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Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Rainbow theme for toddlers: a week of activities

A rainbow theme lesson plan for toddlers: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (two or three minutes, on laps), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for toddlersThe whole rainbow week

A day of the rainbow theme with toddlers

  1. Arrival and free play on the floor.
  2. Sing “Doctor Foster” with actions; repeat it while you change and feed.
  3. Hold and pass something real for the week (rain), and say its name.
  4. Snack: a toddler-safe version of fruit kabobs (check the recipe's lines for under-4s).
  5. Outside: a short walk looking for cloud.
  6. Read Rain on the Hat on laps, pointing and naming.
  7. Nap, then the song once more at pick-up.

Rainbow circle time

  1. Hello song: sing hello to each child by name.
  2. Look out of the window together: sun, rain or clouds?
  3. Show the theme: hold up something real and name it.
  4. Sing: Doctor Foster.
  5. Read: Rain on the Hat (level 3).

Infants and toddlers: two or three minutes, on laps.

Rainbow theme books

  • Rain on the Hat (level 3, free on peabody.kids): Rain on a hat, in a pattern.
  • Pit, Pat (level 0, free on peabody.kids): The sound of rain for little ones to tap.
  • Kate and the Puddle (read aloud, level 4): A read-aloud: a puddle, some mud and a pig.
  • Ruby and the Rainy Picnic (read aloud, level 6): A read-aloud: a picnic that gets rained on.

Infants and toddlers: one book, read every day; point and name.

Rainbow craft: Paper-plate rainbow

You need (4): half a paper plate, crayons in rainbow colors, cotton balls, glue stick.

  1. Color stripes across the plate: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
  2. Glue cotton-ball clouds on both ends.
  3. Say the colors in order.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Infants and toddlers: let them touch and hold the materials while you make it; nothing small enough to swallow.

Rainbow song: Doctor Foster

The words

Doctor Foster went to Gloucester In a shower of rain; He stepped in a puddle, Right up to his middle, And never went there again.

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Rainbow snack

Fruit Kabobs from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Letter R activities

RrR is for rain. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Infants and toddlers: skip the trace page; show the picture page and say the word.

Outside activity: Puddle jump

Chalk puddles (or use real ones in boots). Jump in, jump over, walk around.

Rainbow theme for 2 year oldsRainbow theme for 3 and 4 year oldsRainbow theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30