Exploring Blues

This is a very open ended prompt that can be done many times and evolve in many directions. To explore color change, you can use paint, tissue paper, chalk, play dough.. the list goes on, and we will have posts specifically for each of those methods and more. For this one, we will be using paint and creating an abstract ocean themed painting. We will be observing how different colors mix with blue, specifically ones to keep an ocean themed color scheme. Children love seeing colors mix together, and it is a wonderful hands on learning opportunity. While it is totally fine (and encouraged) to let your child control what colors they pick to mix (and how they mix them), it also is important to foster boundaries and following directions for kindergarten preparedness. Setting up a project with some parameters can also help your child think of ideas to try later. This project lets them explore, learn, and feel proud of their finished work.

You will need:

Paint in multiple colors

Multiple paint brushes

Towels

Large Paper

Multiple Palettes

Directions:

Set up an area to paint. Place the paper down in front of where the child will sit. I like to keep large packs of paper on hand. You can get them from any big box store (Target, Walmart, etc) in the kid's craft supplies section. Set up your palettes to be surrounding the paper (leaving the side your child faces clear), with one brush per palette. We have used many things in lieu of palettes for painting. You just need something to hold paint, have a few spots with paint and a few spots for mixing, on each "palette". Each palette will be used for two colors. More than this and it defeats the purpose of this particular project. You will also end up with a lot of browns that way. For older children, you can have a palette with yellow and blue on one side of the paper, and a palette with red and blue on the other, with out much brown-risk. Sometimes it's okay to make browns, but for this project, we want to see the effect of simple mixing. Older children (4-6) can understand this and be careful when applying. Make sure to remind them though, that each brush should stay with it's palette or they will end up with a lot of browns. For younger children (2-3), I would suggest only putting out 2-3 different palettes, either seeing how red and yellow mix with blue, or doing yellow and green now, and purple and red later. Pictured is red, purple, green, yellow, and white. I arranged them in order as to prevent browns on the page. Let your child mix and paint as they please. Perhaps they don't want to do a lot of painting. It may just be a way to get paint off the brush. We also used a towel to wipe. You may use a cup of water, but I believe they just get knocked over and need to be cleaned out constantly. Since each brush should stay with their palette, a towel works fine.

Bonus:

Take this project outside! Let your child paint on a glass door, on the deck, a large piece of paper outside, cardboard, or scrap wood. Water proof paint can be mixed with a little dish soap to keep it more waterproof. You may also mix your paints with soap and water for a different sensory experience! Add things to scoop and pour, and the project turns into a colorful and bubbly water play experiment.