March is a great time to learn about rainbows! St. Patrick’s Day includes the symbol of the rainbow for finding the pot of gold. March is also a good time to do a theme on weather, rain and rainbows.

Rainbow Songs and Fingerplays

Rainbow Song (Tune: Hush, Little Baby)
Rainbow purple
Rainbow blue
Rainbow green
And yellow too
Rainbow orange
Rainbow red
Rainbow shining overhead.
Come and count
The colors with me
How many colors
Can you see?
1 – 2 – 3 on down to green
4 – 5 – 6 colors can be seen!
Rainbow purple
Rainbow blue
Rainbow green
And yellow too
Rainbow orange
Rainbow red
Rainbow shining overhead.

Oh Rainbow (Tune: Tune: O Christmas Tree)
Oh rainbow, oh rainbow,
How lovely are your colors.
Oh rainbow, oh rainbow,
How lovely are your colors.
Purple, red and orange, too,
Yellow, green and blue so true.
Oh rainbow, oh rainbow,
How lovely are your colors.

Rainbow Math and Science

Skittle Math
Have a jar filled with Skittles. Let children estimate how many Skittles they think are in the jar. Sort and make patterns with the Skittles.

Make a Rainbow
Cover the end of a flashlight in painters tape leaving only a slit, for light to shine through. Place a handheld mirror in a bowl of water. Shine the light onto the mirror through the water. Hold a white piece of paper to catch the reflection and it will look like a rainbow.

Rolling Rainbows
Fill clear plastic soda bottles with water and put mosaic tiles in them. Allow children to roll the bottles and watch the rainbow colors swirl.

Rainbow Rice
Dye white rice to create rice of each color of the rainbow. Mix all rice together and add to the sensory table.

Rainbow Magic
Needed: Whole milk, Food coloring, Clear bowl or pie plate, Dawn Dishwashing Liquid (blue).

Pour the milk in the bottom of the dish enough to cover the bottom. Add a few drops of food coloring randomly. Put a drop of Dawn on each color or on the side of the dish near each color. Watch! Although you cannot see it, milk contains fat that do not mix with the watery food coloring. Whenever the dishwashing liquid touches the milk, it breaks up the fat which then spreads out. This allows the food color and milk to mix. It will continue on for quite a while. The children can leave and come back and it still will be in motion. The children will find this amazing & some children will watch for a long time. (Be sure to use BLUE Dawn Dishwashing Liquid).

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