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Rainbow Sand Art for Summer

We had so much fun making our beach-safe rainbow sandcastles a few weeks ago. It was so easy and fun to turn the sand into any color we wanted. After seeing how simple it was to make rainbow sand, I wondered if we could use the same recipe to create some beautiful Rainbow Sand Art for Summer. So we experimented and tried three different ways to make artwork using rainbow sand. They turned out beautifully and were so much fun to make. Here’s what we did.

If you want to make your Summer themed lessons a breeze, then check out the Summer Activity Pack. It’s filled with math and literacy centers, fine motor activities and arts and crafts templates. All of which are aligned with preschool learning standards. Check it out today.

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Rainbow Sand Play Ideas

Since learning how to make Rainbow Sand, I’ve also explored how many different ways I can use it in the classroom.

So far, apart from using it for summer art, I’ve also used it to make a Rainbow Sand Writing Tray. Which I used to let the kids practice their pre-writing and copying skills.

I’ve also used it for sensory bins, like this Watermelon Sensory Bin, and this Shark Bay Sensory Bin. Both of which are perfect for summer curriculums.

Rainbow Sand Suncatchers

Step 1: Print out whatever design you would like to create.

2: Cut out the center, and cover the outline in contact paper.

3: Pour the rainbow sand onto the contact paper. It will stick beautifully.

4. Shake off the excess sand.

5. Hang it in your window and let the sun shine through.

Related: Frozen Paint – A Fun Summer Art Activity.

This summer art idea is fantastic for toddlers and preschoolers because it helps them to develop their fine motor skills. Pouring and sprinkling sand makes their hands and finger stronger. I personally prefer using black cardboard instead of white. To me, the colors look brighter on the classroom window when we use a black base.

For more sticky-wall art ideas, check out my leafless tree and my rainbowfish printables. They are entirely free to download and can be used in so many ways. Find out the different ways your kids can create art with these printables. Don’t forget to grab your free copy today.

Rainbow Sand Summer Art Collage

Step 1: Place the paper onto a cookie sheet and squirted a whole heap of liquid glue in random patterns all over the page.

This is optional. If you prefer, you can encourage your class to paint the glue on the page using a brush instead.

2: Sprinkled the different colors onto the glue and waited a bit for it to stick.

3: Shake the cookie tray a bit to make sure that all of the glue has some sand attached to it. Then tip all of the excess sand out and leave the picture to dry.

I thought that the result was a bit muggy. Our purple sand made everything look a bit brown and dulled the other colors. Next time, I’m going to leave the purple out so that our summer art can really shine.

Related: 25 Process Art Ideas for Kids

Rainbow Sand Art using a Spray Bottle

We tried making rain paintings with our rainbow sand a couple of weeks ago. Although they didn’t turn out exactly as I had expected, they did give me the idea of creating this fish. To make this painting, you need my beach-safe rainbow sand recipe, because you want the colors to leak out of the sand when it gets wet. Don’t worry; it’s so easy to make; your kids can do it for you.

Instructions

Step 1: Place some watercolor paper onto a cookie sheet.

Make sure you use watercolor paper because regular printer paper doesn’t absorb the water as you need it to.

2: Make the outline of the fish using liquid glue.

I used my Free Rainbow Fish Printable as a template for this fish.

3: Sprinkle the rainbow sand onto the glue until it is covered. Shake off the excess

4: Sprinkle rainbow sand into the empty compartments of the picture.

Here I am using the glue as a barrier between the colors. I don’t want the orange from the fish to mix with the blue from the water.

Step 5: Fill a spray bottle with water, and soak your picture.

The color will seep out of the loose sand, but only a little bit from the sand that is glued down. This is why it is important to sprinkle some loose rainbow sand for this summer art idea to work.

As you can see in the picture above, the colors do mix a little bit. The mixing depends on how thick the glue is. In areas where the glue is thinner, the colors are more likely to go over the barrier and mix.

Related: 10+ Ways to play with a Spray Bottle

Step 6: Let your picture dry.

Overall I thought that the fish was a great success. The main area I would like to improve upon actually depends on the thickness of the glue. In the areas where there is very little glue (such as the top of the head), the two colors leaked and mixed.

I also made the mistake of putting the picture in the oven so that it would dry more quickly. That was a fail because I didn’t think before I did it that any air bubbles in the glue would make the glue expand and distort. Next time, it’ll be air-dried only.

Related: Paper Plate Watermelon Craft


Summer Activity pack for preschool and kindergarten. Printable Summer themed literacy, math, fine motor, games and art templates.

Summer Activity Pack

Get over 80+ pages of Summer themed play based learning activities and craft templates. Perfect for preschool and kindergarten.


Are you going to try making any of these rainbow sand art for summer with your kids?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.