What is on this coloring sheet
Three arcs curve across this sheet in red, yellow and green, with sky filling the space above and beneath them. It is the only picture in this set built from curves rather than straight edges, which makes it the best one for a child who needs practice following a line that keeps changing direction. The bands are wide enough to color comfortably and stay clearly separate where they meet.
How to use it
Print the sheet and color the bands in order from the outside in: red first, then yellow, then green. Working outside to inside keeps the arcs separate and stops two colors meeting.
Three ways to practice
Trace before you color
Run a finger along one band from end to end before picking up a crayon. Following a curve with a finger first is how a child learns where it goes, and it cuts down on colors crossing into each other.
Talk about the order
Ask which band is on the outside and which is on the inside. Rainbows always keep their colors in the same order, so this is a real fact about the world rather than a made up rule for the sheet.
Color the sky too
The squares above and below the arcs are sky. Filling them in makes the rainbow sit in something rather than float, and it gives a child a large easy area after the careful work on the bands.
A tip worth knowing
Each band is a smooth curve, so let your child follow it with a finger before coloring. Tracing the arc first makes it far more likely the crayon stays on one band.
Printing this sheet
Frequently asked questions
Why does this rainbow have three colors and not seven?
Three wide bands are far easier for a small hand than seven thin ones, and the arc still reads as a rainbow. A sheet with seven bands would need squares too narrow for a preschooler to color inside.
Which band should be colored first?
The outside one, in red. Working from the outside in means the hand always rests on paper that is not yet colored, which keeps the finished bands clean.
Can this be used to teach color order?
Yes, and it is worth doing. Point out that the red band is always outside the yellow and the yellow always outside the green, then look for the same order the next time you see a real rainbow.