Little Hands Learning | Rainbow box review

 “A monthly subscription box, inspired by the magic of books”

It doesn’t seem all that long ago that I was raving about our Little Hands Learning Creativity box, and our February box was equally as colourful – and as always, fun! The theme of the box was ‘Rainbows’ and featured a truly stunning book, with the most beautifully detailed illustrations – not to mention the activities, which mirrored the theme perfectly!

The book ‘Rain Before Rainbows’, written by Smriti Halls and illustrated by David Litchfield is all about finding hope and optimism – even in the darkest of places. It follows a little girl and her friend, a fox, as they travel through treacherous landscapes and meet a whole host of characters along the way. The pictures are so vibrant, and the message is poignant. It’s quite a short story with simple rhyme, but the focus is definitely on the imagery and the emotions it conjures up. It’s already a book we have read again and again!

The activities included in this box were:

• Building a stick tepee and rainbow small world
• Creating rainbow art
• Growing broad beans
• Making a star light

Alfie and the beanstalk

Alfie loves helping in the garden – whether it’s sowing seeds and planting bulbs, digging, or watering – so it was no surprise that he wanted to do this activity almost immediately. I managed to find an old glass jar and the rest of the materials were supplied. He really enjoyed stuffing the cotton wool into the bottom of the jar, before slotting the seed in and watering it.

I have put the jar on our windowsill and the natural light has allowed it to grow so quickly. We check the progress nearly every day and Alfie says things like “wow” and “cool”. I’ve been meaning to measure the height, but I think it’s about time we planted it outside… maybe a job for the weekend!

We can’t wait to pick the broad beans… and then eat them, of course!

Shine a light

With a book about light, hope and positivity, the star light was such a cute idea. I love lighting candles around the house anyway – particularly with their symbolism of remembrance. The stars were provided, and mum gave me a jar big enough for the craft. Alfie spread the glue on the stars and stuck them onto the jar – and we’ve decided to go extra and add some glitter glue to add some further decoration to our design. Such a simple but effective craft.

Do you want to build a small world?

Mum and Alfie started creating the small world and then I took over. They collected some sticks for the tepee on a bike ride, and luckily, I had some tissue paper lying around (I’d thrown away the sheet that wrapped the box).

We used a paint tray as a base, and poured the rice in, before adding the tepee, the fox, and some other natural treasures… I found an old leaf which acted as quite a nice canopy – sheltering the fox from the ‘rain’.

Alfie and his friend loved playing this together, creating scenes and making voices for the fox, as well as feeling the texture of the rice. It really could produce hours of fun. I’ve left the tray on our dining table, and Alfie loves revisiting it.

We still haven’t created a rainbow picture using the tissue paper – but I’ve got a great idea of a craft that we can create together. Watch this space, as I’m sure I’ll be posting it on my Instagram story.

If you're interested in purchasing a one-off box or even subscribing, visit the website. And if you're looking for a discount on a future box or anything in the shop, use code: LUCYLOCKET. For sneak peeks of future boxes, as well as other crafty and educational ideas, follow Little Hands Learning on Instagram.

Love, Lucy xx