Colors Unit

Apparently blogger isn't allowing me to backdate my blogs anymore.  Normally, I just backdated these and then put the link on the side of my blog...Well if you have kids and are interested in teaching them stuff, I am putting together my lesson plans on what I have done with Ky.  (I figure it would be good for me to have these for later on with Alaina.)  So you will be seeing these unit entries from time to time...Hopefully some of my friends with kids might also be able to get some use out of this.  BTW--I am not spell checking these, the new blogger won't let me-BLAH!

This is a rundown of the unit I did with Kylan on Colors.  Each day was a new color and I had him (and everyone else) wear that color for the day.  If he did not have that color clothing (i.e. pink), I had him wear the 2 colors that make up that color--red and white.  I would also write the word on his hand in that color of marker.  I would ask him periodicially if he knew how to spell the word, or if he knew what the last letter was--this would help him refer to the word often.  Then when we were reading a story about that color-I would also have him find the word on the page.  I also would try to have a meal that was the color of the day--some foods I would simply use a little dye in.  I would also have Ky "Paint" the color word in that color  (write the word in pencil and have them trace using paint).  Then I would put it up on the wall and hang other color related projects under it.  Most books I got from Pinney or Hawthorne library.  A few I used the library hold system for.

Start with the primary colors.

Red

Make a list of things you see that are red.  Write them down using a red marker
Ask them how red makes them feel.  Why they think their cheeks turn red?  Or why fire is red.

Read "The little Red Hen" and Why are animals red?

Say the "Little Red Apple" Poem

Pasta, apples, strawberries, red peppers, red jello are good food options

Make a red collage using, string, ribbon, construction paper, paint, red glitter glue, red fruit loops, piipe cleaner, markers, crayon, stickers..etc...

Blue

Gather together blue items and have your child sort them from lightest to darkest.

Count the number of items you found

Discuss the phrase "I feel blue", ask them how blue makes them feel.  Talk about the calmness/coolness of blue water.

Play Blues music and talk to them about how it makes them feel.

Read Blueberries for Sal and The Blue House and Why are animals blue?

Sing & Dance to Blue Suede Shoes

Have kids paint a blue picture

For a blue meal have blue totilla chips, blueberries, blue milk


Yellow

Ask kids to find 5 yellow things in the room. 

Ask them what things are yellow outside

Talk about the sun and fire.  How does yellow make you feel--happy/sad, tired/energized, Cold/hot?

Read Yellow School bus and Why are animals yellow

Have Macaroni and cheese with pineapple and yellow peppers or squash. 

Have them cut out a big yellow circle with 6 small triangles and make the sun (glue to a piece of paper).

Have them make lemonade from scratch to have with their yellow meal.

Examine the lemon peels with a magnifying glass.

Green

Sit in the grass if you can.
Sing "The Green Grass Grew all Around"
Ask kids to point out things that are green.
Have them go barefoot and talk about how the grass feels undert their feet
Pick leaves from various trees and have kids find which tree goes to which leaf.

Read Green Eggs and Ham and Why are animals green?

Have them help prepare lunch--green eggs and ham (add green dye to eggs, dip ham in eggs and fry.)
serve with broccoli, green apples/grapes, green yogurt

Play Red light/Green Light
Sing "Five Little Speckled Frogs"

On wax paper or finger paint paper--On each side put a mound of shaving cream.    Then on one mound put blue paint, on the other yellow.  Have kids mix each mound and then combine to see what color they make.  Talk about how the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) make the other colors. 

Purple

Have a race to find as many purple things as you can in 1 minute.  Count the items. 

Recite the poem "I never saw a Purple Cow"

How does the color purple make you feel.  Who wears purple (Kings)

Read Harold and the Purple Crayon, Purple Snake eating Lunch

locate a copy of the Purple People Eater

Have grapes, grape juice, yogurt, for a meal

Put shaving cream in a baggy and then add red and blue dye.  Have kid mush bag to see what new color they get.  Cut off a corner and have them "Squeeze" a design on their paper.

Make a bunch of purple grapes.  Make a grape branch with brown marker.  Then have child put thumb in purple paint to make the bunches of grapes. 

Make purple cow shakes--grape juice, ice cream and milk.

Orange

Begin by eating an orange.

Talk about how the color is the same name as the fruit. 

Make a list of things that have orange flavoring

Play "I Spy" with the color orange

Read My New Socks and Why are animals Orange

Have an orange meal--orange juice, carrots, peach yogurt, gold fish crackers

Give them yellow construction paper and a red marker.  Have them draw a picture.  What color does their picture end up being. 

Black

Sing "Two Little Black Birds"

Talk about phrases "black as night, black cats are bad luck"  How do we perceive black?
Then talk about black beauty, black orchids, blackberries to show black is not always bad.

Read Baa Baa Black Sheep, and a book on penguins

Color different colors on a paper and then color black over all of it.  Then give child a coin or toothpick to etch in a design.

Cut out different shapes in black and then give them a white piece of paper to make a design (glue on).

Do something with Dark Chocolate!

Have kids add varying amounts of black paint to color paint to see how it changes the color.

White

Talk about what is white.  How does it make you feel (clean/cold)?

Talk about connotations to white "White as snow, white glove test"

Sing Frosty the Snowman

Read, Frosty the Snowman, It looked like Spilt Milk, book on Polar Bears

Use a large white sheet and play some parachute games

Fold paper into fans and dance (or cool off!)

Cut Snowflakes and hang them

Make a snowman gluing cotton balls on construction paper.  they can also make clouds with them.  The have them "decorate" their snowman.

Provide a bunch of white items and have them guess if they will sink or float (and then try it out).

Make Gak.

Make a game of trying to throw cottonballs into a bowl

Have popcorn and milk for a snack. (cheese, yogurt, ice cream.)

Have kids add varying amounts of white paint to color paint to see how it changes the color.

(Have them combine white and black to see what new color they get!)


Pink

Play "I Spy" with pink

Talk about how when babies are born birth announcements are pink or blue--and how that follows boys and girls through life

What does it mean to be "tickled pink"

Read The pink Refrigerator, book on flamingos

add some red food coloring to milk with pink extract for peppermint milk!

Make a pink pig mask http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/Mask.shtml

Brown

Look on themselves or others for things that are brown

Read brown bear brown bear what do you see. 

Sing "We are going on a Bear Hunt"

Have them watch goldilocks and the three bears.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-stories-goldilocks.htm

Print the activity and cut out and have them order the pictures in the correct order (glue into a book) and retell the story to you.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-stories-goldilocks-activity.pdf

Go on nature hike in search of brown things

provide all paint colors and have them mix them together.  What do they get?  Have them paint their book.

Make Peanut Butter Play Doh

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peanut-Butter-Playdough/Detail.aspx


Gray

I wasn't originally going to do gray, but Ky insisted, so I kind of did a short lesson on the whim.

Pull out nickels, dimes, and quarters.  Have child sort and count them.  Discuss money and what they are.  Have child make rubbings of the money.  (put under paper and color)  Use these printouts to help child sort money.  Can also color. 
http://www.moneyinstructor.com/wsp/pages.asp


Mix black and white paint to show how it makes gray.  Then they can paint some of the activities below.
(I didn't have any prepared books for this so we "read"  the mouse and elephant story online).

http://www.rif.org/kids/leadingtoreading/en/preschoolers/read.htm

Make an elephant and learn about elephants
www.first-school.ws/t/craft/eselephant1bw.html

http://www.rif.org/kids/leadingtoreading/en/preschoolers/explore/elephant.htm


Recite the donkey poem and color

www.niteowl.org/kids/donkey2.html

We didn't do a gray meal, but that could include oatmeal.