Spring is here, and so is all the beauty that comes with it! Spring happens to be one of our favorite times of the year. It's during this time, that the weather gets warmer, everything begins to bloom, and nature in general, feels bright and full of color. One special colorful phenomenon, are rainbows! Rainbows are fun and exciting, and come together under the most specific conditions. Seeing a rainbow, is guaranteed to put a smile on anyone's face. What is a better theme for fun and creative learning, than creating with rainbows! In this post, we will list different awesome sensory activities, all about rainbows!
1. Rainbow Bunny ice painting
In this cute little craft, children will make their very own rainbow bunny paintings using ice water.
You will need:
- ice cube tray
-water
-food coloring
-toothpicks
-construction paper
-markers
-Plastic wrap
Start off by pouring water into your ice cube trays. Make sure you have enough for each color. Next, take your food coloring, and add a few drops of each color into a separate section of the tray. For some colors, you may have to mix certain colors together. You can use this, as an opportunity to practice going over your colors, and asking the children which two colors when mixed will make another color. When you're finished, take your toothpicks and stick them into each section of the ice cube tray. Finally, take your plastic wrap and cover the whole tray, making a small whole for your toothpicks to stick out of. Let your water freeze until you have solid ice cubes. When your cubes are ready, take them out and you can begin using them for your paint. You can have the children draw out their own bunny shape, or you can use a free printable bunny stencil. Your children can have fun as the mix the colors together, and observe how the ice melts into a different design around their paper. You can also point out what colors they are using, and if they can make the bunny into a full rainbow with different color body parts. Ex. red ears, orange nose, blue feet etc.
2.Scented Rainbow Water color paint
In this next activity, children will make their own D.I.Y scented paint!
You will need:
-plastic cups
-spoons or Popsicle sticks
-construction paper
-paintbrushes
-powdered jello or kool aid
This is a really awesome activity, that let's children use their sense of smell to create cool pieces of art. Using just powdered jello or kool aid, children are able to make their own scented rainbow paint. Start off by gathering your cups, and adding one tablespoon of your powder to each cup, making sure you have some of every color. Take 1/4 cup of warm water and pour it into each of your cups. Using your Popsicle sticks or spoons, mix the water and powder. Now you can start painting! You can ask your children to see if they can guess which scent is which. They can draw their own scented rainbows, or even the scents that they smell. Ex. Drawing red cherries or purple grapes. As a bonus, you can even add 2 tablespoons of glue to the mixture, and let it dry creating your own scratch and sniff paintings!
3.Rainbow Garden
For this activity, children will make their own rainbow garden using flowers and even fruits and veggies!
You will need:
-flowers (real or fake)
- different color fruits and veggies (cut up into small sizes)
-glue
-construction paper or plastic bowl
Start off by asking the children to list off all the colors in the rainbow. Once they have their list, ask them to write down either fruits and veggies that are those colors, or start collecting and dividing your flowers. Children can also practice their math skills, as you ask them to count how many flowers/fruits/veggies do they have of a certain color. Next, begin arranging your flowers into your rainbow pattern, gluing all of them to the construction paper. If you are using a plastic bowl, begin arranging all your fruits and veggies into the bowl in a swirling rainbow. This activity is simple, yet fun and let's your children be as creative as they want with their flowers and food. As a bonus, if you aren't using glue with your fruits and veggies, this is a great taste safe activity, and you can also make rainbow smoothies of each color!
4. Rainbow Spaghetti
For this yummy activity, children will make their very own rainbow spaghetti!
You will need:
-spaghetti noodles
-food coloring
-small bowls
-water
Start by cooking your spaghetti. Once the spaghetti is finished, divide it into small bowls for each color you will use. You might have to combine some colors to make additional colors of the rainbow, and can use this time to practice which color combinations make what. When you have finished dividing your spaghetti, fill each bowl with enough water to fully submerge the noodles. Add a couple of drops of your food coloring of each color into their individual bowls. Mix the water and noodles, and then let it soak until the the noodles absorb the color. This activity is simple, yet let's you practice your colors in a very tasty way!
