Color Mixing Activities

— November 25, 2024

Your child has learned the names of colors, now what? The next step in teaching your child art is for them to understand primary versus secondary colors. The best part is that this concept is fun to learn when done right. 

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Why should your child know the difference between primary versus secondary colors?

Knowing the difference between the two is a beginning step in understanding the color wheel. This helps artists make selections on colors to use in their art. Also, it creates opportunity for your child to experiment with supplies they have on hand to make things they may need but are lacking.

Knowing all the colors and difference of them lays a foundation for more scientific discovery in the role wavelengths play in creating rainbows and the colors we see. To read more about this check out the post, Create your own rainbow.

What are primary versus secondary colors?

Primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. These colors make up all the other colors that we see. They also cannot be made by mixing other colors. Various shades and colors all come from these three colors.

The secondary colors are all created by mixing the primary colors together. Red and yellow make orange. Yellow and blue make green. And blue and red make purple. That means orange, green, and purple are secondary colors.

5 ways to teach these colors to your preschooler.

I share five different ways to teach the primary versus secondary colors concept. I encourage you to do more than one. They can be completed in one week or over the course of a couple months. Revisiting the concept is important. 

Additionally, I prefer to teach this concept in tandem with learning about rainbows. Two of the activities listed here are rainbow related. If you wish to access more rainbow related activities, book suggestions, and more visit the button below.

1. Water mixing demonstration.

The water mixing demonstration is a great beginning activity to introduce the concept of what makes primary colors special. Begin with three large, clear glasses of water. Have your child add food coloring to each one. Red in one glass, yellow in another, and blue in the last. use 4 – 7 drops depending on the size of the glass. Your child will probably squirt a bunch in. For us I didn’t mind and I worked with what they added. 

After stirring the colors into the water, explain to your child that these are primary colors. They’re special because no colors make them. Instead these colors are the foundation to all other colors. 

Now bring out the empty, clear glasses. These are going to be where we mix primary colors to make secondary colors. When yellow is part of a secondary color I recommend pouring it into the glass first. Being such a light color, you will want to add little amounts of the other primary colors slowly until you achieve the color you want.

As the secondary colors are created, chances are your child will be eager to share that they know the color. As soon as green appeared from mixing yellow and blue my boys practically jumped out of their seats to be the first to say it. 

After finishing the demonstration with red and blue make purple, and red and yellow make orange I allowed the boys to play with the glasses of colored water. By doing this they are able to see various color hues and experiment with the colors themselves. We discussed the different colors they made that included yucky colors, deeper shades of purple, etc.

2. Color paddles.

The color paddles are an excellent way to keep the lesson short and not worry about things being a mess. Because of this though they aren’t nearly as engaging and I only use them for a brief review between other color mixing activities. They’re also excellent for the color restriction activity, number 3. When my kiddo asks what colors will make green, I can demonstrate instead of simply telling him which two colors he needs.

3. Coloring restrictions.

This is a favorite for me to use with my kiddos. After we had visited the concept of primary versus secondary colors a couple times I pulled out this activity for my child and really drove home the overall concept. 

Allow your child to choose their favorite character, or simply choose a picture from a coloring book. Then only give them the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue as colored pencils to color with.  At some point they will ask for a secondary color such as green. Let them know that they have to make due with the colors that they have. After a brief exclamation of annoyance my son colored yellow and blue over top of one another. Crayons are another option, but do not use markers. Markers are likely to create holes when your child attempts to color on top of one another.

The next day I allowed my child to choose another favorite character and I printed a coloring page. He then was only given colored pencils that were secondary colors: green, orange, and purple. Now he had to color his picture with only those. When he wanted blue, and I told him he could only use secondary colors, he studied them trying to figure out how to get blue. He eventually explained to me that he couldn’t get blue from those colors like he was able to get green the day before. That was when I knew he understood!

Rainbow activities to teach primary versus secondary colors.

These next couple activities can be found at Rr is for Rainbow with more in depth instructions and a free printable.

4. Study the colors of the rainbow.

Use a prism and a rainbow printable to learn about primary versus secondary colors. The colors of a rainbow are easy to remember with the acronym ROYGBIV. The only difference we are going to use here is to combine indigo and violet and describe them as a singular color, purple. This makes it easier for younger learners and keeps the focus on primary versus secondary colors.

If you have an older preschooler then there is a rainbow printable included with 7 different bands instead of just 6. There is also a blog post specifically for this activity if you wish to read more about how it was determined that the spectrum of the rainbow has 7 colors and who decided it. Check it out here, Create your own rainbow at home.

5. Grow a rainbow.

Using markers, a paper towel, and bowls of water, you are set to create a rainbow. Your child will be fascinated watching the colors creep up the paper towel to eventually meet at the top. We usually do this experiment a few times because the boys never grow tired of watching the water carry the colors up the towel. Read more about this experiment at Rr is for Rainbow.

Primary versus secondary colors for preschoolers.

Primary versus secondary colors are a fun and easy concept to teach to preschoolers with the right methods. By using various activities your child will understand why primary colors and secondary colors are different. The demonstrations are interactive and the experiments are engaging. By ending with the coloring restrictions activity you can cement this concept for your child and help them appreciate the beauty of having all the colors at their disposal. 

Rainbow activities and more learning opportunities for preschoolers.

Rr is for Rainbow is full of activity ideas, book suggestions, coloring pages, and more. Teach your child about the rainbow and colors by visiting Rr is for Rainbow. 

Rr is for Rainbow is a part of Letter of the Week. This has been reimagined for all that home learning has to offer. Experiments, activities, books, poetry, and more make learning the alphabet exciting. It’s so much more than learning the alphabet! However, the alphabet is still emphasized with plenty of letter recognition practice and review. Explore more at the button below.

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