Simple Rainbow Crafts for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Looking for an easy way to make rainbow crafts with toddlers, preschoolers, or kindergarteners? We have two of our favorite ways to make a simple but fun rainbow craft! Either of these crafts is a fun way to make all the colors of the rainbow with younger kids.
Easy Rainbow Craft Options
We have two great options that use all the rainbow colors in a fun way that’s easy for little kids. And both require only a few craft materials to make! Have so much fun making your rainbows together.
Benefits of the Simple Rainbow Craft
Either one you choose to do, both crafts are a great way to practice all the colors as well as practice fine motor skills! The best rainbow crafts for us with little kids are the ones that are simple but still.
Both can also be a fun way to practice scissor skills. Scissors can be intimidating for parents but great for fine motor development, and even older toddlers can practice with these crafts. Check out all our tips for scissor skills here.
When you’re talking about the colors you’re using, you can first work on color recognition. Then, you can work on the rainbow order of colors!
When To Do This Craft
We love making colorful rainbows in the springtime, especially during a rainy day when we may even see a rainbow! This craft is also great for St. Patrick’s Day! We have a whole day of activities for St. Patrick’s Day that this craft will go perfect with here.
This is also a fun way to decorate a spring bulletin board if you have a classroom or a place at home that you display your child’s art. Rainbows are also the perfect craft for the story of Noah’s Ark.
Rainbow Craft Option #1: Paper Plate Rainbow Craft
This first rainbow is made with colored construction paper and a white paper plate! Then, you’ll need scissors and a glue stick to complete the craft. You can either have your child cut out colored squares of paper or you can cut them out before you start.
Here’s everything we used:
- White paper plate
- Colored paper squares
- Glue stick
- Scissors
Paper Plate Rainbow Instructions
First, cut your paper plate in half to get the rainbow shape or have your child cut it in half. Next, glue on the red squares in an arch shape on the large arch part of the paper plate. Then, follow those with the different colors of the rainbow.
The colored squares can overlap, and the point is for your child to practice the glueing and placing the paper. It may get a little off a normal rainbow shape, but that’s okay! Young children may need some help with the glueing, too. This simple craft is more about the process than the final product.
Rainbow Craft Option #2: Rainbow Stripe Craft
This second version of the rainbow is more about learning the order of the rainbow than the rainbow shape. This paper rainbow craft is even simpler than the first one, too, and it’s just a fun activity for little kids.
Here’s everything we used for this craft:
- A white piece of paper
- Colored paper of the rainbow, in strips
- Glue stick
Rainbow Stripe Craft Instructions
First, cut the paper into strips either before you start or have your child cut the strips, too. Then, use the glue stick to glue the strips on in the order of the rainbow. Again, let your child glue on the colored strips even if they’re not perfect, just helping them to keep the order.
After, I trim the white paper to however large the rainbow ended up being when my son glued on the colors. Also optional: you can choose to add clouds or a pot of gold at the bottom of the rainbow.
Adorable Rainbow Craft for Early Childhood
Either option you choose, these rainbows are a great way to make some colorful crafts with young children. You can easily make these on their own or pair them with other rainbow activities for kids.
St. Patrick’s Day Crafts
To go along with the rainbows, try making these simple shamrocks! They are also super easy for little hands to make. Check them out here.
More Springtime/Earth Day Crafts
Another fun time to make rainbow crafts is around Earth Day. There’s so many different things you can make to celebrate the day and the Earth this spring. There’s a full list here.
