READY TO ROW:
Kick-off Breakfast:
I thought a rainbow breakfast would be PERFECT to kick off this unit.
We’ve done SO many rainbow breakfasts through the years – rainbow pancakes, french toast, buttered bread, and hootenannies. After considering all options, I decided to prepare color mixing bagels for breakfast.
Parker LOVED this breakfast choice. Bagels are one of his favorites and he was really excited to color mix.
He had fun mixing the colors with cream cheese. He captured his own color mixing concoctions.
Story Disk:
First, Parker colored the story disk. Then he placed it on California.
Cover Art:
After discussing a few ideas, he decided to make the iconic clock tower from “It’s a Small World”. This was a perfect choice. He also added a “pocket full of colors” and the hot air balloon from the ride.
BIBLE:
Memory Verse:
I created a Bible verse printable for this row.
You can purchase your copy HERE at our TPT Store.
Parker used the copywork page to write his Bible verse.
God’s Promise:
I thought it would be fun to create a Rainbow – God’s Promise Bible unit. We began our study in Genesis as we read about Noah – the one godly man God found.
Every day, Parker read a chapter of the story of Noah (Genesis 6-9).
Afterwards, he started creating a rainbow of hearts with color swatches from the story. We would read the story daily, collecting color words that he would match on a white heart. In all, he collected eight sets of colors – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet and pink.
We added the rainbow above our school tree. Our “Color Your World with Kindness” unit started where our Noah Bible study ended.
Color Your World:
We need to color our world with kindness. That doesn’t mean we compromise our beliefs or values.
I always think of this video. It’s simple yet poignant. Little gestures have a big impact as others. A simple act of kindness may lead to a question that gives us an opportunity to share our faith. It’s so important, as christians, to deal kindly with difficult people or those with differing opinions or beliefs. Jesus walked this earth helping people everywhere.
The Golden Rule
Parker read about the “Golden Rule” in Luke 6:27-31. Afterwards, he read the devotional by Minno Kids about this wonderful principle.
The Good Samaritan
Parker read the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. Afterwards, he read the devotional by Minno Kids about this timeless lesson on kindness.
The Popularity Principle
Parker read Proverbs 3:5-6, noted as “Words to Treasure” in his NIRV Bible. Afterwards, he read the devotional by Minno Kids about this treasured passage of scripture.
Acts of Kindness:
Parker read Luke 5:17-26, the story of the paralyzed man whose friends carried him to the roof and lowered him through the ceiling so that Jesus could heal him. Afterwards, he read Matthew 6:1-4, to give and do for others secretly, without drawing attention to yourself. In our family, we call drawing attention to ourselves, “ringing the bell”. Don’t proclaim what you’ve done for others
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Geography – Ways to Travel:
I knew this unit would grow beyond the initial “travel from home” suggestion.
We read It’s a Small World Golden Book to get a better idea of all the places Mary researched.
Next, Parker reviewed a youtube clip of the ride from our Pocket Full of Colors Playlist.
He wrote down all the places mentioned as they appeared on the ride. His “places to travel” list was growing.
Before mapping out the locations, Parker read The Seven Continents.
Afterwards, he labeled the seven continents on his world map.
Next, he read Living in a Rain Forest.
Afterwards, he color-coded the rain forests around the world.
Then he read Learning About the Earth Oceans.
Afterwards, he added the five oceans to his world map.
Transportation:
We continued our “Travel Around the World” unit, by listing all the ways a person could physically travel the globe to the places mentioned in the story and on the It’s a Small World ride.
Next, we expanded our transportation unit by exploring the ways we could physically travel the globe. First, Parker read Transportation by Gail Gibbons.
By LAND:
Traveling by land is probably the easiest choice if our destination is close by. We could travel by car, bus or even train.
Parker decided to read Trains by Gail Gibbons.
By SEA:
For places farther away, we might take a boat. Parker read the Boat Book by Gail Gibbons.
By AIR:
We could also travel by air for both places near or far. Though we have many options to choose from, airplanes would probably be the most common choice.
Parker read Flying by Gail Gibbons.
Disney:
Before talking about Disney’s Easter Eggs, we took a moment to learn more about Walt Disney himself. he was such an integral part of this story. Walt believed in Mary and her colors. In fact, she was the one person Walt had in mind for developing “It’s a Small World”, one of the most iconic rides of all time.
Parker watched the first episode of Imagineering on Disney +.
Afterwards, he read Rookie Biographies Walt Disney to learn more about Walt Disney.
Easter Eggs:
Our kids definitely like looking for Disney Easter eggs in everything they watch. We also look for FIAR Easter books in everything we read and see. My personal favorite is when my kids have lightbulb moments in real life.
The best was Jordan at a farm trying to navigate through a difficult corn maze. He was struggling and remembered a lesson from Harold and the Purple Crayon. It was the importance of getting a high vantage point to see better and help navigate a difficult terrain.
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Story Review:
I created a Pocket Full of Colors Story Review for this row.
You can purchase your copy HERE at our TPT Store.
Language and Color:
For this unit, we studied each of the colors mentioned in the story line. Parker collected a list of reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, indigos, purples and pinks. This color collection was tied to our “Color Your World with Kindness” Bible unit.
Parker wrote the names in his FIAR notebook and slowing began adding descriptions for each name.
I added our Let’s Fill Buckets of Kindness activity to our Story Review. You may wish to make an extra copy of hearts to use for making your own “Color Your World with Kindness” rainbow.
MATH:
Beauty in Math:
After reading the manual, Parker watched this “Beautiful Math” clip on our playlist.
SCIENCE:
Geographical Features Dictating Cultural Colors:
Parker and I read through this story many times paying close attention to the colors Mary collected. After the story was more familiar, Parker recorded each and every color. We used our color collection in Bible, social studies, math and science.
You see how collecting colors helped Mary create a “world of color” for Walt Disney. Afterwards, we read It’s a Small World, though geared for younger children, it was perfect for this lesson on cultural colors. Each page of illustrations burst with Mary’s colors.
Rainforest:
Our cultural colors unit quickly led into a deep dive into the rainforest.
We read many wonderful picture books about the rainforest habitat.
Layers of the Rainforest CRAFTivity:
Parker and I created a Layers of the Rainforest CRAFTivity for this row.
You can purchase your copy of this CRAFtivity HERE at our TPT Store.
I set out our supplies ahead of time.
Parker and I cut and pasted everything together.
We read about the layers of the Rainforest in our Rainforest 3D Pop-Up Explorer book.
Parker colored, cut & pasted pictures as we read about the various animals and plants in each layer.
Butterflies:
Since we were already studying the rainforests, it seemed fitting to read about Maria Merian. I really wanted to read Summer Birds, but I was unable to get a copy in time.
As a replacement, we read The Bug Girl, another version of Maria Merian’s story.
We actually had some monarch caterpillars that we were feeding with milkweed. They created beautiful chrysallis and eventually emerged in time to release outside.
Flora & Fauna:
We reviewed the concept of flora and fauna many times for several different rows. For this particular unit, we focused on the flora and fauna of the rainforest in the Amazon jungle.
Parker read In the Rainforest by Kate Duke.
Parker began coloring the animals and plants associated with each layer of the rainforest. He then sorted the flora and fauna.
FINE ARTS:
Learning Colors by Name:
After reading through the book several times, Parker created a master list of color names. Slowly, he looked up the description for each color in the list.
Mixing Paint to Label:
I found the world of color matching really interesting. It is difficult to gauge colors online versus in person. I happened upon Pantone Colors on our EPIC app. It’s definitely geared for younger children, but we used it as a platform for discussing all the colors that fall under the general color description like “yellow”.
Then we went online and dove quite a bit deeper into the world of color matching. It was really interesting.
Parker also read Color by Ruth Heller and really enjoyed the interactive colorful pages.
Color Theory:
Parker completed color worksheets from our Story Review.
We also read several wonderful books about color on our EPIC app. The Color Collector was a perfect fit for this row.
Creative Corner with Mary Blair:
Parker and I read about Mary Blair in our Women in Art 50 Fearless Creatives Who Inspired the World book.
We also read Mary Blair’s Unique Flair by Amy Novesky.
I brought out our Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and Cinderella books. They were all Disney Books illustrated by Mary Blair.
We also included a fun Creative Corner worksheet for students to record Mary’s color collection.
HELPFUL LINKS:
Pinterest Board:
You can find most of the activities, ideas, and printables from this post on our Pocket Full of Colors Pinterest Board.
Youtube Playlist:
As with our other rows, we created a Pocket Full of Colors playlist with read-alouds, music, science, and other clips.