Color Mixing with Mouse Paint!

Preschool, Kindergarten Science,

A classic story, simple game, and color mixing will help your students learn their primary and secondary colors.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to mix primary colors to create secondary colors.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Mouse Paint by Ellen Walsh primary colors

Washable Tempera Paint (red, yellow, and blue) secondary colors
Cotton swabs
Color Wheel worksheet
Colors visual guide

Attachments

Color Wheel (PDF)

Colors visual guide (PDF)

Introduction (5 minutes)

Gather your students where they can see the book.

Show students the cover of Mouse Paint.
Invite your students to predict what the book may be about.
Tell your students that they will be using some ideas from the book to create colors.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (10 minutes)

Read the story while paying particular attention to the color mixing.
After reading the book, tell the students that they will go back to the book to make some notes.
Go back through the book and list the colors the mice made on a piece of chart paper.
Use color markers as you chart the color combinations.
Hang the color chart where every student can see it.
Point to the primary colors and explain that these colors are called primary colors because they are
used to make other colors.
Point to the secondary colors and explain that these colors are called secondary colors because they
are made from mixing the primary colors.

Guided Practice (10 minutes)

Give every student an orange, green, and purple crayon.

Have your students sit in a circle.
Tell your students that you will hold up two primary colors.
Ask students to respond by holding up their secondary color crayon that represents that color that those
two primary colors make.
Proceed by holding up the following combinations using crayons or cards: blue and red, red and yellow,
and yellow and blue.
Continue in this way until your students are holding up the correct secondary colors without hesitation.
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 Now give every student the primary colors and reverse the activity.
Tell your students to hold up the two primary colors needed to create the secondary color that you show.
Proceed by holding up orange, green, and purple colors until your students are responding confidently.

Independent working time (20 minutes)

Collect the crayons and have your students remain in the circle.
Hand out the Color Wheel worksheet.
Tell your students that they will be using tempera colors with cotton swabs to complete this activity.
Model how to use the primary colors to create secondary colors.
Model how to put the correct colors on the right numbers in the worksheet.
Place an example where your students can refer to it.
Place the Colors visual guide where students can see it.
Use small paper plates with a drop of red, blue and yellow paint for each student.
Give each student several cotton swabs to mix and paint with.
Dismiss your students to work in their table spots.
Observe and guide your students as they work.

Related books and/or media

VIDEO: Primary Colors Song for Kids/Secondary Colors Song for Kids by Kids Learning Tube
VIDEO: Mouse Paint by Sara Danno
BOOK: White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker

Differentiation

Enrichment: Advanced students may continue mixing paint as they complete the black and white
version of the Colors visual guide.
Support: Some students may need a visual guide at their table spot. Some students may need help
identifying which number should go with what color on the worksheet.

Assessment (5 minutes)

During Guided Practice: Your students should be able to hold up the correct colors when responding to
your color prompts.
During Independent Working Time: Your students should be able to mix the primary paint colors to create
secondary colors. Your students should also follow directions and place the colors in the correct spots.

Review and closing (5 minutes)

Ask your students to describe primary colors.

Have your students discuss how secondary colors are different.
Ask your students to think of other ways they could use color mixing.
Compliment your students on their colorful work!

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 Try painting by number using watercolors!
Parents: For best results, print this Let's learn our colors!
page on thick, sturdy paper. Start by painting the
primary colors:
1 1 - Blue 3
2 - Yellow
3 - Red
4
1 Now let's try mixing some 7
6 secondary colors by mixing the
primary colors together!
4 - Green: Blue + Yellow
5 - Orange: Yellow + Red
4 6 - Purple: Can you guess which
two colors make purple?

2
7
2
3
Finally, we'll do an
2 experiment! What happens
when you mix all three of
the primary colors?
3 7: Mystery color!

5 1

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PRIMARY + PRIMARY = SECONDARY

RED YELLOW ORANGE

YELLOW BLUE GREEN

BLUE RED PURPLE

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PRIMARY + PRIMARY = SECONDARY

RED YELLOW ORANGE

YELLOW BLUE GREEN

BLUE RED PURPLE

Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/

Find worksheets, games, lessons & more at education.com/resources
© 2007 - 2022 Education.com