Rainbow Hike

Rainbow Hike

This activity can be easily adapted for preschoolers as well as older elementary age children. It is really geared toward 1st through 3rd graders

The objectives are: to become aware of the colors in nature, to identify items in nature that correspond to a certain color.

Background:	Everything in nature has color. Some colors are more abundant that others, however, all colors are visible. Green is the most common and blue is the least common.
Skills:	The children should know the basic colors.
Age:	Grades 1 - 3
Materials:	a box of crayons or paint chips (from the paint or hardware store)
Activity:	Explain to the children that everything in nature has color. They are to find items that match their color. Give each child a crayon or paint chip. If you have very young children, you may want to divide them into groups and use a box of eight crayons. Take a short walk outside and give each child or group of children an opportunity to match the color to something in nature. You may want to keep a record of the items found.
Discussion:	Once they have found at least one item that matches the color, ask them to identify the item. Have a short discussion on where those items fit in their world and its purpose. If the area is rich with plants, discuss why the plants are different colors (certain birds, bees, butterflies and other insects are attracted to a particular color. They assist with pollination.) Find out if any of the plants can be used as natural dyes.
Adaptations:	Take this hike several times a year to see the changes in the colors around them. For older children, use a variety of shades of one color. This activity increases their ability to discern the variations in color.
Brownie Try It!	Outdoor Adventure (Hike)

Resources:

Flowers: A Guide to Familiar American Wildflowers
A pocket book that contains information on about 200 of the most common American wildflowers. I like to use this book because it groups the flowers by colors and the pictures make it easy to match to the treasure that the children find.

Birds (Golden Guides) has pictures of the most popular birds along with maps that indicate the location in which the bird is found. Children find that birds do come in an assortment of colors including orange, blue, and violet. It's a great book for beginning birders and children

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