Enjoying the rainbow as a family

Take your child on a rainbow journey. There’s a little preparation that needs to be done, but it’ll be worth it. Each day, ask them to pick a different colour of the rainbow and enjoy the bright, colourful experience together. Why not find clothing in the colour they choose for you each to wear.

Each colour is comprised of a few tasks and a few questions. Remember, for this, there are no wrong answers. Have fun and enjoy!

Red

Things

Ask your child to name 5 things that are RED in colour (e.g. heart, fire engine, red apple, stop sign, blood)

Feelings

Ask your child how the colour RED makes them feel (it can differ from person to person, angry, excited, loved, hot. There are many feelings associated with this colour)

Tastes and textures

Here's where the prep comes in. Find a red fruit or food item (red apple, strawberry, raspberry, red pepper), cut it up and after blindfolding your child, feed it to them. Ask them to describe it to you and then eventually guess the food item.

Breathing exercise

Find a quiet space to sit down with your child. Ask them to close their eyes and guide them through a breathing exercise. They can be sitting or lying down, it's up to them. Tell them to imagine that they are a dragon. With every deep breath in, they are making a big fire in their belly, and as they breathe out, they need to open their mouths and exhale the fire, making a nice big roaring sound if they want to. This only needs to take 3 to 5 minutes, but you can do it for as long as you’d like.

Physical movement

A RED movement for you and your child to do, is to stand up tall, with both feet on the floor. Make sure your shoulders are relaxed and not inching up towards your ears. Feel your arms straight and strong by your side. Try reach the top of your head towards the sky, standing as tall as you can. As you breathe in, circle your arms up from your hips, and bring them together above your head. Imagine as you’re doing this, that you’re creating the shape of a big fiery flame! Reverse the movement as you breathe out and take your hands back to your sides. Keep breathing in and out, moving this way for as long as you'd like.

Orange

Things

Ask your child to name 5 things that are ORANGE in colour (e.g. naartjie, basketball, goldfish, crab, orange car)

Feelings

Ask your child how the colour ORANGE makes them feel (it can differ from person to person; warm, excited, happy, fun, active. There are many feelings associated with this colour)

Tastes and textures

Here's where the prep comes in. Find an ORANGE food item (Orange, orange pepper, carrot, Naartjie, cooked butternut), cut it up and after blindfolding your child, feed it to them. Ask them to describe it to you, how it tastes, what it smells like, what it feels like in their mouth and then eventually guess the food item.

Breathing exercise

Find a quiet space to sit down with your child. Guide your child through a breathing exercise. They can be sitting or lying down, it’s up to them. Ask them to place both hands on their tummy, just below their belly button. Ask them to notice how their tummy expands as they breathe in, and how it goes down when they breathe out. Mix it up by asking them to take a giant breath in, making their tummy as big as they can, imagining that their tummy is filled with orange light, and as they breathe out, to let their tummy return to normal and breathe out the orange light.

Physical movement

An ORANGE movement for you and your child to do, is to sit on the floor, bending your knees and bringing the soles of your feet together. Knees drop out to either side and the heels of your feet are brought close towards you. You should feel a nice stretch in your inner thighs. Place your hands on your ankles, take a big breath in, sit up nice and tall and as you breathe out, fold your upper body over your legs (bringing your head close to your feet). Keep breathing in and out, keep enjoying the stretch for as long as you’d like.

Yellow

Things

Ask your child to name 5 things that are YELLOW in colour (e.g. sun, sunflower, honey, smiley emoji, butter)

Feelings

Ask your child how the colour YELLOW makes them feel (it can differ from person to person; happy, smiley, relieved, interested, focused. There are many feelings associated with this colour)

Tastes and textures

Here's where the prep comes in. Find a YELLOW food item (e.g. sweetcorn, yellow pepper, honey, yellow cheese), prepare a small portion and after blindfolding your child, feed it to them. Ask them to describe it to you, how it tastes, what it smells like, what it feels like in their mouth and then eventually guess the food item.

Breathing exercise

Find a quiet space to sit down with your child. Ask your child to place their hands on their solar plexus (the area on their belly, above the belly button & just below their ribcage). We’re going to imagine a smiley, happy, yellow face right there, so we need to make sure that we sit up as straight and tall as we can so we don’t squash the happy smiley face. Keep breathing in and out, enjoying the idea that by sitting with a good posture, you’re helping the little face to stay happy. This only needs to take 3 to 5 minutes, but you can do it for as long as you’d like.

Physical movement

A YELLOW movement for you and your child to do together is to lie down on the floor, bending your knees and bringing the soles of your feet to the ground. Place your arms at your sides, with your hands placed palms down. As you breathe in, begin to lift your bottom off the floor, followed by your entire back. Keep your shoulders, neck and head on the ground, making sure to protect your neck, always looking straight up at the sky or at your belly button. Keep breathing in and out, doing your best to push your chest closer to your chin. Imagine that as you lift your belly higher, you’re getting closer to the sun! When you’re ready, start to lower your body back down to the ground. Starting with your upper back, then mid back, followed by your lower back and lastly your bottom finds its way down onto the ground.

Green

Things

Ask your child to name 5 things that are GREEN in colour (e.g. grass, green traffic light, tree leaves, frog, tennis ball, snake)

Feelings

Ask your child how the colour GREEN makes them feel (it can differ from person to person; peaceful, full of energy, sick, hungry, jealous. There are many feelings associated with this colour)

Tastes and textures

Here's where the prep comes in. Find a GREEN food item (green pepper, cucumber, avocado, green apple, lettuce), cut it up and after blindfolding your child, feed it to them. Ask them to describe it to you, how it tastes, what it smells like, what it feels like in their mouth and then eventually guess the food item.

Breathing exercise

Find a quiet space to sit down with your child. Ask your child to close their eyes. They can be sitting or lying down, it’s up to them. Ask them to place their hands on their heart, explain that as they breathe in, their heart fills with a bright shining green light. With every breath in through their nose, the green light shines brighter, while their heart fills with love. As they exhale, tell them to imagine that they are breathing out the green light and spreading love to the whole world. This only needs to take 3 to 5 minutes, but you can do it for as long as you’d like.

Physical movement

A GREEN movement for you and your child to do, is to stand on the floor, with your feet wider than your shoulders, making a nice big triangle with your legs. Imagine that you’re standing on grass and can feel each blade of grass between your toes. Take your hands behind your back, interlace your fingers and stretch your hands away from your back. Imagine that you’re crushing a biscuit between your shoulder blades and push your chest out in front of you. As you breathe in, lean back a little and as you breathe out, bend forward from your hips, taking your head towards your knees. Push your heart towards the grass on the ground and your hands up to the sky. When you’re ready, inhale and raise your body back up to a standing position. Let your hands come back to your sides and smile.

Blue / Purple

Things

Ask your child to name 5 things that are BLUE/PURPLE in colour (e.g. the sky, lavender, the ocean, swimming pools, purple flower, berries)

Feelings

Ask your child how the colour BLUE/PURPLE makes them feel (it can differ from person to person; calm, sleepy, clever, cold, comfy. There are many feelings associated with this colour)

Tastes and textures

Here's where the prep comes in. Find a BLUE/PURPLE food item (blueberry, cooked eggplant, beetroot, grape, cabbage), cut it up and after blindfolding your child, feed it to them. Ask them to describe it to you, how it tastes, what it smells like, what it feels like in their mouth and then eventually guess the food item.

Breathing exercise

Find a quiet space to sit down with your child. Ask your child to close their eyes. They can be sitting or lying down, it’s up to them. They need to imagine a birthday cake with lots of candles in front of them. They need to take a giant breath in, filling their lungs with blue/purple air and as they breathe out, they need to imagine they’re blowing out all the candles on the cake. This only needs to take 3 to 5 minutes, but you can do it for as long as you’d like.

Physical movement

A BLUE / PURPLE movement for you and your child to do, is to get onto your hands and knees, creating a flat table top with your back. As you breathe in, look at the space between your hands, step back with both feet. Breathe out and lift your bottom up to the sky. Use your hands to push into the floor and push your chest towards your thighs. This pose is called downward facing dog. Imagine you’re a dog with a lovely blue collar on. What kind of dog are you? Are you big or small? . Keep doing this for 10 breaths in and out. You should feel a really nice stretch in your back when doing this.

These are suggestions only, if you or a family member have any preexisting food allergies or conditions, please consider this before partaking in of the any of the above. In light of the latest government directive, please follow all recommended hygiene and social distancing advice outside of the safety of your home. Make sure to wash all ingredients thoroughly before use and maintain a high standard of hygiene in the kitchen at all times.