March posts at the start of the month talked about the magic and learning in fairy tales. Later this month, we’ll do a few more but with what’s happening on Thursday (St. Patrick’s Day) we’ll change to another kind of magic–colors! Where do colors come from? How do we get so many of them? Here’s a simple, inexpensive activity for toddlers to discover about colors and science.
Paints or food coloring are easiest to use but crayons or felts will work, too. Cover the working area with newspapers to catch any stray colors. Give your child a plain piece of paper and a brush or q-tip. Put a couple drops of yellow into a jar lid. Let your child paint with the yellow. Now, the q-tip needs a quick rinse. Put a drop of red right on the paper and have your child spread it on top of the part that’s already yellow. Magically, the color orange should appear just from mixing yellow and red. Where did it come from?
This simple activity practices an important science concept: actions can create change. Discovering and exploring are part of kindergarten readiness, sparking curiosity and wondering. How exciting for kids to find a magic formula: red + yellow = orange. Orange you glad that science is so much fun?