QUICK STARTS FOR PURPLE
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Finger paint with red and blue paint. |
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Make “Purple Cows” – milk and grape juice mixed. |
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Dye hard-boiled eggs purple. |
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Look for purple grapes and egg plant at the grocery store. |
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Draw with purple markers. |
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Make purple play dough. |
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Eat grape popsicles. |
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Look for lilac or purple flowers at the flower nursery. |
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Make a purple collage using purple paper scraps, yarn and feathers. |
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Make purple fingerprints or paw prints with a paw stamp. |
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Make up a purple story. |
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GRAPE PRINTS
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Set out purple paint pads (place folded paper towels in pie pans and pour on purple paint. |
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Set out corks and sheets of paper, plus a large cluster of purple grapes. |
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Have your children dip cork ends into the purple paint and make circle prints on their paper in the shape of a bunch of purple grapes. |
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PURPLE TULIP PRINTS
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Set out purple paint pads (Like those found above) and background papers. |
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Cut thin sponges into tulip shapes. |
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Have children dip the shapes into the purple paint and press purple tulips all over a piece of background paper. |
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Set out green crayons or markers for children to add flower stems and leaves, if they desire.
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PURPLE HAND PRINT TULIPS
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Set out small jars of purple tempera paint and paintbrushes. |
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Give your children large sheets of white or light blue construction paper. |
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Show your children how to paint the palm of one hand with purple paint, then hold their fingers and thumb together and press the hand onto their paper to make a hand print. |
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Have children repeat the process if they want more than one tulip. |
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When the paint is dry, give your children green markers to add stems and leaves to their tulips. |
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PURPLE NAME CROWNS
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Make a 2 by 20-inch crown out of purple construction paper for each child. |
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Before taping each crown, lay it out flat and write the child’s name on the center of the crown using a pencil. Make large letters. |
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Give the flat crowns to the children and have them paint over the letters in their names with a cotton swab and some glue. |
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Then one at a time, lay the crowns in a large box lid and let the children sprinkle purple glitter over the letters on their crown. |
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When dry, wrap the crowns around each child’s head and secure with tape.
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PURPLE MAN PUPPETS
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Give your children circles cut from purple paper. |
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Have children draw faces on the circles. |
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Set out some purple Easter grass for children to use for purple hair. |
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Set out large craft sticks to glue to the back of the circle head, for a puppet handle. |
| Extension: Let children add purple paper, straight or accordion folded, or purple yarn arms and legs if they desire. Also purple paper hands and feet. Let children use their puppets to sing purple songs. |
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PURPLE COW PAINT
Here is a recipe for a glossy purple milk paint that children enjoy.
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Mix together 1 cup condensed milk with red and blue food coloring. |
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Let children use the paint to paint, paper Easter eggs, or cow shapes. |
Note: Condensed milk paint dries slowly and is tacky for a long time. When it fully dries (2-4 days), however, it has a great gloss.
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PURPLE BUTTERFLIES
You will need coffee filters and food coloring for this activity.
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Mix up some water with red and blue food coloring. |
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Set out some brushes and have your children paint their filters with the purple water. |
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When the filters dry, have children scrunch them in the middle and twist a small purple Chenille stem around the middle, leaving the two stem ends sticking out for antenna. |
| Variation: You could also have your children make purple flowers by having them fold their purple filter in fourths and then twisting the Chenille stem around the pointed corner. Then fold out the filter, curling edges down. |
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FIVE PURPLE BALL PICTURES
After you have done the activity below, you may want to have your children make ball pictures. You will need purple dobbers for this activity.
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Cut out pictures of outdoor scenes for your children. |
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Set out the scenes along with some background paper and some glue. |
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Have children choose a scene and glue it to their background paper. |
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Then, have them take a purple dobber and make five purple ball dots bouncing across their pictures. |
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FIVE PURPLE BALLS
You will need five purple circle stickers for each child.
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Help children place five purple circle stickers on the nails of five fingers. |
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Have children turn their hands around, so the stickers are out front. |
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Then have your children recite the following number rhyme and hide fingers as the rhyme indicates.
Five purple balls bounced by a door.
One bounced inside, that left four.
Four purple balls, bounced by a tree.
One bounced behind it, that left three.
Three purple balls with nothing to do.
One bounced home, that left two.
Two purple balls, bouncing just for fun
One bounced away, that left one.
One purple ball, bouncing down the street.
I took it home when it landed at my feet.
Jean Warren |
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PURPLE PUZZLES
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Let your children use purple crayons and markers to draw pictures on pieces of heavy paper. |
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Cut each child’s picture into several puzzle pieces and store them in a zip-lock bag with the child’s name on the bag. |
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Set out all puzzles on a table and let children choose a puzzle (not their own) to try to put together. |
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After a couple of days, let each child take home their own puzzle.
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PICKING PURPLE
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Set out a pile of small items on a table (make sure you have 4-5 purple ones). |
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Set out a purple basket (or box painted purple). |
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Let your children take turns sorting through the small objects and placing just the purple ones in their basket. |
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When their turn is over, have the child dump the purple items back on the pile and mix up the items before another child has a turn. |
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PURPLE BUTTERFLIES
Here is a fun movement game for your children.
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Collect a variety of purple scarves. |
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Tie two of the scarves together and let your children take turns placing them across their shoulders and grabbing onto the ends with their hands to create purple wings. |
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Have them pretend to be butterflies as they gently flap their purple wings and “fly” around the room. |
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Encourage your children to use the scarves in other ways by turning them into capes, skirts, or whatever they imagine.
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PURPLE LITERATURE
Read popular children’s stories to your children that stress the color purple. Such as;
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“Harold & The Purple Crayon” by Crockett Johnson. |
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“Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse” |
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“Bread & Jam For Francis” by R. Hoban |
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PURPLE PIE
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Read the poem “Little Jack Horner” to your children. |
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Discuss plums and what color they are. |
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Now brainstorm other purple items. (They do not have to be food) |
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Then let your children take turns reciting the poem and substituting other purple objects for the plum.
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PURPLE COW
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Read the rhyme, “The Purple Cow” to your children. |
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Have them make up a story about a cow who ate some purple grapes and ended up giving purple milk. |
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PURPLE STARTS WITH “P”
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Point out to your children that the word purple starts with the letter P. |
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Make the P sound together. |
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Ask your children to name as many different P words as they can, such as pig, penny, pony, popcorn, pie, puppet, puddle and pen. |
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SHAVING CREAM LETTERS
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Set out a cookie sheet for your child. |
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Spray a glob of shaving cream onto the center of the tray. |
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Add a drop of red and blue food coloring. |
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Have your children mix the colors into the cream. |
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Then, have them use their finger to draw letters in the purple shaving cream.
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PURPLE INK
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Save the juice from the small can of blueberries found in packages of Blueberry Muffin Mix. |
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Set out a small cup of the berry ink along with some cotton swabs. |
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Give your child some heavy white paper and have him dip a swab into the ink and write letters on his paper. |
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PURPLE PLAY DOUGH
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Make a batch of purple play dough. |
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Have your children roll out long ropes of dough. |
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Show them how to fashion letters from the dough ropes. |
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PURPLE POSIE FUN
Try one or more of these ideas with your group.
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Go for a walk or to a garden center to see purple flowers in bloom. |
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Bring in a flowering purple plant for your children to care for; such as crocus or violets. |
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Use purple flower pictures cut from seed catalogs to make garden mural. |
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MAKING PURPLE
What happens when red and blue are mixed together? Try these experiments with your children to find out.
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Use food coloring to make red and blue ice cubes in a clean plastic-foam egg carton. Drop one red and one blue ice cube into a glass of water and wait for a new color, purple, to appear. |
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Squeeze drops of red and blue food coloring into a clear-plastic bottle of water. Fasten the cap securely, then roll the bottle to blend the colors and create purple.
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PURPLE SNACKS
Try serving one of these foods at snack time.
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Grape juice |
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Purple plums |
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Purple grapes |
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Grape jelly on toast |
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PURPLE COWS
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You will need milk and grape juice. |
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Mix the two together to make a “Purple Cow” treat. |
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WE LOVE PURPLE
Tune: “Frere Jacques”
We love purple.
We love purple.
Yes, we do.
Yes, we do.
Purple grapes and eggplant,
Purple plums and grape juice,
Just for me, just for you.
Heather McPhail
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I NEVER SAW A PURPLE COW
I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see one.
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one!
Traditional
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LITTLE JACK HORNER
Little Jack Horner
Sat in his corner,
Eating his Christmas pie.
He put in his thunb
And pulled out a plum,
And said, “What a good boy am I.”
Traditional |
PURPLE DINOSAUR
I met a purple dinosaur
Walking down the street.
He had a purple head
And four big purple feet.
He had a purple basket
With purple things inside.
And everywhere he went,
Purple things, he would hide.
One day when I was out,
I found a plum pie,
I guess the purple dinosaur
Was somewhere close by.
Another time, I found
An eggplant by my door.
What a busy fellow
That purple dinosaur.
Some days I find grapes,
Some days, purple pops.
Some times I find violets,
Or purple spinning tops.
So if you see a dinosaur
Coming down your street.
Wait until he passes,
Then search for purple treats!
Jean Warren |
