Learn About Rainbows with Rainbow Coloring Page Printables

Rainbows are such a happy sight to see when you look up into the sky after a rainy day. They are full of beautiful colors, and there are many things we can learn about rainbows. A great way to teach about rainbows is with rainbow coloring page printables.

Learn About Rainbows with Rainbow Coloring Page Printables

Kids of all ages love rainbows and looking for them after a storm. Here in Florida, we are lucky to see many rainbows. My kids especially enjoy looking for a double rainbow or seeing a large rainbow and wondering how far it goes and what is at the end of the rainbow.

Scroll down to the bottom of the post to get our rainbow coloring pack!

Rainbow coloring sheets are a wonderful way to teach your children about the colors of the rainbow. It is also a great opportunity to teach color recognition.

What is the Order of the Colors of the Rainbow?

The colors of the rainbow in order are: red, yellow, blue, orange, green, violet, in addition to the tertiary colors.

There are 12 different colors of the rainbow that contain primary, secondary and tertiary colors. 

The 3 Primary Colors of the Rainbow

Primary colors are the basic colors that can be mixed together to make other colors.  The 3 primary colors in the rainbow are: 

1. red

2. yellow

3. blue

There are 3 Secondary Colors in a Rainbow

Secondary colors are made by mixing two of the primary colors together.  The three secondary colors are:

4. orange

5. green 

6. violet

The 6 Tertiary Colors in a Rainbow

Tertiary colors are also known as intermediate colors.  They are created by combining primary and secondary colors.  The 6 tertiary colors are:

7. red-orange

8. yellow-orange

9. yellow-green

10. blue-green

11. blue-violet

12. yellow-violet

What are the 7 Main Colors of the Rainbow?

There are 7 main rainbow colors most often taught in early elementary school.  We get this list of 7 colors from Sir Isaac Newton.

These colors in order are: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.  A common acronym to help you remember the color order is Roy G. Biv

The Meaning of Rainbows

Rainbows are very symbolic and important to many people.

• They are often seen as a sign of hope, joy, love and friendship and new beginnings.
• Many people take comfort in the beauty of rainbows when they think of a loved one or an animal that has passed away. 

Christians view rainbows as God’s promise.

• God says as He was speaking to Noah after the flood in Genesis 9:13:  I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
• The first rainbow appeared after the rain stopped. It is God’s covenant that He would never flood the earth again.
• He continues on in Genesis 9:14 -16: “When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”  

Rainbow Books

Here are some cute books that you can use to help you teach your children about rainbows.

Rainbow Songs

When learning about rainbows you can play some fun songs about rainbows for your kids. Here are some of our favorites:

Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Watch the classic song sung by Judy Garland with movie clips from The Wizard of Oz.

The Rainbow Song – This catchy song will teach your kids about rainbows and the colors that they can see in a rainbow.

Colors of the Rainbow – A popular Jack Hartmann song that teaches about the colors of the rainbow with a rhyming movement for each color.

Rainbow Science

There are so many fun science things that you can learn about rainbows. A rainbow is actually an optical illusion because it doesn’t exist in one specific spot in the sky.

Viewing a rainbow depends on the sunlight and where you are standing when you see one.

What is the Science behind a Rainbow?

A rainbow shows up as a spectrum of light with the rainbow colors we are familiar with. When sunlight which appears as a white color, hits water droplets, some of the light is reflected off of it. 

The electromagnetic spectrum is made up of light with wavelengths which reflects at different angles. The spectrum is then separated which is what produces a rainbow.

How are Rainbows Made? – Learn about how rainbows are made from a Creationist viewpoint in this Answers In Genesis article for kids from the Kids Answers Magazine Blog.  There is even a simple science experiment to create your own rainbow.

Galt Toys, Rainbow Lab or  Blippi My First Science: Science Kit with Color Experiments are two kits from Amazon to easily add coloring mixing and science into you study of rainbows.

Rainbow Science Lesson – Teach your kids about the science of rainbows with this rainbow science lesson and activities from The Homeschool Scientist. Learn about the science of light and color, a weather lesson and rainbow activities.

How to Make a Rainbow – Explore light and refraction by creating your very own rainbow with a flashlight, a prism and even Skittles! Your kids will have a lot of fun exploring the science of rainbows with these fun hands-on activities from Little Bins for Little Hands.

Fascinating Rainbow Facts

• A double rainbow appears when the light is reflected twice in a raindrop. You can see two reflections that are coming from two different angles. The first rainbow with show the colors in order while the second bow will show the colors in reverse order.
• Earth is the only planet in our solar system that has rainbows.
• Rainbows are harder to see in the winter, especially in places where it snows. This is because when raindrops freeze they become snow, so it blocks the light from passing through the raindrop to create an appearance of a rainbow.
• You can see a circular rainbow from the sky. If you are in an airplane and look down when there is a rainbow it will appear as a circle and not an arch!

Our Printable Rainbow Coloring Pages Pack

When kids color it strengthens their fine motor skills and pencil grip while helping them to relax and be creative. Let’s take a look at a few ways that you can use our printable coloring pages to enhance learning in your homeschool. 

1. Create Your Own Coloring Book

Put all of the pages together to create your very own rainbow coloring book. Children can use their favorite crayons, or colored pencils. Markers and gel pens are great for older kids because they create vibrant colors and work well on fine details.

Print out the pages and hole punch them. You can use rainbow colored yarn to weave the pages together, or you can put them in a small binder or folder with prongs.

2. Handmade Cards

Everyone loves rainbows because they are cheerful and they bring joy. Mount the coloring pages onto cardstock or construction paper. You can even cut out the finished and colored rainbow to put inside of a card to give away. These are some simple ways to make handmade cards to give to friends and family when they need cheering up.

3. School Review

These coloring pages are a great way to help your children to review their color words, colors, shapes and numbers. They will get to practice reading the color word and choosing the correct color to use on the rainbow. 

Get some extra practice identifying shapes, counting shapes and writing numbers and words on the activity coloring page.

4. Bible Lesson

In addition to practicing colors, numbers, and shapes these rainbow pages could be used with a Bible lesson on Noah’s Ark and God’s promise.

5. St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick also looked at rainbows as a promise from God that He would never destroy the earth with a flood again.  Irish beliefs and myths have combined with that Christian belief over the years so you can also use these rainbow pages to decorate for any  St. Patrick’s Day  celebrations.

What is Included in our Rainbow Coloring Page Pack?

There are 17 coloring pages in this pack, including:

• 1 Noah’s Ark Coloring page 
• 8 Rainbow Color Order pages. These simple designs also include numbers and shapes practice.
• 6 Mandala Rainbow Pages. This unique coloring style is great for kids who like to color in details and customize cute rainbows in their style.
• 2 Teen/Adult Coloring Pages – One showing a rainbow with a landscape, and the other a finely-detailed horse in front of a rainbow

We hope this packet will be a great addition to your rainbow studies!

Instant Download: Rainbow Coloring Pack