Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert: Book-Based Activities & Printables

 

Every garden begins with hope.

A tiny seed tucked into the soil, a carefully chosen bulb, or a small green plant may not look like much at first. Yet with sunshine, water, and patience, those simple beginnings slowly grow into something extraordinary. Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert celebrates that beautiful transformation while introducing young children to the colorful world of flowers and gardens.

With vibrant collage illustrations and simple, informative text, this beloved picture book inspires children to observe nature more closely and discover that gardens are filled with patterns, colors, life cycles, and endless opportunities for exploration. It's both a story and an invitation to step outside, dig in the soil, and experience the wonder of watching something grow.

Whether you're exploring plants, spring themes, gardening, or the colors of the rainbow, Planting a Rainbow provides countless opportunities for meaningful, hands-on learning.

What Is Planting a Rainbow About?

The story follows a family as they plant, care for, and enjoy a beautiful flower garden throughout the seasons.

Beginning with seeds, bulbs, and young plants, readers watch the garden slowly come to life. As flowers bloom, they create a rainbow of colors—reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, purples, pinks, and white—while introducing children to a wide variety of familiar flowers.

Rather than following a traditional storyline with characters and conflict, Planting a Rainbow gently explores the rhythm of nature, showing that beautiful things often take time, care, and patience to grow.

By the final page, children see not only a colorful garden but also the rewarding results of nurturing something over time.

Why Children Love This Story

Young children are natural gardeners.

They love digging holes.

Collecting leaves.

Watering plants.

Watching tiny sprouts appear where yesterday there was only soil.

Planting a Rainbow captures that sense of wonder perfectly.

Its colorful illustrations invite children to notice differences between flowers while encouraging them to identify colors, compare shapes, and make observations about the natural world.

The book doesn't rush.

Instead, it invites readers to slow down and appreciate each stage of growth, making it an especially calming and satisfying read-aloud.

Watching Nature Grow

One of the things I love most about Planting a Rainbow is that it reminds children that growing takes time.

In a world where so many things happen instantly, gardens offer a gentle lesson in patience.

Seeds don't bloom overnight.

Bulbs rest beneath the ground before surprising us with flowers.

Every season brings something different.

After reading together, invite children to think about something they've learned that also took time.

Maybe riding a bike.

Learning to read.

Tying shoes.

Growing a garden helps children understand that many wonderful things happen one small step at a time.

If you'd like to continue exploring after storytime, these nature-inspired invitations connect beautifully with the book.

Try These Book-Based Activities

• Plant Your Own Rainbow Garden. If possible, plant flower seeds or bulbs in rainbow order. Even a few pots on a windowsill allow children to observe how different plants grow and change over time.

• Create a Flower Color Hunt. Take a nature walk and invite children to search for flowers in every color of the rainbow. If flowers aren't blooming, use garden catalogs, magazines, or photographs to continue the investigation indoors.

• Build a Garden Sensory Bin. Fill a bin with potting soil, seed packets, small flower pots, garden tools, wooden flowers, pinecones, pebbles, and artificial plants. Children can plant, dig, sort, and create their own miniature gardens through imaginative play.

• Paint With Nature. Collect leaves, flower petals, grasses, and herbs to use as inspiration for watercolor paintings or nature prints. Encourage children to notice the incredible variety of shapes, textures, and colors found outdoors.

• Keep a Garden Observation Journal. Invite children to draw what they notice every few days as a plant grows. Measuring height, counting leaves, and recording changes helps develop scientific observation skills while building patience.

These simple invitations encourage children to care for living things while strengthening observation, vocabulary, creativity, and early science skills.

Exploring the Colors of Nature

Although the title mentions a rainbow, this book is about much more than learning color words.

Children begin noticing that nature contains endless shades and variations.

Not every flower labeled "red" looks exactly the same.

Some blossoms are deep crimson.

Others are soft pink.

Some leaves appear bright green while others have hints of blue or silver.

These discoveries encourage children to observe more carefully and appreciate the incredible diversity found in the natural world.

Books like this help children become thoughtful observers instead of simply naming what they see.

Lois Ehlert's Beautiful Collage Art

Lois Ehlert's signature collage illustrations are immediately recognizable.

Using bold shapes, textured papers, and vibrant colors, she creates artwork that feels both simple and incredibly rich.

Her illustrations invite children to look closely at every petal, leaf, and stem while noticing how smaller pieces combine to create larger images.

After reading, encourage children to create their own collage flowers using scraps of colored paper, tissue paper, fabric, or recycled materials.

It's a wonderful way to explore both art and nature at the same time.

Growing Early Science Skills

Planting a Rainbow naturally introduces young learners to important science concepts without ever feeling like a science lesson.

Children begin asking meaningful questions.

What does a seed need to grow?

Why do some flowers bloom in spring while others appear in summer?

How do bees help gardens?

What happens underground before a flower appears?

Those questions encourage curiosity, investigation, and careful observation—the very heart of scientific thinking.

Sometimes the best science lessons begin with a beautiful picture book.

Extending the Learning with a Book Companion

Some books teach colors.

Others introduce plants.

Planting a Rainbow does both while inspiring children to become gardeners, artists, scientists, and careful observers of the natural world.

My Planting a Rainbow Book Companion extends the story through literacy activities, sequencing, vocabulary, plant life cycle investigations, flower identification, science explorations, writing invitations, and creative art projects that encourage children to revisit the book while nurturing a lifelong appreciation for nature.

Because every flower begins with a tiny seed—and every lifelong learner begins with curiosity.

Final Thoughts

There is something quietly magical about watching a garden grow.

It teaches patience.

It encourages observation.

It reminds us that beautiful things often take time.

Planting a Rainbow celebrates all of those lessons through joyful illustrations and a gentle invitation to care for the natural world.

Long after the final page has been turned, children often find themselves noticing flowers they had never seen before, wondering what might bloom next, and dreaming about gardens of their own.

Perhaps that's why Lois Ehlert's classic continues to bloom in classrooms and homes year after year.

It's more than a book about flowers.

It's an invitation to plant curiosity, nurture wonder, and watch a lifelong love of nature grow.