Here’s a fun activity to teach preschoolers primary and secondary colors.
1. Put a few drops of red, yellow and blue food coloring in glasses of water. Place a pipette in each glass.
2. Find a neutral container for children to mix.
3. Put an empty glass on the tray to dump experiments. Place a moist sponge on the tray so children can clean up their mess.
How to Present
1. Let kids experiment! Teach them how to use a pipette. Tell them to choose 2 colors for each experiment.
2. Point out when they create green, purple or orange. Challenge them to repeat it.
3. Watch the dump glass. What color is it? Challenge them to make brown on their own.
4. You can show the colors on a color wheel if you want. This is one of many ways to demonstrate color mixing. The more often a child repeats it, the clearer the connections will he in his head.
5. You can use markers to write the formulas for color mixing if you want.
6. Once they become proficient at mixing, call out a color and challenge them to create it.
7. For advanced learners, experiment with shades of a color. For example, make a blue-green color with 2 blues and 1 yellow and a yellow-green with 1 blue and 2 yellows.
Lesson Benefits
1. Teaches children about primary and secondary colors.
2. Strengthens the pincer grasp which is needed for writing.
3. Builds concentration. My kids spent a solid hour on this lesson with rapt attention.
4. Introduces the scientific method: predict, experiment, draw conclusions and repeat the test.
5. Encourages precision.
6. Builds confidence by children held responsible for a neat work space.
Leave a Reply