This adorable rainbow drawing activity is bursting with creativity and new vocabulary. Dashed lines, dotted lines, zigzags, oh, my!
Why we love this rainbow drawing activity for preschoolers
This project is just like what you’ll find at the end of the rainbow: pure gold.
We love exposing our preschoolers to various elements of art, from color and shape to texture and line. This drawing activity is a fantastic opportunity for kids to see different lines and create some of their own.
When doing this activity, prepare to hear, “Look! I made a zigzag line!” and “I am making a dashed line next!” and know you’ll melt into a puddle.
🌈 Related: There’s more rainbow fun where that came from! Check out our enormous Rainbows & Unicorns coloring banner!
With our FREE printables, you can also try the rainbow drawing activity!
This simple-to-set-up activity uses only the FREE printables, a black permanent marker, and some paints.
Whether you’re working with preschoolers or groups of mixed ages, this activity is perfect for a range of ages and abilities. I have done this with three-year-olds all the way through college-aged students.
Let’s get started making gorgeous rainbow art!
🌈 Looking for more rainbow activities? We’ve got you covered!
- Symmetrical Smoosh Rainbow Paintings
- Rainbow Sponge Painting Art Project
- Rainbow Paper Towel Hearts
- Rainbow Oobleck
Materials
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- FREE rainbow printables
- Black, permanent marker
- Paints – we use watercolors
How to make rainbow line drawings
Provide each child with both a rainbow outline template + the sheet with different types of lines.
Talk about each line type, discussing how they’re similar, different, and their names (ex: dotted, dashed, scalloped, zigzag, etc.).
Starting with the very top arch, invite your child to pick a line style and draw it in the arch.
Note: This might be a good opportunity to model drawing a line from beginning to end in an arch for kids who may not be used to drawing this way. If modeling, make sure to reiterate that they don’t have to make the same type of line as you.
Once all the arches have lines, invite your artists to paint their rainbows in. We like using watercolors because they’re transparent and allow you to see the black lines underneath still.
Oh, you want to get extra fancy?!
We get it! More is more, friends. 😂
We have two lovely ideas for how to fancify your art:
- Cut out and glue onto a background: How adorable does this look cut out and mounted on blue paper? Not only does it look cute, but it’s also a bonus step that invites kids to practice their scissor skills.
- Add cotton ball clouds: If there’s an opportunity to add cotton ball clouds to a rainbow art project, we’re there! For extra fine motor, invite your child to gently pull and stretch the cotton balls to widen them before gluing them onto the paper.
How do you make a simple rainbow?
Technically, there are an infinite number of colors in a rainbow. (Crazy cool, huh?)
Often though, depending on who you ask, some people will tell you there are six colors in a rainbow, and others will tell you there are seven. We usually do a six-color rainbow for most of our rainbow activities, but the template here has seven to be a little more technical.
Let’s explain:
6-color rainbow: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple (when you see rainbow products, they usually have these colors)
7-color rainbow: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet (often referred to by the acronym ROY G BIV)
Because there’s no right or wrong way to create this project, have fun with the colors you use! For example, I love making 7-color rainbows with light green & dark green.
Print off some extras because your kids will love this rainbow drawing activity
And join in yourself, too!
This project is fun, open-ended, and beautiful. We love how many ways these can be created and how all pieces are unique.
Frequently Asked Questions
This rainbow drawing activity helps kids practice fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and pre-writing skills while exploring different types of lines in a creative way.
Try using different art tools like watercolor paints, oil pastels, or even rainbow-colored yarn to trace the lines for a fun sensory twist!
Absolutely! This activity works well for independent practice, small group work, or even as part of a larger art lesson on lines and patterns, weather, or St. Patrick’s Day.
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