Rainbow Mosaic

Rainbows are an amazing sight to see, and most kids are in complete awe over them. Yet, few actually know: What makes a rainbow? Have a discussion about how rainbows are made, and then do this project fine motor skill-boosting project when her interest is high. She'll use ordinary paint cards to form a rainbow mosaic, a great reminder of what's promising about the rainy season.

What You Need:

• Paint sample cards in each of the seven colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet
• Card stock
• Glue stick

What You Do:

1. Help your child cut the paint sample cards up into small squares to be used as your mosaic tiles.
2. Talk to her about how rainbows are made. Explain that rainbows appear when the sun shines through a mist or light rain, and that is why she can only see rainbows when the sun is out and it’s either lightly raining or has just stopped.
3. Show her a picture of a rainbow, so she can see the individual colors that create it.
4. Let her know that an easy way to remember the colors of the rainbow is by remembering the acronym: ROY G BIV. When you say it out loud, it sounds like a man’s name, but it's actually the first letter of each color in the order they appear in the rainbow.
5. On the card stock, have her make an arch with the glue stick.
6. In the trail of glue she has left on the paper, instruct her to add the red tiles to make the first stripe of the rainbow.
7. Continue adding the color tiles in rows under the first red row, until there are seven stripes in the rainbow, one for each color. Allow to dry.

You can also fold a piece of card stock in half and help her create the mosaic rainbow on one half. Then, you can use it as a card for her to send to a relative or someone who needs cheering up.