This blog post has a collection of Fruit Loop rainbow crafts and ideas to make during the Spring, or even for St. Patrick’s Day activities. We love using Fruit Loops or other colorful loop cereal in crafts and activities, because they are a great inexpensive fine motor tool for kids.
It’s that time of year, when kids are making Fruit Loop rainbow craft time! Yes, you heard it right, Fruit Loop Rainbow Crafts! With spring slowly moving near, it’s time to transition to rainbow-themed crafts for your toolkit. Whether you are wanting to make rainbows for St. Patrick’s Day, want to celebrate the season, or simply just have some fruit loop-loving kiddos, these craft ideas will be very popular with the kiddos in your life.
Pair these craft ideas with the other rainbow activities here on the website, including our popular rainbow breathing for self-regulation as well as fun skill-building.
Fruit Loop rainbow crafts can be simple or complex.
Fruit Loop Rainbow Craft
You’ve probably seen them before…the colorful cereal loops that make their way onto paper to form a bright rainbow. But did you know there are many fine motor skill benefits to this occupational therapy craft?
From toddlers to preschoolers to kindergarten and beyond, this fun rainbow craft is a skill builder!
The best thing about cute rainbow crafts like this is that young children can make the activity while developing skills in pincer grasp, in-hand manipulation, separation of the sides of the hand, visual discrimination, and more.
A Fruit Loop rainbow can easily be used in therapy sessions for skill development, in the classroom as stations, or even just at home for fun, but despite where you use them, the children will likely think you’re the best adult ever!
In this fun post, you will find all kinds of unique and colorful fruit loop crafts that will involve craftiness, learning, and flat-out eating time excitement. These activity ideas will help give you some creativity to your fine motor and visual motor skills repertoire of activities and with an OT-eye you can upgrade or downgrade and expand them as you see the need for ALL of the kiddos in your world.
How to make a Fruit Loop Rainbow
There are many variations on this rainbow craft, as you can see from the list below. However, a simple rainbow craft is all you need to do to work on fine motor skills and visual motor development.
You need just a couple of items:
- Box of Fruit Loop cereal or an off-brand round loop cereal that comes in different colors
- bowl
- Rainbow template on a piece of paper
- Glue
- Cotton balls if you want to add clouds at the end of the rainbow
Children can use the rainbow template to glue the colorful cereal pieces onto each layer of the rainbow. When they do this, they are using a pincer grasp to pick up the cereal pieces from the bowl.
A tip to expand on fine motor skills is to use a more narrow or smaller bowl or small cup. This requires the child to define their grasp into a separation of the sides of the hand, and encourage in-hand manipulation as they move the cereal pieces from the fingertips into the palm of the hand and then back to the fingertips. One easy way to do this is to use a narrow drinking cup that is labeled with the the colors of the rainbow like in our rainbow order stacking cups.
A rainbow template can be as simple as a rainbow lines drawn onto construction paper or a paper plate, or it can be a printable rainbow template like the ones we have inside the Member’s Club. These printable rainbows have both a row for the colorful cereal to be placed into according to color, and others have circles for placing each colored cereal piece.
Skills that are addressed with this portion of the activity:
- Eye-hand coordination
- Visual discrimination
- Color recognition
- Visual motor skills
- Fine motor skills
The entire rainbow can be made by sorting colors out the cereal into bowls or piles of colors, then gluing them onto the paper. The color of the fruit loops can be matched up to count out the number of each color while working on finger isolation in order to count each piece. We used a similar concept in our rainbow sorting activity with an ice cube tray.
Finally, work on hand strengthening by pulling apart a cotton ball to fluff it up and gluing that onto the paper at the end of the rainbow shape. Stretching out a cotton ball with the finger tips is a great way to address several areas of development:
Finally, if you wanted to extend the activity further, you can incorporate scissor skills by cutting a pot of gold out of paper and gluing that together. Then glue the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Rainbow Crafts with Fruit Loops
A different way to work on other skills such as pencil control and more refined dexterity is to ask the child to draw the lines of a rainbow. They can make a very large rainbow to cross midline or they can make a smaller one. Simply use different colored markers or colored pencils. Show them how to:
- Use the red marker to make the red line of the rainbow
- Use the orange marker to make the orange line of the rainbow…and so on with the rest of the colors.
- Then, show them how to place the red fruit loops on the red line, the orange fruit loops on the orange line, and so on.
- They can make the rainbow form without actually gluing the cereal onto the page.
This task requires refined motor skills because placing the cereal onto the line without glue requires precieion to not bump the cereal pieces already on the lines.
Fine Motor Fruit Loop Activities
If you target a few specific areas, you can build skills in precision, finger dexterity, pincer grasp, open thumb web space, eye-hand coordination, and more.
Take this a step further:
- Draw the colorful marker lines on a piece of cardboard or a cardboard box.
- Press a toothpick along each line.
- Carefully place the colored cereal loops onto the toothpicks to match the marker lines.
- Work on crossing midline, visual scanning, and visual memory by using a rainbow ladder. Children can place the loop cereal on the colored marker lines of the ladder.
This activity is even more difficult because it encourages wrist extension and a tripod grasp to press the toothpicks into the resistive surface, as well as the other fine motor skills mentioned above.
As you can see, a simple cereal rainbow craft is a goldmine of important skill development, as well as so much fun to make! And, if young children want to have a fun snack at the same time as making a craft, that can happen too.
Fruit Loop Rainbow Craft Ideas
But first, let’s get started with these Fruit Loop craft ideas. These could each be added to a rainbow theme. You’ll love the Rainbow theme inside the Member’s Club for many skill development printables.
Got kiddos that like to destruct? Well, these two are for them! Crush Fruit Loops involves the crushing of the cereal into small bits to create a colorful rainbow of art. And how about crushing up more Froot Loop cereal and creating a layered Froot Loop Sand Cup by Kellogg’s.
Fruit Loop Nature Activities
Sequencing with Fruit Loops- This idea provides a fun way for young children to work on colors during any rainbow unit you might have in your closet. It is a simple one, but a great one to work on fine motor skills and bilateral and eye-hand coordination. Oh, and don’t forget the fun color sequencing that’s added.
Fruit Loop Flower Craft- This idea screams spring. This fun craft has children sorting and pasting fruit loops to create some colorful flowers. They can even draw the stems and leaves and add some cute buttons for added skill work.
Fruit Loop Cloud Craft- This idea has a threading aspect, but with this one, the child can draw their own cloud with a fun face to cut out and then string the fruit loops after sorting them.
Fruit Loop Animal Crafts
Fruit Loop Fish- This craft provides children with a threading activity that makes fish from fruit loops and pipe cleaners. Threading a cereal loop onto the end of the pipe cleaner is a great fine motor and eye hand coordination task. Cute and fun!
Loop Cereal Starfish Craft- This craft gives the opportunity for rainbow color sequencing to create a decorative starfish. It’s a great way to sequence the colors of the rainbow after maybe cutting out the starfish first.
Fruit Loop Cereal Jellyfish- This craft is a fun tracing activity of the hand that turns into a jellyfish. Following the tracing and cutting out of the hand, the child will then glue fruit loop pieces onto it to make it more colorful. Kiddos will sort fruit loop colors and work on the functional skills of pencil, scissors, and glue to make this cute craft.
Another fun idea craft that includes a threading aspect which is important for fine motor skill development, plus if you can find a jellyfish printable can include a coloring aspect too! Oh, and don’t forget the eye-hand coordination skills needed to string those fruit loops.
Mouse craft- This craft is a cute craft that allows for color matching of the fruit loops to the whiskers and then the child threads the mouse’s whiskers. This one can easily be re-used as a station activity or if you prefer, sent home as a craft. Fun!
Fruit Loop Shapes and Learning:
Make Shapes with Fruit Loops- This idea allows for some great sequenced threading so fine motor, eye-hand coordination, and bilateral coordination skills are involved while the kiddo creates some fun shapes.
Estimate with Fruit Loops- This idea is a fun one to have a child trace the hand and try to guess how many fruit loops will be able to fit inside their handprint and then place the pieces and see how close they get to their estimate.
Fruit Loop Name Craft- This idea provides a child the opportunity to write their names, trace the letters with glue and then turn their name into a rainbow-colored craft by using Fruit Loops in a pattern sequence or simply by color.
Force Regulation Activity- This idea works on more destruction skills, but look at how force regulation can be worked on and eye-hand coordination too while also learning!
Scissor Skills Activity- Here is a unique craft that the child coordinates by possibly cutting strips of paper to create the rainbow stripes and then writing the letters of their name on the strips followed by the pasting of strips to a cotton ball cloud to create the rainbow pattern. The last thing is to sort the fruit loops to glue onto each matching strip. A little more time-consuming and skill involved so possibly for older kiddos.
Fruit Loop Treats
Cooking with kids is a tool for developing self-regulation, social emotional skills, fine motor skills, and of course, executive functioning. Try these recipes that kids will love to help make:
Fruit Loop Rainbow Treat- this recipe is a fun way to make self-treats for home or snack time by sorting and layering the fruit loops and marshmallows to create a rainbow treat bag.
Fruit Loop Rainbow Snack Craft- This idea is where kiddos first create the craft on a plate and then eat it! Or another idea would be to use the fruit loop cereal turned into Rainbow Bars. Some life skills can be involved with this one in the use of kitchen tools and appliance operation (with adult supervision of course). Shh, one more easy idea, not a craft but a yummy mixture of rainbow goodness.
Fruit Loop Turkey Donuts- This recipe is really more of a Thanksgiving food craft, but we had to toss it into this collection of fruit loop fun! It includes food items that are put together to create a colorful turkey that can be eaten when done. What skills does this one work on? Well, fine motor and eye-hand coordination and when copying a model, some visual perceptual skills too.
Fruit Loop Jewelry
Fruit Loop Bracelets are a powerful fine motor tool. We break down the fine motor and visual motor components in our rainbow bracelet craft.
All you need is a bowl of Fruit Loop cereal and pipe cleaners.
- Make a necklace like this craft or this necklace idea is a fun way for children to engage in the threading of rainbow-sequenced fruit loops to create a jewelry piece to wear.
- One more, bracelet craft is created the same as the necklaces above, but with a shorter string and worn on the wrist. They could even turn it into a friendship bracelet.
Fruit Loop Activities
Not exactly crafts, but these ideas are great to pair with the rainbow theme using a box of rainbow loop cereal!
How about an edible Fruit Loop Rainbow Sensory Bin? This is a great way to explore tactile differences and work on scooping and pouring, as well as fine motor skills.
Stack Fruit Loops
These towers include multiple fine motor skills to create the playdough balls. You can also place the cereal loops onto a spaghetti stick, and sort and place the fruit loops onto the sticks to create the rainbow towers.
Stick toothpicks into marshmallows and stack the loop cereal for an added means of fine motor development.
So, there you go, rainbow fruit loop crafts and other ‘just because’ ideas to simply help you charge forward to the new season and the new holiday. Now all that’s left is to do is to run to the store and buy some Froot Loops to get started!
Note- Consider food waste: Using stale fruit loops is the way to go, if you have those in your house, use them to make a rainbow Fruit Loop craft!
Regina Parsons-Allen is a school-based certified occupational therapy assistant. She has a pediatrics practice area of emphasis from the NBCOT. She graduated from the OTA program at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson, North Carolina with an A.A.S degree in occupational therapy assistant. She has been practicing occupational therapy in the same school district for 20 years. She loves her children, husband, OT, working with children and teaching Sunday school. She is passionate about engaging, empowering, and enabling children to reach their maximum potential in ALL of their occupations as well assuring them that God loves them!
Rainbow Handwriting Kit– This resource pack includes handwriting sheets, write the room cards, color worksheets, visual motor activities, and so much more. The handwriting kit includes:
- Write the Room, Color Names: Lowercase Letters
- Write the Room, Color Names: Uppercase Letters
- Write the Room, Color Names: Cursive Writing
- Copy/Draw/Color/Cut Color Worksheets
- Colors Roll & Write Page
- Color Names Letter Size Puzzle Pages
- Flip and Fill A-Z Letter Pages
- Colors Pre-Writing Lines Pencil Control Mazes
- This handwriting kit now includes a bonus pack of pencil control worksheets, 1-10 fine motor clip cards, visual discrimination maze for directionality, handwriting sheets, and working memory/direction following sheet! Valued at $5, this bonus kit triples the goal areas you can work on in each therapy session or home program.