I Can Make Brown A Color Mixing Tutorial

Color Mixing to Make Brown Tutorial

Kids love to mix paint, making just the right color of brown takes a bit of measurement and is a lot of fun! For this activity we are going to make brown!
For this tutorial the kids made mud for their trucks and cars to drive through and make tracks

Supplies

For this activity you will need:

• Red Tempera paint
• Yellow Tempera paint
• Blue Tempera paint
• Paper (any color)
• A Paint Brush for each child
• Paper Plate or dish for mixing
• Measuring tool (we used a tablespoon)
• *Optional: Vehicles for making tracks 
  

Directions

Provide each child with a measuring tool and something to mix on. A paper plate works great for this and makes for easy clean-up. A set of dedicated cheap measuring utensils is a must-have for any art kit. 
Ask your preschoolers what they know about mixing colors. Some may have a lot of experience with this already! Ask if they can think of any colors they could make with the provided paint. After some discussion, explain that for this activity they will be making the color brown.
Before starting, be sure to explain the process so children can be successful. They will measure out 3 TB Red, 3 TB Yellow, & 1 TB Blue, then swirl around to mix. Encourage your preschooler to act out the directions as you give them for practice. 

Add the Paint

 Next, preschoolers start measuring out the paint. The suggested ratio is 3 Red, 3 Yellow, & 1 Blue. You can use any measurement you like, we used a tablespoon. For less paint try a teaspoon.

Encourage your preschooler to measure the paint themselves and keep count of how many tablespoons they have added. 
​ *Note the shade of brown will vary with your paint, You may want to do a pre-mix test before the activity and adjust if necessary. 

Start Mixing

Once everyone has their paint, encourage the children to start swirling the colors together.
As they swirl describe what you are seeing and encourage your preschooler to do the same. 

Keep swirling until the mixture is well-blended into the color brown. Encourage preschoolers to recall what they know about mud and their experiences with mud. Compare what they remember about the color and texture of mud to the paint they are mixing.
*Adding in a dash of sand would be a fun way to add more texture to the mix, and ties in great to a Rocks, Dirt, and Mud theme

Time to Paint

Once the mixture is the desired color, it's time to get painting!

We added toy cars to make "mud" tracks on paper. Toy cars are a great addition to tie in with a Transportation Preschool Theme

Provide extra paper, or a large roll of paper, for children to make many sets of tracks. 
Make comparisons with the tracks made with different types of vehicles. 

Extension Ideas

• Invite preschoolers to mix other colors. Let them experiment mixing different colors to see what new ones they can make!
• Toss the cars in the sensory bin with some soap and water for sensory engagement. 

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