Dot Sticker Rainbow

Making Rainbows with Young Children

Introduction:

I love rainbows! Every time I see one in the sky, I am excited as a little child would be. Recently, our little seed saw one with us after attending a VBS class. He thought that the next night, he should see another and asked for it. He was excited about seeing it again. I didn’t blame him.

Lesson Source

In Genesis 9:13, we read that God set His rainbow in the cloud as a promise to never flood the Earth again. I am reminded of that promise every time I see the rainbow as well as the story of Noah. It is fun teaching children about Noah and we have created a seven lesson series to accomplish that. The last two lessons concentrate on God’s promise through the rainbow and we create crafts or handiwork depicting rainbows. Here are a few ideas that will jumpstart your rainbow crafts.

We hope you enjoy doing these rainbow crafts with your little seeds! If you are looking for rainbow craft that you can make for your little seed, check out our Creating for the Creator Rainbow Plush. Also, while doing the crafts below, be sing the Rainbow Song with your little ones!

Rainbow Crafts or Handiwork

Sticker Dot Rainbow

The first craft is made with round sticker dots. First, download and print the below file for a rainbow. You will need 3/4 inch colored round sticker dots of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet/purple. If you wish, you could get indigo but I chose the six. I will forewarn you that it is an investment up front, but I use these sticker dots for decorating Joseph’s coat of many colors, the great fish that swallowed Jonah, and as an organization tool. They will last you quite awhile if kept nice in storage. Or you can choose a combination pack of stickers like this one. This is a cheaper option, but you will have some colors left over. I chose to hand the children a strip of colored dots for the color line they were working on, but you may hand them all their strips of dots at the same time and let them decorate their rainbow as they wish. This activity is great for little fingers and they are able to peel the stickers off easily. Older children will take quite some time wanting to get their rainbow perfectly right.

Wiki Stick or Play Dough Rainbow

The second craft is really a handiwork project. You will find a colored rainbow this time on the internet and size it so that you can get six per page. I added a text box in the center of the rainbow and then used the snip it tool to make five copies. Print the page on cardstock and laminate if you desire. Cut out the 6 rainbow rectangles that you have. You can then give your children Wiki sticks or scented play dough that matches the colors of the rainbow. The investment at the beginning may be a great deal, but you can put each child’s in a bag and label with their name. Make sure you seal the bag well so that neither item dries out and can be reused. I teach the children how to make play dough snakes so they can make the arcs for the rainbow, but twos will most likely tear the dough and match it to the color. This is fine, too. It is their creation. Both materials allow the child a sensory experience.

Contact Paper Rainbow

The third and last idea for a rainbow craft I wish to share is created with contact paper and construction paper squares. It is a low cost, simple craft to create. First, purchase a roll of clear contact paper and cut from it a 5 by 7 inch rectangle. Using a black permanent marker draw on the clear side of the contact paper an open rainbow that is 6.25 inches wide and 4 inches high. Cut from 3 primary and 3 secondary colors of construction paper half inch to one inch squares making sure you have enough of each color for each child. Peel the paper off the contact paper and tape the contact paper face up on the surface the children will be working. The children are to stick the construction paper squares onto the contact paper creating their rainbow. When they are finished, the teacher or parent can press the rainbow contact sticky side down to a blue sheet of construction paper that is a little bigger than the contact paper rectangle. If needed, use tape.