Tips for Rainbows Year Three
by Ginger Casebeer
Springfield, Missouri
We're really excited about the new Rainbows Year 3 material, and we hope you are too! Here are some theme ideas the writers and other Rainbows sponsors had for using Rainbows Year 3.
Why Use a Theme?
Themes promote continuity, provide opportunities to reuse projects, and save time decorating your clubroom or preparing for activities. Sponsors will be able to bridge several units without a need to create completely new bulletin boards or redecorate the clubroom. Themes also create expectation and a preview for parents, club members, and volunteers. Using theme corners or background habitats as a recurring decoration also helps stretch a budget or a limited Rainbows clubroom area. In addition, themes allow time for creating and including larger projects that require more time or expense than one unit allows. (Look over the ideas given in the "How To Use Themes" section of this article to see some time-saving tips that won't dampen your creativity or limit your teaching potential.)
What Themes Can We Use?
The question isn't what themes you can use, but what can't you use! We have a few ideas to share, but there are many more of you than there are of us. Look at the Theme Scheme section of this article for possible quarterly/yearly themed arrangements of units, or pull out the Units-at-a-Glance in your Rainbows Sponsor Guide introductory pages to see what themes you come up with based on the needs/interests of your club. (Creating a theme using units from both the Rainbows Sponsor Guide and the Year 3 material might be possible for some clubs, too.)
How To Use Themes
Decide which units work for your theme idea. (Check unit contents for season- or holiday-specific material.)
Brainstorm about which units to incorporate to emphasize your theme. (See Theme Scheme for examples.)
Determine what will be used to incorporate the theme and what will apply to unit specifics (i.e., decorations, preclub activities, bulletin boards, crafts, memory helps, etc.). Your overall theme items should need only minor changes, if any, to work for each unit.
Brainstorm about crafts, programs, bulletin boards, or special visitors to be included when the themed units are taught.
Share your theme plans with parents and workers, announcing activities or programs and requesting special help or materials needed.
For more specific examples of how to use themes, see the Theme Scheme below.
Theme Scheme Ideas
Safari, Pond, Jungle, Holidays, Farm, Zoo, Circus, Seasons, Habitats, Animal Types, Topical Studies, Great Outdoors, Sea Creature/Beach
Seasons
Summer (June-Aug)
Beach, Ocean, Water Fun
- Sea Lions
- Toucans
- Dolphins
Fall (Sept-Nov)
Changing colors, Harvest, Thanksgiving
- Lizards
- Raccoons
- Squirrels
Winter (Dec-Feb)
Nativity, Family, Icebergs (or a gallon milk jug igloo), North Pole
- Cows
- Penguins
- Whales
Spring (Mar-May)
Pond, New Life, Growth, Salvation
- Ducks
- Chicks
- Frogs
Celebrate each quarter with season-appropriate activities, crafts, and decorations. Bulletin boards and decorations can include trees bearing cutouts of the children's handprints on different colored paper (green for spring; oranges, yellows, and browns for fall; flower shades for summer; and white "snowflake" hands for winter).
Topics
All About Me (May-July)
Growth charts, pictures of various children from around the world and in different moods, "What I Can Do" play stations
- Frogs (Growing)
- Toucans (Specially Made)
- Lizards (Good Attitudes)
All About Relationships (Aug-Oct)
Interactive play, team projects and activities, family and friend bulletin boards
- Penguins (Family)
- Dolphins (Friendship)
- Raccoons (Cooperation)
All About God (Nov-Apr)
Scenes from Christ's life, pictures of Christian symbols and activities, ministry projects, pastoral/missionary guests, spiritual emphasis on holiday meanings
- Squirrels (Thankfulness)
- Cows (Christmas)
- Sea Lions (Praying)
- Ducks (Follow the Leader)
- Whales (Obeying)
- Chicks (Easter)
Habitats
- Ocean: Dolphins, Sea Lions, Whales, Penguins (Toucans work with a Beach theme.)
- Forest/Pond: Ducks, Frogs, Raccoons, Squirrels, Lizards
- Barnyard: Chicks, Cows, Ducks
Animal Types
- Divide units according to animal classifications: domestic, exotic, land, water, or air animals.
For both habitat and animal type themes, create a background environment on the clubroom walls or bulletin board. Add the specific animal into the background during the unit. Providing animal noses, tails, wings, visors, masks, puppets, etc., for the different theme animals at the beginning of the theme allows the children choices for imaginative play and review. Adding larger play structures (wading pool, "iceberg" or "rock" blocks, bushes/branches, picket fence, etc.) gives a background to lessons and promotes exploration during activities.
When using specific animal types (birds, for example), some crafts (wings, beaks, etc.) can be used for multiple units. Masking tape floor decorations (branches and leaves to "fly" to and perch on) can be reusable backgrounds for low space or multiuse areas.