Elementary Color Theory in Kindergarten

The kids have wanted to paint every day this week, so I decided to throw in some activities to allow them to learn more about color mixing...

Messy Mornings: Color mixing and handprints/footprints

We recently changed bathtime from nights to mornings, which not only means that I'm less exhausted at the end of the day, but also that we get to have Messy Mornings, where we do our messiest art and science explorations and then head straight for the bath.

This morning we read Mouse Paint by Ellen Walsh (super-cute book about mixing primary colors), and then experimented with color mixing.  I squirted two colors on a plastic disposable plate and asked the girls to predict the new color before mixing in up with their hands.

This was a neat sensory experience for them.  Then we made hand-prints and footprints all over a piece of butcher paper.  Yes, I actually let my kids walk through paint indoors and the house survived (the only rule was that they have to stay on the canvas tarp - I repeated this a couple times during the activity and they actually listened).  Here's more of the fun (my picture-taking ability was limited once they started the footprints, for obvious reasons).

Messy, but fun!