Olympic Friendship Rainbow

Creating a collaborative friendship rainbow connects Olympic themes of unity to classroom community building.

Objectives

Materials

Instructions

Prepare a large sheet of butcher paper that will become your classroom's Friendship Rainbow—you'll want enough space for every child's handprint in rainbow colour arcs. Mix paints in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, arranging them in separate containers with shallow trays for hand-dipping.

Begin with a friendship circle discussion: 'What does it mean to be a friend? How do you know someone is your friend?' Invite children to share experiences and observations. Read a friendship-themed storybook, pausing to connect the character's friendship journey to children's own experiences.

After the story, discuss the main character's search for and discovery of friendship: 'How did the character find friends? What made them good friends? How is this like the Olympics, where people from different countries become friends through sports?'

Introduce the class project with excitement: 'We're going to create something special for our classroom—a Friendship Rainbow! Each of your handprints will be part of our rainbow, showing that together, our class is a beautiful rainbow of friends!'

Organise children in small groups for the handprint activity. Model the process: carefully dip your palm into paint, then press firmly onto the paper in the appropriate rainbow arc position. Guide conversation as children work: 'Who in our class is your friend? What do you like to do together?'

As children take turns adding their handprints, the collaborative nature of the project becomes tangible—everyone's contribution creates the whole. Allow for natural conversation and connection during this shared experience.

Once complete and dry, add the caption 'A Rainbow of Friendship, Hand in Hand' and hang the rainbow prominently, perhaps on your classroom door. Reference it throughout the year as a reminder of classroom community and connection, just like the Olympic rings remind us that the world is connected through sports and friendship.

Educator tip

Connect to Olympics: 'Olympic athletes make friends from all around the world. The Olympic rings show countries being friends!' This reinforces both the friendship and Olympic themes.

Assessment

Observe and note: ability to follow two-step instructions, use of new vocabulary in context, early problem-solving strategies, and sustained shared thinking episodes. Assess against Development Matters age-band expectations. Observe student's relevant comments during discussions and ability to follow directions creating the rainbow.

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