11 Fun and Colorful Rainbow Crafts for Kids

I rounded up some fun rainbow crafts for kids from around the internet that can be modified for kids of all ages. Whether you’re looking to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a craft or will spring into existence, these colorful kids activities are a great place to start.

We are so sick of winter here in New York. After being pummeled by two big back-to-back nor’easters and with another (smaller) storm on its way, any love for cold temps and the fluffy white stuff that comes along with it have completely died off. We’re ready for sunshine and green grass and buds on the trees. We’re tired of being stuck in the house and are willing to do just about anything to get spring to show its warmer, cheerier face.

But if spring is going to drag its feet getting here, we can help it along with sunshine and rainbows of our own, no?

These bright and colorful rainbow crafts for kids are a fun way to try and will some warmer temperatures along—or to simply celebrate spring and all of the color that comes along with it.

Felt rainbow with a pot of gold

This idea from Finding Zest is a cute one for a variety of ages. Cut squares of felt in all the colors of the rainbow and glue them down to make a bright and cheery spring scene. For the littlest kids, you’ll have to cut the felt for them. For kids a bit older, it’s a good way to practice scissor skills. And, to be honest, even my tween would be into cutting out all of those squares—there’s something weirdly calming and meditative about it.

Rainbow weaving art

The Typical Mom is a former teacher who did this craft often with her kindergarten class—and I can totally see why. It’s simple, just requires a couple of supplies and will keep little fingers busy. You take half a paper plate, make some slits in it with an Exacto knife, and have the kids weave rainbow-colored pipe cleaners through the holes. They can also make this project their own by coloring or painting the paper plate beforehand and adding some clouds.

Rainbow friendship bracelet

If your kids would be into a wearable craft (my not-quite 7-year-old is always down for a wearable craft), this one from Simple Everyday Mom is really cute. You just need some rainbow-colored beads and some string. Bonus points for alphabet beads that let them spell out their name or cute little messages—who am I kidding? My daughter would be spelling p-o-o-p on all of hers. Either way, these are adorable and there’s a free printable that goes along with the craft if your kids want to make bracelets for friends.

DIY rainbow board game

If craptastic weather has had your kids trapped inside and the whole family is bored with every single thing you own, this fun idea from Rainy Day Mum will be a hit (you can also check out my post on 50+ Indoor Activities for Kids). Honestly, it will be a hit even if that’s not true. She drew a rainbow-colored path for a game board and then made up cards with different directions on them. What I love is that some of the directions she used were regular board game instructions (skip a turn, jump ahead three spaces), but others brought in either physical activity or things to make the kids think (jumping, finding objects that start with a particular letter). The best part is that you can personalize it to what works for your family.

Rainbow cotton ball painting

This fun idea from Meraki Mother is another that would work with lots of different ages. All you need is paint, cotton balls, and some clothespins to grip the cotton balls and keep things from getting over-the-top messy. If you’re feeling really ambitious, it would be fun to add some other objects to paint with. I’m picturing a different “paintbrush” for each color of the rainbow: a sponge, a feather, cut fruit. The possibilities are endless!

Rainbow suncatcher

Will some sunshine your way with this easy suncatcher idea from Honey & Lime. You just need some wax paper, glue, and tissue paper cut into squares (sorry, more cutting! Maybe you can strengthen the whole willing some sunshine into existence thing while whistling “Here Comes the Sun” while you work?). Once your littles have glued a rainbow into shape, cut it out, hang it on a window and wait for some sunshine.

Fruit rainbow breakfast

Obviously, if your kids are really young this idea from Two Healthy Kitchens becomes more of a you craft than a craft for your kids. It’s still cute though—especially if you already have a rainbow of fruit cut up and ready to go (which is the best way to ensure healthy eating habits. If only I consistently followed through!). If your kids are old enough, you could have them create fruit rainbows while you cook up some eggs or fold some laundry or try to squeeze in that phone call. Once the rainbows are ready, you could snack while doing one of these other rainbow crafts.

Fingerprint rainbows

This craft from Fun Handprint Art is similar to the cotton ball art, it’s just a messier version. With this craft, you’re going to let your kids get in there and get their hands dirty. Just do yourself a favor and embrace the mess. Put out a rainbow of colors and let them dip their fingers in each one and use their fingerprints to create a rainbow. Paint will get in places you don’t want it to be, but your kids will have so much fun.

Pro tip: use water-based paints for easy cleanup. Crayola’s washable kids paint is a good one—just take care of any paint on fabric before it really sets.

Rainbow paper plate tambourine

This craft from Red Ted Art is a lot of fun for little music lovers or kids who enjoy making a lot of noise. You just need two paper plates and some gold coins (or beans or beads or whatever else you have on hand to turn it into a shaker toy). I love that this particular craft includes a little shamrock-shaped window so that the kids can see the coins shaking around inside. This part is obviously going to be all on you (you cut a shamrock shape out of the plate and glue a piece of plastic in its place), but it definitely adds to the fun.

Rainbow coin rubbings

Like cutting out lots of little squares, there’s something about coin rubbing that is strangely calming. For this craft from Artsy Momma, have your kids create a rainbow by rubbing rows of coins with different colored crayons. Once their rainbow is done, they can add a background or a pot of gold or anything else they want to complete their little work of art. If they really enjoyed the coin rubbing, challenge them to do their entire picture that way.

Edible rainbow

Last but not least, if you want to give your kids a little rainbow-themed treat, this activity from Finding Zest will definitely be a hit. On a piece of parchment paper, have the kids create rainbows out of colorful cereal like Fruit Loops. They can make them stick to the paper with gel icing and add mini marshmallow clouds on one end and a cupcake liner pot of gold on the other.

I don’t know about you, but just being flooded with all of these bright colors makes me feel better. If you have any rainbow craft ideas of your own, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Pssst. If you want something fun and specific to St. Patrick’s Day, check out my open-ended leprechaun trap.

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