Edible Rainbows

I saw this cute Fruit Loop rainbow craft on How Wee Learn where they threaded cereal on a spaghetti noodle and stuck marshmallows on the ends. I thought it would be neat to use a pipe cleaner so you can bend it into a rainbow shape!

The kids started by putting a marshmallow on one end of the pipe cleaner, then they put the cereal on in any pattern they wanted.

Then I helped them stick another marshmallow on at the end. If there was pipe cleaner left sticking out, I trimmed it off. Some kids chose to group the colors together and some chose to make several rainbow patterns. Others chose to do their own thing!

We found that five of each color or five sets of rainbows was the perfect fit. It gave us enough room left at the end to add the marshmallow. Most of them stood up by themselves. I ended up wrapping them in plastic wrap to keep them clean. I told the kids they could eat their rainbow at home, but I did warn them the marshmallows might be a little fuzzy!

We also made a handprint rainbow as a class to try to get a leprechaun to leave some gold. And I quickly thought up a poem to go with it.

 Dear Leprechaun,
We have been told
That you leave your gold
At the end of a beautiful rainbow.
With our hands, we have made
One that will never fade.
So please leave your pot o' gold below!

While we were outside on the playground, a couple of my wonderful co-workers put a bowl of Rolos at the end of the rainbow and left a little shamrock trail. The kids were SO excited to see the gold when we came back inside!

The bowl actually had more in it, but I forgot to get a picture before the kids took their pieces and we shared with all the teachers. Oops!