THE COLORS OF SPRING
Each season has its own color, and the colors of spring are especially beautiful. Let’s see if we can decide what the colors of spring are.
Discussion:
1.Various and assorted picture books and teacher reading/discussion of those books’ illustrations). **Start with “Do You Hear the Wind Sing.........” “Wildflowers, Where are You?”
2.	What colors do you think are spring colors? Try to remember what you see growing in your gardens at home, our walks in the herb garden, in the woods behind the school.
Graph what colors children say they remember seeing
3.	Who thinks they might be wearing a springy color?
4.	What color do we see most of in spring?

Goals: To continue fostering an awareness of the specific attributes of each season
Objectives: (1) children will learn that spring has its unique color pallet (2) observation skills (3) writing skills (4) math and graphing skill reinforcement (5) sensory awareness (6) children will learn common wildflower names and colors 
Activities:
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Old magazines
Scissors
Small cardboard box
Inside Procedure:
1.Have children spend time cutting out all shades of colors from magazines ( about 6-8 is a good number.
2. each child then puts his choices of colors in a small envelope with name on it.
OUTSIDE PROCEDURE: - The Game
1. Each child takes a color out of his envelop and tries to match it up perfectly with a color we see growing.
2. When he matches the color he brings it over and places it in the “Colors of Spring Box”
3. Give each child photocopies “colors of spring paper) for him to record his observations of where that color came from, etc. (pull from Print Shop Disk to run off)
INSIDE AGAIN—WHOLE GROUP 
1. Large floor graph or wall chart.
2. Pull colors out of Color of Spring Box and chart the colors we have found. 
3. Discuss variance in shades of color—lavender, purple—periwinkle, pink, neon pink, etc.
4. See what colors are predominate.
5. Do we think we will see those same colors in winter? In summer? In fall? What colors do we see most of in winter? Fall? Summer—can you think of summer colors?

BIG BOOK
1. Divide into small groups
2. Each group will have their recording sheets on “The Colors of Spring”.
3. Each group will make their own Group Big Book with their sheets and further illustrate drawing their favorite wildflower and it’s common name. Author: Illustrator:
Extension:
What wildflower has the silliest name?
The prettiest name?
Which is our favorite wildflower? Why? 
What do the colors of spring make us feel like, think of? 

INSECTS AND COLOR—Outdoor activity—pull from disk on activities and add) 
Discussion: Insects go to flowers looking for nectar. The colors of the flowers attract different insects --(flowers sing to the insets with their colors). 
Materials Needed
Colored Construction Paper in various colors cut to 12 x 12 inches
Chart paper
PROCEDURE:
On sunny day -- (try to run this in with flower color day—time permitting) -- maybe have afteroon snack outside weather permitting—while we observe for a time 
Lay colored squares of construction paper on grassy area or in herb garden area Observe which insects visit the different colored squares Chart which color attracted the most insects.
MAKE A FLOWER:
5-day requirement—morning craft/science - rotate 4 kids a day till done. 
Materials Needed:
Green construction paper
Various “Color of Spring” colors of construction paper
Tagboard tracers in shape of flower parts (petal, sepals, stamen, pistil, leaf)
Scissors
Tape
Flexible Straw
Hole puncher
Goal: How does a flower work?
Objectives: (1)children will understand that a flower has different parts, what those parts are and a beginning basic understanding of the purpose of those parts (2) vocabulary development (3) fine motor skills (4) listening (5) following directions
METHOD:
 (5 petals, five sepals, one pistil, six stamens, and two leaves)
How does a flower work do you suppose? Let’s find out. You know, it takes a little while for a flower to grow, and we are going to “grow one”—but this time with paper so we can take it apart and see what its parts are and what they do for the flower.
Place teacher-made model of flower on bulletin board and label each part with the corresponding number the child has to trace and cut out.
1. Each child will select from the va rious colors his own preference for a spring flower color.
2. Each child traces the appropriate number of parts in the color needed.
3. Poke the straw, which will be the flower’s stem, through the middle of the sepal -- remember to remind they have to use the hole puncher to punch the whole in the sepals!
4. Push the narrow end of the petals into the end of the straw (may need teacher/aide assistance).
5. Push the pistil into the straw in the same way.
6. Arrange the stamens in a circle around the pistil by pushing them into the straw, too.
7. Tape leaves to the lower part of the flower.

We will now have at the end of the week a large assortment -- 20--of The Color of Spring. And place in wicker basket outside our door!

ENRICHMENT/REINFORCEMENT
1. Pistil—the female or girl part of the flower. When pollen (bees) brushes onto the top, pollination happens.....The Sunflower--(read it before hand)
2. Sepals - the protection for the flower when it is still a bud (sort of an armor) Lots of things in na ture have armor.
3. Stamen - anthers that make pollen. Pollen sticks to insects that come visit and then the insects carry it to other follows
4. Petals—the really pretty part of the flower—the part that sings of spring and calls to insects to tell them “Hey, I have some good nectar inside”!
5. Stem—a strong stem—just like our strong legs—to hold the flower up. 
Further extension is class can handle---
Colors—white daisies attract lots of insects
Purple foxgloves (witches thimbles)--sing to bumblebees
Yellow flowers like buttercups sing to a lot of small and tiny insects. What do you suppose would happen if you wore yellow on a sunny spring day?