30 Fun Rainbow Crafts for Kids

If you’re the parent of a young child, it’s safe to say that construction paper is a household staple. While it’s a pain, literally, to bend over and pick up the rainbow colored sheets after your little mess-maker strews ‘em on the floor for seemingly no reason (just us?) there’s a silver lining. Wrangle your kid and put the materials to good use with this simple construction paper craft for a finished product that will bring much cheer—just make sure the snipping of paper takes place over a table, so your back gets a break.

Sensory play can provide hours of fun for restless toddlers and rice is a household staple that reliably fits the bill. A rainbow palette gives the ordinary grain an upgrade in this stimulating craft, adding visual appeal to an exciting tactile experience.

Running out of magnets to hold all your kid’s masterpieces? Good news: There’s a craft for that. This project comes together with only a few child-friendly materials—colorful pipe cleaners, felt, scissors—and it’s easy enough for a preschooler to get in on (as long as you keep the hot glue gun out of reach, that is). The finished magnet is an eye-pleasing achievement that’s sure to encourage budding artists to keep honing their skills.

This colorful science experiment is sure to provoke plenty of oohs and aahs. Best of all, there’s no need to plan ahead and schedule a trip to the craft store—all you need is a swath of paper towel and some washable markers to make the rainbow magic happen.

Let’s be honest, any craft you can eat is well worth the effort. That’s probably why we love the breakfast debauchery of this rainbow waffle cake creation. Let your kid be the prep cook in this kitchen craft—he’ll relish the opportunity to douse waffles with rainbow sprinkles and you’ll both be happy to devour the fruits of your creative endeavor.

All the colors of the rainbow, cut in strips from foam sheets, combine with fluffy clouds of shaving cream in this fun sensory craft that promises maximum toddler entertainment. Pro tip: Take the activity to the tub and you’ll be well-positioned to trick even the most reluctant little one into bath time after.

The rain has stopped, the sun is out...and what better way to celebrate than by making an edible rainbow with your sugar-crazed kiddo? This clever activity calls for only a few easy-to-find ingredients and the end result is an Insta-worthy homemade popsicle that both parent and child will be eager to taste. As for the quality time spent in the kitchen, well, that’s pretty sweet, too.

Feel like you’re chasing rainbows when it comes to manufacturing fun for your brood? Scoop up some liquid watercolors at the craft store and mix ‘em with dishwashing detergent to make this fine mousse. Then indulge in a little break, because this basin of bubbles is essentially a pastel-colored sensory playground—and it’s sure to keep your kids content for quite a while.

This sugar cookie masterpiece can teach toddlers how to distinguish and identify all the colors of the rainbow...and when the hangry meltdown sets in, everyone will be relieved to find a finished product that is good enough to eat (and also not all sugar cookie).

Ah, slime. We love how happy you make our children but we hate trying to extract you from the textured fabric of our couch. Still, this DIY slime is so beautiful, it’s hard to resist. Just choose your crafting space wisely so your kiddo can have all the gooey sensory joy while you spare yourself a heavy-duty clean-up job.

An assortment of loose buttons is probably the bee’s knees to your babe. Even more fun? Adding these colorful contributions to this simple wind chime craft, which offers up plenty of kid-friendly entertainment plus a pretty porch decoration to boot.

Celebrate these undeniably cool sea creatures and give your home some summer flair with an art project. You and your kid can work this one out with nothing more than commonplace crafting materials...and you absolutely should, because googly eyes make everything better.

Little kids will be overjoyed to wear the chef’s hat in this home-baked cooking craft. Plus, when the art comes out of the oven, everyone will be in awe of that psychedelic rainbow swirl.

A piece of hanging art that even young kids can help with—and remarkably, it still ends up looking great on the wall.

Encourage your little one to flex her fine motor skill muscles with a pipe cleaner beading craft that looks good with every get-up.

A basic hair comb and some kid-friendly paints are all you need to set your child up with a process art project that encourages both color experimentation and creativity. Note: Try this one out post-bath while you actually comb your kid’s hair and things might go surprisingly smoothly.

Blow your kid’s mind with this school supply hack that—with the aid of a highlighter or two—turns a regular yellow marker into a rainbow-making machine.

Stop and craft before you let your little one stomp and pop. The joys of bubble wrap are no secret—but it just so happens this delightful packing material also lends itself to a pretty cool crafting technique. Have your wee one paint a rainbow on that bubble wrap for an imprint project that’s sure to please.

Big kids can exercise their creativity and learn the basics of needlework from the comfort of their own homes with this hands-on home-ec lesson.

We know it’s corny, but it also happens to be true: Your kid won’t be this size forever. Children of any age can participate in this footprint project—a colorful craft that will help all parties set aside the trivial frustrations in favor of a moment of closeness, and a piece of art that keeps on giving.

Yep, this one is a hands-on mess of an activity but it will certainly make your mini very, very happy. Kids can help with the set-up, which consists of making and coloring Jell-O, and then delight as they guide dinosaurs on a romp across the squelchy, rainbow terrain. Move the fun outside and you won’t have to sweat the mess.

Kids of all ages will excitedly scavenge for materials to use for this mixed media, Montessori-style craft. Your kiddo’s imagination will pass with flying colors and the rainbow-themed work of art will be proof.

Clearly, this one is a shoo-in for St. Patty’s Day...but we think it’s a darn cute craft for any occasion. The necessary materials—cardboard, craft paint, pipe cleaners, toilet paper tube, Styrofoam—are inexpensive and easy to come by. Best of all, you can have a young child help with every step of the process (and the finished product will still be worthy of display).

Here, a melted crayon-on-canvas art project that your kid can safely manage. (Hint: It’s a hair dryer that melts the wax.) This simple craft is full of novelty, and the end result—a textured rainbow masterpiece—is so lovely to look at, your kid will never want to simply color with crayons again.

These tin can windsocks are a breeze to make—and the process, which involves nothing more than painting and gluing, promises to entertain kids of all ages. (Pro tip: Supervise the really young ones, lest your sofa become the canvas.) The takeaway? An easy, kid-friendly craft that yields a piece of rainbow-colored eye candy to brighten up any outdoor space.

Presenting a craft your kid can actually play with when the project is complete. These adorable paper plate puppets are a piece of cake to make, thanks to a free, printable unicorn template. After some painting and careful cutting (good scissor skill practice, friends), both the paper plate scenery and the puppet will be ready for imaginative play.

Fine motor skills are sure to get a boost from this process art project in which kids cut and paste brightly colored tissue paper on cardstock to create their very own rainbow fish. This kid-friendly craft, which was inspired by the beloved classic book The Rainbow Fish, is also an excellent accompaniment to story time.

Even younger school-age kids can take part in the easy jewelry-making project—namely because there’s no wrong way to form these tangle beads. Plus, the polymer clay used here provides plenty of hands-on entertainment and sensory stimulation. In other words, these baubles are as fun to make as they are to wear.

We love a good paper plate craft—especially when the finished product doesn’t quickly get lost in a growing stack of kid art. Here, the humble paper plate is given a vibrant, rainbow-colored makeover and transformed into a homemade musical instrument that your kid will want to hold onto. A simple painting project with a big payoff.

Little kids can practice motor skills and hand eye coordination while learning about color sequences as they paint their own rainbow. No pencil (or paintbrush) grip yet? No problem—the cotton ball technique here is well-suited for tiny hands, and the use of clothespins for dipping said cotton balls in paint is a downright genius way to minimize the mess.