
And green…blue…purple.

They’re colors of the rainbow
I know. Hooray for me!

Dance and Movement Songs

What Are You Wearing?

(“What Are You Wearing?” from Storytimes for Two-year-olds by Judy Nichols. Chicago: American Library Association, 2007, p. 65. Used with permission from the American Library Association. Sing to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Use the names of your children and the colors of their clothes.)

Martin* has a red shirt on, (point to shirt; look at Martin)
Red shirt on, red shirt on.
Martin has a red shirt on.
I see him here today. (hold hand over eyes to “see”)

Flannel Boards

“Rainbow Kittens” in Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library by Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Díaz. Chicago: American Library Association, 2006, p. 111. Used with permission from the American Library Association.

Crafts

Fruit Rainbow

Materials

Rainbow patterns copied onto white or a light neutral background paper
Crayons or markers

Directions

Give each child a rainbow pattern page and markers or crayons. Assist children in following the indicators to color the rainbow. Help them identify each fruit and its corresponding color for each stripe of the rainbow. Write each child’s name on his or her rainbow.

Graphic of pattern of a rainbow that has six curved rows with six different fruits at the end

Freight Train

Materials

Cutouts of train cars in various colors. Use Crews’ shapes and colors as guides or purchase Ellison SureCut Die Set—Train which includes four cars (engine, caboose, tank car, and boxcar)
Large sheet of manila paper
Glue sticks
Markers

Directions

In advance, cut out train cars in various colors. Give each child a large sheet of manilla paper and a set of train cars. Assist the children in gluing their train cars to their sheet. If time permits, label each color with its English and Spanish name. Be sure to write each child’s name on his or her work.

A photograph of different types of train cars with labels naming each type.

Games and Activities

Pete the Cat’s Shoes

Help children retell the story of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin. Reread the story, pausing to allow the children to tell you what color his shoes became at each turn. For added fun, invite children to walk on all fours, pretending to step into the various colored things as you read.

Professional Resources

Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library: Partnering with Caregivers for Success by Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Díaz
Storytimes for Two-year-olds by Judy Nichols

Ellison Dies - all Ellison die products, including machines and dies, as well as lesson ideas using Ellison products.