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    Home » Sensory Activities

    Making a Sensory Rainbow with Straws

    Modified: Mar 14, 2023 · Published: Mar 12, 2014 by Vicky · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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    Sensory activities for preschoolers like this one are a great blend of art, play, and learning. Kids use simple materials, like colored straws and shaving cream, to create a unique sensory rainbow. Making a Sensory Rainbow with Straws helps their fine motor skills, color recognition, and sensory exploration.

    I used these straws in a St. Patrick's Day Straw Activity, so they are very versatile. Kids love sensory activities and this time of year it is fun to create some with a St. Patrick's Day spin like this St Patrick’s Day Fine Motor Sensory Bin from Mommy Evolution.

    Making a Sensory Rainbow with Straws - Use straws and shaving cream for this fun sensory activity.

    You will need:

    • Shaving cream
    • Tray
    • Cut straws in colors of the rainbow (we used milkshake straws, but any colored straws will work)
    shaving cream with cut up straws

    Squirt some shaving cream into a tray and spread it around so the surface of the tray is covered. Provide your child with cut up milkshake straws in rainbow colors. You probably won't be able to find both blue and indigo straws. The colors we used for our rainbow were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.

    As one of my daughters started to construct her rainbow, she realized that she would need to angle the straws a bit to make them look like a rainbow and fit them on the tray. It was great to watch her as she figured out how to use the space.

    shaving cream and straws

    Of course there are other fun things to do with colored straws in addition to making a rainbow.

    child playing with straws

    My daughter noticed that as she made the inner colors of the rainbow she needed fewer straws than she did for the outer colors.

    making a straw rainbow

    When the rainbows were done they could be carried and held up and the straws would not fall off. When we were done looking at our pretty rainbows we washed the straws and will use them again for another activity.

    Making a sensory rainbow with straws

    💚St Patrick's Day Coloring Bookmarks

    Looking for more ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Check out these fun bookmarks. Printable St Patrick's Day bookmarks will help you or your child keep your place in books you are reading. You'll love these St Patricks Coloring Bookmarks as they are fun for kids to personalize and use!

    For more fun shaving cream play, check out:

    Shaving Cream and Water Bead Cupcakes

    Sensory Sight Word Games

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    Vicky from Mess for Less

    I'm Vicky, the founder of Mess For Less, which I started in 2011 to share easy, family-friendly recipes. With over a decade of experience as a home chef and recipe developer, I love creating meals that bring people together. I also design play and learning activities for kids, using my background as a former teacher with a Master’s degree in education. Learn more about me.

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