R is for Rainbow

CJ and I got off to a bit of a rough start this week when she woke up with her first-ever fever yesterday. This morning she was fine, and we had a good time reading books and doing some art about rainbows- perfect for St. Patrick's Day coming up!

Lois Ehlert is one of my favorite authors, and Planting a Rainbow did not disappoint. The story begins in fall when a mother and child plant bulbs. In winter, they order seeds, and in spring they head to the garden center for plants. The book get progressively more colorful as it goes on, ending in a lovely bouquet of flowers in every color of the rainbow. To go along with the book, this morning we read it again, and then CJ made a collage. I got the idea here, and got there via this helpful site- Easy Fun School.  

Another book CJ has enjoyed quite a bit is A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman (of Corduroy fame).  This sweet story published in 1966  tells the story of a little boy who sets out a catch a rainbow. And he does catch one- in his imagination. When the little boy comes home, he finds a real one in very own room shining through his window.

When I started looking for books about colors and rainbows, I remembered a post my new blog friend Steph  wrote awhile ago about a cute book called Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh. We've read a few other books by this author, and CJ really gets into them. This is more of a color mixing story than one about rainbows, but you have to be flexible, right? :o) The three mice experiment with various colors, and then find out that they can make even more when the colors are mixed. It's a simple story, but CJ remembered it when we began our painting adventure below.

I gave CJ three bowls of paint, one each for red, yellow, and blue. First she painted with cotton balls (top left), then a paintbrush (top right), then Q-Tips (bottom left), and last but not least- her hands.

 

After yesterday, it was such a treat to do normal things like read and paint!

Comments

[Mom and Kiddo]

Thanks for the good links! I always need ideas. We like Freeman's book a lot, too. I never read it as a kid, but it was exactly the kind of book I would have loved and so of course, I love reading it now. Lots of art! Kiddo seems to be the only kid who doesn't like getting his hands dirty. Whenever he gets a smudge of paint on his fingers he insists I clean it off immediately! No finger painting for us. Only recently have I been able to get him to even touch playdough.

[Steph]

What a coincidence! I just got home from raiding Doug's classroom of construction paper, our library has Planting a Rainbow, and the book goes right along with our current theme! I'll pick it up Thursday, thanks for a great idea :)

[amanda]

I'm glad CJ's over her first fever! That's one milestone that is definitly no fun at all.

Looks like you picked a great crop of colorful books! Ivo loves A Rainbow of My Own. The Elhert book and Mouse Paint look familiar but I don't think we've read them yet. I just put them on our library list. The art extensions from the book are great. Looks like fun :)

Thanks for the link, too!

[Kate in NJ]

First fevers are scary..glad she is ok now.
Love the art work!!

[Maddie, Mad Rambling Mom]

I love the cotton ball painting, I have been looking for a fresh new idea... and there it is! Thanks.

[Heather]

I used to use Mouse Paint when I was an elementary school art teacher (and now my kid have it). I can't remember the name now but there was a cute kitten one too that I liked for color mixing.

[Art lover]

Since I was not allowed to acquire one of the artists paintings, I'm hoping for one of her new medium in stone. Advise me on the availability.
ART and GRANDDAUGHTER LOVER

[Ray]

Hi! Looks like you have an artsy kid there! I would like to recommend Chinese New Year Coloring Pages for your kid. It is a fun activity that will your kid learn about chinese culture.