Art Projects
Spring
St Patrick's DayAll AgesPreschoolersToddlers48 Comments
Painting is fun, no matter which way you spin it. Use an unusual painting tool for kids when you try out rainbow sponge painting!
I think kids of all ages will think that this rainbow painting idea is super cool!
Girls, boys, toddlers, preschoolers, grade-schoolers, all of them.
This is a fun and magical way to paint a rainbow!
Rainbow Sponge Painting is Super Cool!
I wish I could claim the idea of painting a rainbow with a sponge, but I saw it last year over at Strong Start.
While this is a kid-friendly idea, a lot of the prep needs to be done by an adult, or older child.
And you’ll need to redo some steps while your child paints, too.
I kind of felt like an artist getting this ready. My palette — a pizza pan — is a rainbow of paint colors!
How do You Paint a Rainbow with a Sponge?
First you swipe each color, in the order of the rainbow, onto a sponge.
Use a paintbrush to add these paint stripes to the sponge.
Then you swipe the sponge in a curved motion onto the paper or canvas.
It’s that simple.
Sponge Painting Rainbows with My Toddler
I said the paint colors as I was adding them to the sponge to teach Henry the order of the colors in a rainbow.
I had to reapply the colors onto the sponge multiple times and said the colors to Henry every time.
By the end of the activity, Henry was reciting the rainbow colors in order with me!
Make a rainbow craft to wear with an easy DIY rainbow bracelet!
Once the colors were added, I let Henry have the rainbow painted sponge and paint in any way he’d like.
He filled his paper with painted rainbows.
It was very colorfully painted, but the one thing about using so many colors is that it turns to muddy brown when they’re mixed together.
That’s why we normally stick to two corresponding colors when we paint.
An easy way to minimize this is to have plenty of blank pages for each new sponge rainbow to be painted on.
And maybe a few spare sponges too.
Add a little more rainbow color to your life with tons of easy rainbow activities for your kids!
If you love simple rainbow activities for toddlers you’ve got to check out this tissue paper window rainbow that cleans off even easier than it goes on!
By the way. See that bracelet on Henry’s wrist?
He got it from his preschool teacher for reading eight books in January. I find it funny because I forgot to write out our slips for each book we read until the last week of January.
Eight books aren’t many, but Henry is so proud of that bracelet.
What are your favorite rainbow crafts and activities? We’d love to try out some new ideas!
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Joe Wilkins says
This is a good ideas for my twin girls. Thanks, as always!
Rosalind Moody says
Love this recipe. Looks delicious. Thank you!!!
Kelli at 3 Boys and a Dog says
Super smart idea! Why have I never thought of that?
laura oreamuno says
Maybe we can try having two or three papers for kid and telling them on advance. They can choose on making them all “brownish”or saving one with a rainbow look. I also feel they don´t really care much about the results…:)
Rebecca says
Such a great idea! My daughter LOVES rainbows, so I’m sure she will get a real kick out of this project. Thanks!!
Cristi says
What a colourful fun activity! I’d love it if you’d link this post to the Rainbow Connection… :)
Congratulations to your little man Henry for his reading achievement!
Jamie says
Thanks! Just linked up :)
Cristi says
Thank you! Come back and link any future rainbow posts – there’ll be a new link-up every Tuesday :)
Paul B says
That’s a creative idea! Wish I’d come across this sooner – it would’ve made for great St. Patty’s day end-of-the-rainbow decorations! :)
Deborah says
Hi Jamie,
I think Henry’s rainbows turned out beautiful! We did let the children add their own paint to our sponges as part of the process but of course, our rainbows were just a little muddy in the end too:) But they loved it!
TheBoyandMe says
This is fab, I’m going to invest in some more rainbow colours over the weekend and then try this with The Boy. Thanks for this, I’ve pinned it, hope that’s ok? (url included in pin)
Jamie says
Perfectly great that you pinned it! I love to have my posts pinned as long as they’re linked back to the right post (not the homepage). Thanks! Would love to see/hear how it goes with The Boy!
cathy @ nurturestore says
Thanks for linking up with the Kids Co-op Jamie. :)
Vicky says
This is just one of the prettiest things I have ever seen. You can bet I am going to try it. Just pinned this great idea! Vicky from Mess For Less
Stacy of KSW says
hmm, or maybe a dropcloth or white sheet? that way we could use it for more fun later ….
Stacy of KSW says
thanks Jamie! We're having a rainbow unicorn ninja party on Sunday and I think this would be an A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!! party activity. I think we'll paint on a big tarp in the yard :) Fun
The Monko says
8 books is 8 more than some kids will have read in January – Go Henry. Loving the Rainbow Painting, i think i will be trying that tomorrow
andie jaye says
this is so fun… i wonder if i have any sponges? am adding this link to my post for today to give me readers some more rainbow resources.
Suzanne says
I have just seen this idea EVERYWHERE I look. I think it's a sign that my buddies and I MUST do this!
MiaB says
LOVE it!!! Totally sharing this :)
~MiaB
MiaB says
LOVE it!!! Totally sharing this :)
~MiaB
JDaniel4's Mom says
What a pretty rainbow! I love the effect.
cathy @ nurturestore says
I love this Jamie – so colourful and swooshy. And well done on the bracelet Henry – great reading :)
RedTedArt says
Ooh what fun! I bet that felt like MAGIC! Beautiful. Rainbows are just so lovely.
Thank you for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!
Maggy
Esther says
This one is in my to-do list! we love rainbows and my daughter will love it! Good Job by Henry on the reading!
Ali says
That looks amazing. My daughter absolutely loves rainbows and she would love this.
Maureen says
Thanks for crediting my blog – I love that you used a pizza pan for the paints – it looks like an artists palette.
We are going to try to paint rainbows with a pendulum this year.
Karen says
Love the sponge rainbow!!!!!
I have been thinking about rainbows too recently. After I did an activity painting with light, I thought about how much fun it would be to do that with many lights, the colors of the rainbow. Let's see, it would take 6 flashlights, covered with ROYGBV gels. I'll bet 3 children could do it together – one standing, one kneeling, and one sitting and each with one flashlight in each hand.
I smell a St Patrick's Day project! : )
Deb A-R says
Gorgeous! Love the photos too. Simple but effective. Thanks :)
kids creative chaos says
Awesome! Years ago, I paid $20 plus shipping for something like this that was on t.v. Amanda will love this ~ it looks good and messy :-)
Deborah says
Well done on the bracelet and reading Henry!! I sure wish Henry could come to my preschool – I bet the kids in my class would think he is awesome!