Preschool Science: Color

Preschool Explorers (my weekly preschool program that alternates between art and science each week) started up again this week and we began with a mix of art and science: color. 

First, I read Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff. I decided to start here so that the kids would have a chance to identify each color. 

After we had talked about each individual color, I brought out Mix it up! by Herve Tullet.

This gave us a chance to talk about how colors mix. The kids loved it (of course). 

I gave a brief explanation of the stations and then they were off. 

The Stations: 

1 - Color Wheels (Color Identification)

Take some printed or colored color wheels (preferably on cardstock or glued to cardboard). Add some clothespins with the colors written on them (in the appropriate color, of course) and you have a matching plus fine motor activity. One little boy liked this one so much, he wanted to take a color wheel home with him. 

2 - Paint in a bag (Color Mixing)

The kids squirted washable tempera paint into sandwich baggies and then squished the bag to mix the color. I showed them how to "paint" with their fingers by laying the bag flat and drawing on it with their fingers. 

3 - Color Books (Color Identification) 

I put out index cards, magazines, and crayons and the kids made their own color books. Shower curtain rings provided a way to keep it all together. 

4 - Watercolor Mixing (Color Mixing)

Three bowls with red, blue, and yellow, a bowl for mixing, and an eyedropper or pipette are all you need to make some color mixing fun! 

I provided coffee filters for the kids to see what color they had made (it's sometimes hard to tell with watercolors when they are in the bowl). 

Color most frequently made? Brown. 

5 - Pom Pom Matching (Color Identification)

I wrapped paper towel tubes with colored paper and added velcro to one side to make them stick to my flannel board. The kids would take pom poms and drop them down the chute of the same color. One little girl dropped with one hand and caught with the other. Others just liked the watch the pom poms shoot out. 

At the same station, I had muffin tins with circles of colored construction paper in them. The idea was to put the pom poms in the space with the same color. I found some scoops at Lakeshore Learning  that were used to pick up the pom poms. 

I find this particular program works well at the beginning of the year when some kids are just aging into the program and others have left for kindergarten. There is a range of levels of activity here and my barely three year old was just as interested as my four-going-on-ten year old.