Horsham children spread some cheer among the coronavirus crisis

Mums and dads at home with youngsters are being encouraged to get their little ones to draw a rainbow and hang it in a window to help cheer themselves up, along with passers-by.

Hundreds of mums across the town signed up to the Facebook group Rainbow Window Eye Spy Horsham within days of it being launched by Horsham mum Jayne Barnes.

Jayne started the group after coming across similar online artwork schemes - which aim to lift people’s spirits - in other parts of the country.

“No-one was doing anything in Horsham so I set up the Facebook group and around 1,500 people signed up within five days.”

Children have been painting colourful rainbows this week, but Jayne is now planning to change the picture theme each week over the coming weeks.

“Children get bored easily and I still want the kids to be excited,” she said.

Jayne’s own children - Skye,10, Oscar, three, and Ella,15 - have all been helping.

But the three are used to helping out their mum with creative schemes - Jayne also runs a group known as Horsham Secret Books.

That scheme aims to encourage children to read more by wrapping and hiding books in various locations for children to find and read, before hiding them again for another child to find.

“Obviously we have had to stop that because of the coronovirus which is why I was looking to see what else kids could do and set up the Rainbow Window Eye Spy group.

“It’s just giving the kids something different. I wanted to do something for the children because they can’t go out now to the parks or socialising.”

Jayne paid tribute to her friend kirsty Pearless who has helped with the group’s admin, and to Jo and Carol Gearing who helped with the Horsham Secret Books scheme.

See Children draw rainbows to spread messages of hope