Introduce colors and poetry together to preschoolers and they will both remain a lasting memory for children. Children learn through sight and touch and when combined with listening, colors and poetry can be enjoyed even more than if taught separately.
Color by Christina Rossetti is a short poem that brings out the colors of nature. Gather the items mentioned in the Color poem for the your preschool aged children to see and touch the textures. It may be difficult to find a swan or violet clouds, so please enlarge the photos on this page and share them as you read the poem, Color, to the children. This will imprint the lesson even more.
Color
By Christina Rossetti 1830–1894
| What is pink? a rose is pink By a fountain’s brink. |
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| What is red? a poppy’s red In its barley bed. |
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| What is blue? the sky is blue Where the clouds float thro’. |
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| What is white? a swan is white Sailing in the light. |
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| What is yellow? pears are yellow, Rich and ripe and mellow. |
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| What is green? the grass is green, With small flowers between. |
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| What is violet? clouds are violet In the summer twilight. |
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| What is orange? Why, an orange, Just an orange! |
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Why do you think the author ended with “just an orange”? Could it be that she couldn’t find any descriptive words that rhyme with orange! Can you think of any words that rhyme with orange? Hmmm…what could they be?
Great poem. After reading it, challenge your grandchildren to borrow the basic structure and write their own color poem!