Children are painting rainbows to place in their windows to raise the spirits of passers-by

The coronavirus outbreak has lead to children around the UK staying home today after schools closed to most pupils on Friday.

To keep up their art skills - and bring smiles to their local community - many kids have been painting rainbows and sticking them to their front windows as part of a global trend.

Mums have been posting snaps of their uplifting creations online, leading to youngsters being praised for their efforts to raise spirits at this uncertain time.

One family getting involved is Vicky Corbley and her children, from Oldham in Manchester, who produced designs featuring the messages “don’t worry” and “we’ll get through”, along with notes thanking delivery drivers and postal workers.

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Speaking to PA news agency, the mum said: “I think we all need all the positivity we can get right now.

“Everywhere we look on social media, it’s full of people panicking, worrying, scared.

“So doing something like this hopefully will lift people’s spirits, even if it’s just a smile… plus it’s keeping kids busy, too!”

Danielle Oliver, from Sunderland, agreed that the idea could be a welcome activity for youngsters during “a very challenging and difficult time for everyone”.

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The mum explained: “It not only provides young children who are out of school with an engaging activity, but also helps to encourage the children to be out exploring their local community safely.

“The neighbours have already been interested and it has been lovely to see smiles on people’s faces as they walk past the house.”

Karen Cumming, from Dunblane, has helped get her kids involved by putting a rainbow in her son’s bedroom window, and said she has seen another nearby already.

“I have two kids, one at eight years old with disabilities and a seven-month-old,” she revealed.

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“Neither understand what is happening in the world right now. My older son likes his school routine, which has obviously had to stop.

“I think it’s a scary unknown time, but the kids do not need the worry that the adults and parents are having to deal with right now.”

Others parents have been proudly sharing their children’s rainbows on Twitter.

Posting pictures of her daughter’s work, one mum wrote: “We found a Facebook page making rainbows to put in a window to help spread cheer. So far we have made five.

“One for our window and four to post to our grandparents and our aunty’s doctor surgery for key workers.”