Let’s Talk
About Relationships with Rainbows
This information sheet should be read in conjunction with Let’s Talk About Sex and Relationships: Advice for
Leaders.
Background
Most children are naturally curious and ask lots of questions. It is important for parents and carers to talk to
their children about relationships and sexuality. And while their schools tend to remain the primary sources of
this type of information, it may be that from time to time a Rainbow will ask you some questions on
relationships or sex. To a five- or six-year-old Rainbow you are a person she respects, who she feels safe with
and who she feels cares for her. The world of a young child is centred around herself, and a simple response to a
question is usually satisfactory.
What can I talk about?
Children need help to:
become aware of their bodies
develop their sense of self-worth
protect themselves
respect differences
cope with changing feelings and relationships.
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These are the main features of a primary school sex-education programme. So subjects it would be appropriate
and useful to cover at Rainbows include:
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respecting themselves and others
respecting individual differences
ways to express and deal with feelings and emotions
ways to keep safe
developing positive and supportive relationships
talking about families and people who love us, including all sorts of families, such as same-sex parents or
families where not everyone lives together.
Let’s Talk About Relationships with Rainbows
© Girlguiding 2014 www.girlguiding.org.uk
Registered charity number 306016
Your role
 Ask Rainbows to set ground rules in a discussion or an activity about relationships; for example to listen to
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each other, make positive comments and respect other people.
Remember some Rainbows (and Leaders) are more sensitive about certain issues than others.
Activities
These are activities to help you and the girls explore relationships. Leaders who feel less comfortable exploring
these issues with their girls may seek help from other Leaders or others within Girlguiding to ensure appropriate
help for our young members. Many Girlguiding resources already contain activities you can use to highlight these
topics.
Friendship Web (from Roundabout All About Me)
Everyone is an individual, but there are many things that link the Rainbows together as friends. This activity will
show them how many links there are.
What to do
Ask the Rainbows to stand or sit in a circle and give one Rainbow a ball of wool. She must hold on to the end of
the wool and then throw or roll it across the circle to another Rainbow saying, ‘This is (insert name) and she is
my Rainbow friend because…’. Examples could be: ‘she is kind’, ‘she helps me with my maths’, ‘she is good at
running’.
The Rainbow who has been thrown the wool, catches it and, holding on to the strand, throws the ball to another
Rainbow, saying her name and why she is her Rainbow friend. Rainbows can be chosen only once. This continues
until all Rainbows are holding on to the wool and a web has been created linking them all together.
The Leader can explain that the web shows that the whole unit is linked as Rainbow friends. The wool could be
passed back in reverse, winding it up as it is thrown across the circle, with each Rainbow saying one nice thing
about the girl who threw it to her.
Who loves me? (from Roundabout All About Me)
A perfect opportunity for Rainbows to think about all the people who love them and find out why!
You need
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Photograph of each Rainbow (optional)
Coloured paper
Scissors
Pencils
Heart template
Glue
Coloured pens or pencils
Green garden cane or lolly stick
Sticky tape
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Let’s Talk About Relationships with Rainbows
© Girlguiding 2014 www.girlguiding.org.uk
Registered charity number 306016
What to do
Rainbows cut their photo into a circle or draw a picture of themselves on a circular piece of paper.
The girls think of people who love them and cut out a heart-shaped petal for each person. On each petal they
write the person’s name or draw a picture of them, and stick the petals around the photo or drawing of
themselves.
Ask the Rainbows to take their flower home and get the people on the petals to write why they love them on
their petal. Rainbows can bring their flowers to the next meeting and share some of the comments.
They can then stick a garden cane or lolly stick to the back of the circle to make it look more like a flower. They
could display it in a vase or plant pot.
Take it further
Rainbows could make another flower and say who they love and why to share with other Rainbows.
Note
Leaders need to be aware of the family background of the Rainbows and may want to suggest other adults whom
the girls could include. The Rainbows could also have petals for their friends.
My funny face (from Roundabout Get Healthy)
Get the Rainbows to explore different emotions with funny faces.
What to do
Make a list of statements to read out (see below for suggestions). Sit in a circle with the girls and start reading
the statements out. After each statement the Rainbows have to show their reaction on their faces at the same
time without speaking. Choose a couple of Rainbows each time to talk about the emotion that they are
expressing. Remember that girls may express different emotions from each other to a similar situation.
How would you feel if…
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Your little sister/brother had just broken your favourite toy?
You were kept awake all night by a noisy car alarm?
You had received an invitation to a party?
Your best friend was not talking to you?
You couldn’t decide what to wear to a party?
Your brother asked you if you had eaten the last biscuit and you had but told him no?
It was a rainy day in the holidays and you had no one to play with?
It was your birthday tomorrow?
Try it this way
Stick pictures of faces showing different emotions on to the back of old postcards or greeting cards and the
descriptions on to others – for example a smiley face on one and ‘happy’ on another. Use the cards afterwards in
a matching pairs game.
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Let’s Talk About Relationships with Rainbows
© Girlguiding 2014 www.girlguiding.org.uk
Registered charity number 306016
Take it further
In pairs or small groups get the Rainbows to enact different scenarios to display different emotions. Use the
statements above for ideas.
Zorga (from Right Now)
This helps Rainbows to recognise how our actions can affect the happiness of others, and to encourage them to
take responsibility for their actions towards each other.
What to do
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Sit the group in a circle. Explain to the girls that they are going to make a new friend called Zorga from the
planet Zuria. Zorga is the same age as the group, and she is very friendly, though a little quiet and shy.
As a group, create a drawing of Zorga on the large piece of paper. You might do the drawing yourself but ask
the girls what Zorga looks like – ‘How many eyes has Zorga got?’, ‘What colour is she?’, ‘Does she have hair?’
When Zorga is finished, she should take a place next to you in the circle. Introduce Zorga to all the girls. Say
something you like about her, but also something negative: ‘This is my friend Zorga. She’s a really kind
person, even though she sometimes smells a bit.’ When you say this, tear off a piece of Zorga. Then it is the
girls’ turn. One by one, they should come up and say something mean about Zorga, tearing off a piece of her
as they do so. Make sure the comments don’t get too unpleasant.
Once everyone has finished with their remarks, challenge the girls to try to put Zorga back together again. If
they do actually manage to stick her back together, explain to them that she will never be the same. They
can all see her ‘scars’ and she may never recover from these.
Talking points
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How do negative comments make someone feel? How can the power of words affect other people?
How can the girls take responsibility for their actions towards other people? Examples could be recognising
that your words have an effect on others, understanding and not judging people, being truthful and honest
and so on.
Although each girl tore off only one piece of Zorga, between them they all destroyed her. A lot of apparently
small, individual actions had a big effect. This shows how powerful the girls can be when they all band
together. Do they think they would be just as powerful if they all worked on something positive?
Other activity ideas
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Kind Teddy (Roundabout Get Healthy, www.girlguidingshop.co.uk, order code 6168)
Naughty Nicky and Thoughtful Tilly (Jigsaw Pieces, www.girlguidingshop.co.uk, order code 6165)
Who I am? (Roundabout Festivals, www.girlguidingshop.co.uk, order code 6167)
A good friend (Girls in Action: Change the Story – For Rainbows and Brownies, www.girlguiding.org.uk >
Members’ area > Activities > Activity packs > Girls in Action)
Timeline (Big Brownie Birthday Challenge – For Rainbows, www.girlguiding.org.uk > Members’ area > What’s
happening > Big Brownie Birthday > Big Brownie Birthday resources)
Fabulous friends activities (Changing the World, www.girlguiding.org.uk > Members’ area > Activities >
Activity packs > Changing the World > Rainbows – Fabulous Friends)
Roundabout: All About Me (www.girlguidingshop.co.uk, order code 6172) has lots of other activities to
explore friendships, feelings, staying safe, body confidence and accepting differences.
Let’s Talk About Relationships with Rainbows
© Girlguiding 2014 www.girlguiding.org.uk
Registered charity number 306016