What do Rainbows do?

Rainbows have fun! They take part in games and activities as part of their programme called the Rainbow Jigsaw. Everything a Rainbow does helps her to develop and to think for herself, in a safe girl-only environment.

What to know?

• Any girl aged five to seven can be a Rainbow. In Northern Ireland only, a girl may become a Rainbow at any time after her fourth birthday.

• Rainbows make this simple Promise that they share with members around the world: I promise that I will do my best to love my God and to be kind and helpful.

• Rainbows have a range of items they can wear. As all girls wear the same thing they feel as though they belong. No girl is excluded because they do not have the right clothes.

Life of a Rainbow

The first four to six weeks

A new Rainbow starts:

• A new Rainbow receives a warm welcome.
• She receives Ready for Rainbows and her rainbow Welcome Bag.
• She reads or hears the first part of the Rainbow Story to meet Olivia and does activities to find out about Rainbows.
• She chooses her Rainbow clothes.
• With a Leader, she plans her Promise Party.
• The new Rainbow makes her Rainbow Promise and receives her Promise badge and certificate at her Promise Party.

Her time as a Rainbow

Look, Learn, Laugh, Love:

Throughout her time as a Rainbow she enjoys a balanced and varied programme by covering the four Rainbow Jigsaw areas and taking part in Rainbow Roundabouts. Of course she also has lots of fun.

Every thing she does is underpinned by the Five Essentials

During her last six months

• When she is about six-and-a-half years old a Rainbow receives My Pot of Gold and finds out how Olivia prepares to leave Rainbows and move to Brownies.
• She does her Pot of Gold challenge.
• With a Leader, she plans her Pot of Gold Party.
• About the time of her seventh birthday, a Rainbow has her Pot of Gold Party and leaves Rainbows. Most Rainbows leave at the end of a term, so Pot of Gold challenges and parties are often shared by several Rainbows.
• At her party she receives her Pot of Gold card and badge.
• She starts Brownies.  At the moment the Histon Brownie Packs are all full, and there is a waiting list.

Programme

The Rainbows’ programme is called the Rainbow Jigsaw to reflect how the varied Rainbow activities link to create a larger balanced picture.

Balanced and varied programme

The Rainbow Jigsaw has four areas to give it balance and variety. Each activity a Rainbow does is based on one or more of these areas.

Rainbows Look

This area allows Rainbows to begin to understand that they are part of a wider world.

Rainbows Look includes activities that explore their environment and communities. Rainbows are encouraged to get out and about to discover the world about them and different communities, both local and further afield.

Rainbows Learn

Rainbows learn all the time, both in guiding and in their daily lives. A Rainbow learns in many ways, such as:

• visiting people and places
• having visitors at unit meetings
• being creative through a range of activities
• using technology to communicate
• enjoying activities with other members of their guiding family
• playing games.

A Rainbow learns by doing activities at her meetings. Being a Rainbow should be fun and not at all like school.

Rainbows Laugh

This area of the Rainbow Jigsaw encourages games, songs, parties, celebrations, making a mess and enjoying life.

Rainbows Laugh also has a learning strand, as each Rainbow develops important skills while she:

• forms new friendships
• makes her own choices
• participates in small groups
• has fun.

Rainbows Love

This area is at the heart of the Rainbow Jigsaw. A girl is beginning to understand the concept of ‘love’ when she joins Rainbows through her experiences of caring and sharing with family and friends, and being kind to others.

Rainbows Love promotes the ethos of the Five Essentials , in particular the Promise. It begins to develop the idea of the commitment to a common standard that is a vital part of belonging to the guiding family. Each Rainbow can develop her understanding of caring through activities, games and the arts, and can explore the concept of spirituality in a wider context.