Today we learned why we have rainbows.  We reviewed the story of Noah’s Ark focusing on the end where they have the promise from God to never destroy the earth again with a flood.  We played with some Noah’s Ark toys and did some Noah’s Ark Crafts..  We also has some more yummy rainbows and did some more science experiments (the kids favorite).

God’s Promise

Discuss: Genesis 9:13 “I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is a sign of my covenant with you and all the earth.”

After a year of floating, the ark was finally on dry ground. Just a few minutes before, it was filled with growling, barking, honking, purring animals. Now the giant boat sat on a mountain top with the door wide open, the boat was all empty and quiet. All the animals had rushed out the door to fill the earth again. So what was Noah doing? He was gathering rocks. He was so thankful to be alive, he was building an altar to God. So Noah piled up the rocks to build a fire on them. This was the sacrifice Noah offered to God to thank him for saving him and his family. God was pleased with Noah’s sacrifice. But most of all, God was pleased that Noah was truly thankful. So God made a promise to Noah, “Never again will I destroy the world with a flood. I make this covenant with you and with all creatures. From this day on, there will always come a time for planting, and a time for gathering up what was planted. Day will always follow night, the warm days of summer will always follow the cold and snow of winter, as long as the earth shall be.” So God blessed Noah and his family. He told them to have many children to fill the earth with people again. He gave them the plants and the animals for food. Then God said to Noah, “Look up in the sky.” Noah looked up. The bright sun was shining, God made a brilliant rainbow appear. God said to Noah, “You see, I have set my rainbow in the sky. This will be the sign of the covenant I have made with you and all creatures, never again to destroy the earth by a flood. It will always remind us of the promise between you and me.” So, the next time you see a rainbow, you can think of Noah and the flood. Remember that God loves you, and that no matter how bad the storm, there will always come a bright new day. That is God’s promise, and God always keeps his promises.

Read: The First Rainbow By Su Box

Comprehension Questions:

1. How many animals did God send to Noah on the ark? Two of every animal. (boy and girl)
2. What did God send as a promise to Noah after they got off of the ark? (A rainbow)

Noah’s Rainbow

Materials:

• 2 paper plates
• paint
• paintbrushes
• Animals and Noah  (I used some that I had from a coloring book)
• Scissors
• Glue

Directions:

1. First, cut one of the paper plates in half and let your child paint one piece brown.
2. Paint a rainbow on the top 3/4 of the other plate. 
3. Color all of the Noah animals and cut them out.
4. Once everything is dry, staple the brown plate to the rainbow plate so that the rainbow is showing.

Noah’s Ark Play

Discuss: God sent the animals to Noah’s ark 2 by 2 (a boy and a girl).

Directions:

1. Set up the Little People Ark and put Noah on it.
2. Line up the animals outside the ark 2 by 2.
3. Children can count by 2’s to see how many animals are on this ark.

Noah’s Ark ABC Puzzle 

We have a wooden Noah’s Ark puzzle that lines the animals up in ABC order.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Discuss:

This is truly where a picture is better than a thousand words. There intense colors have patches of emerald green, orange midnight blue, dull blue, ruby red,lemon yellow, purple, violet greenish gray. They are a small bird generally 11 to 12 inches long, on average females are generally a bit smaller and younger birds have duller markings. They are said to live over 20 years in the wild. Their vocalization is varied from “screeching” in flight to “chatting” during feeding.

Rainbow Bible Verse

Read and talk about the verse with your child. Have the child draw a rainbow over the verse with crayons.

“I have placed my

rainbow in the clouds.

It is a sign of my covenant

with you and all the earth.”

Genesis 9:13

Rainbow Jello

Ingredients:

• Jello for each color of the rainbow
• Knox gelatin (6 envelopes)
• Jello mold or Clear cups

Directions:

1. Mix the purple jello with an envelope of the knox gelatin.
2. Pour in two cups of boiling water. Dissolve the gelatin.
3. Add 1/2 cup of ice. Stir until thick.
4. Remove any remaining ice cubes and any bubbles that may have formed.
5. Pour a little into each clear cup and/or mold. Let set in the refrigerator.
6. Repeat with the blue jello and pour it over the set purple (and then the other colors).

Changing Daisies

Discuss: As the colored water is absorbed, the children will be able to see how the water is absorbed into the plant and will be amazed when the petals of the carnation change color.

Materials:

• Food Coloring (each color of the rainbow)
• Water
• 6 Clear Glasses
• 6 White Daisies

Directions:

1. Place 1 tablespoon food coloring and quarter cup of water in each glass.
2. Place 1 stem of daisies in each glass and wait for a couple of hours.

More rainbow fun that we had this week:

• Rainbow Unit Study
• Day 1 Colors of the Rainbow
• Day 2 God’s Promise
• Day 3 The Color Wheel
• Day 4 Double Rainbows
• Day 5 What Makes a Rainbow