Veronika loves rainy days lately, because she’s on the hunt for a rainbow! While we waited for a real one to appear, we made this upcycled version at home, the perfect use for the last few sheets from a pack of construction paper. If you don’t have construction paper, use up any leftover bits of scrapbook or patterned paper from your craft bin. We actually didn’t have any green paper left, so thinking quickly, we scribbled green marker onto white paper.

Tear the paper into pieces (and invite your child to help!), then draw the outline of a rainbow on a large piece of cardboard.

Working with one color at a time, Veronika helped dot glue all along that color, then press down the paper bits that matched.

She loved the process, whether shouting out “gluey gluey!” as we dotted the glue on first, or proudly selecting which paper piece to add. She enjoyed sliding the paper pieces through the glue, too, watching the way this smudged the marker line underneath.

We worked our way up from purple, and she was thrilled when she had to step across the rainbow to work on yellow, orange, and red at the top.

When the rainbow was complete, she wanted to keep going. I gave her a sheet of paper and the remaining paper scraps to design her own rainbow. I loved this toddler-take on the craft!

Pretty soon we’ll head outside to find a real rainbow for the perfect finish to a rainy day.