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Looking for some educational preschool rainbow fun for St. Patrick's Day? Try these:

Cereal Rainbow
What you need:
Fruit flavored cereal (such as Fruit Loops), a paper plate, scissors, and glue

Directions: This is a fairly simple project. Cut a paper plate in half. Separate the cereal by color and glue onto the plate in (starting at the top - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple).
Not only can this activity be used to teach colors but you can also count with your preschooler (How many reds? How many greens?) and/or  do simple addition (4 blues and 1 purple makes 5)

Make a Rainbow Bracelet
What you need: Fruit flavored cereal, string or yarn, scissors
Directions: Cut the string or yarn about 10 inches long. (This give your preschooler plenty of room to add the cereal and still have room on both ends to eventually wrap and tie around the wrist.) Have your child add the colored cereal in the correct order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.) After several pieces are put on, try the bracelet on your child and when enough have been added, simply tie and cut the remaining string/yarn off.

R is for rainbow
Click here for this printable colored "Rr" poster
Click here for a blank "Rr" poster for your preschooler to color and trace

Want other "Rr" worksheets? Click on each picture below to print:
 

Rainbow Experiement
Here's an experiement to simulate how a rainbow is caused.
What is a rainbow? A rainbow is a curved arc of light of many colors across the sky. Rainbows are caused by the sun's shining through drops of water during or after a rain.
Materials: clear glass or medium sized clear jar filled with water to the top, window sill, bright sunlight, white paper, watercolor paints or crayons.
Instructions:
1. Fill a glass or clear jar with water to the top.
2. Set glass/jar on window sill in bright sunlight.
3. Glass or jar should stick out over the ledge just a little bit.
4. Place a white piece of paper on the floor in front of the window (tape 2 or 3 pieces to form a poster size and obtain a bigger rainbow image).
5. A rainbow will be captured/reflected on the paper. This will greatly depend on how bright the sunlight is and the positioning of the glass jar, so move the jar side to side on the window sill to help the process until you see the rainbow reflected on the paper.
6. Quickly draw lines to capture the rainbow and children can paint directly on the paper in the floor as the rainbow is reflected there.

Color of the Rainbow Worksheets

Click here for the blue, red and yellow worksheet (colored)
Click here for the orange, purple, and green worksheet (colored)

Biblical Tie-in
This can be a great time to tell the story of Noah (The rainbow is the symbol of God's promise to us.)

If you would like coloring sheets (with or without words) of Noah and the rainbow, click here!
 

Edible Rainbow
Ingredients: Whipped topping 2 cups (optional), 2 Small boxes (or one large box) of each Jello color: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green Blue and Purple
Directions: Start with red (or purple) Jello. Prepare the Jello according to the directions on the packet. If there is a "quick chill" method involving ice cubes, use that method. Use a 1/4 cup measure and fill the bottom of each cup with the first batch of Jello. Place in the refrigerator for approximately 15 minutes to set. If using whipped topping, take the leftover Jello of the color you just poured and mix in a couple of tablespoons of whipped topping. Remove the cups from the refrigerator and layer approximately two tablespoons of the opaque mixture onto the first color. Repeat the steps above for each color, allowing approximately 15 minutes of refrigerator time between every layer.

Going Local with the Rainbow House
The Rainbow House is a unique child care center in Denver serving infants to pre-school aged children from low-income families and/or are affected by HIV/AIDS. The facility is located in a beautiful turn of the century house, and specializes in providing individualized services for each child.

Children can be enrolled as soon as they are six weeks of age in the bright, cheerful infant room where they benefit from the loving care of qualified staff and trained volunteers. When they reach 14 months, children move to the toddler room, where they have the opportunity to learn and grow through carefully planned activities that help them develop their skills. At 2 ½ years of age they are ready for the fun and challenges of the preschool program, which includes a structured curriculum of learning activities, field trips, and outdoor fun.

For more information, please contact the Project Manager at 303-355-9581, or rainbow@voacolorado.org.