Homemade Book: Surprised by Colors

M gave me the idea for making this book by her "rainbow style" of coloring.

I thought it would be neat to introduce her to the concept that the full range of colors is more varied than the list of basic color names she learned when she was a toddler.  The world is so beautifully complex; it is a privilege to be able to point that out to children as a demonstration of God's amazing creativity. 

M really took to this project.  She enjoyed helping to color the pages and learning new names for colors. 


Directions for Child: Take your huge box of crayons, and spread them all on the floor (even the tiny, stubby ones). Divide the crayons out into blues, greens, browns, pinks, reds, oranges, yellows, and purples. On each page use all the many different shades of the listed color to completely cover the page. Use whatever design you think is most beautiful. Now, read your colorful book!

Text:
The blue in the ocean isn’t just one kind of blue.
It’s azure and periwinkle, aqua and saphire.

The green in the grass isn’t one kind of green.
Oh no! It’s emerald and olive, pine, teal
and viridian.

The brown in the dirt isn’t just brown.
It’s sepia and chocolate, chestnut, mocha
and tan.

When you look at the sunset do you see all the
pinks? Rose and salmon, blush,
coral- even magenta.

Roses come red, but it’s more exciting than that.
They’re scarlet, maroon, cherry, vermillion.

Fall leaves turning orange, but can you
say more? Rust, tangerine,
terra cotta, pumpkin.

Canaries aren’t just one shade of
yellow, of course. Their feathers are
chartreuse, buttercup, mustard, and crème.

The purples in an iris go deep, deep, deep.
There’s lavender, orchid, amethyst, indigo,
and sometimes eggplant.

God gave us much more than we think.  When we look we will find, and find, and find! 
To make the book, I folded several small pieces of cardstock in half, punched two holes down the center and tied the holes together with a piece of ribbon.  I covered the text and pictures with packing tape (for lamination) because it made it easier for M to color without messing up the words.

I've attached the page with the pictures I used in case you are interested in making a colors book with your preschooler.