“….As the child’s conception of line, shape and color grows…their capacity for selecting and organizing these elements also increases.”
– Nancy Smith
Overview
Grade Level
3 & 4 year olds
Media Theme/ Big Idea
Painting Explorations: Tints
Essential Question
What colors can we make with red, blue and yellow? What colors can we make if we use all three colors together?
Materials and Tools
- 18” x 24” white paper 80#
- Red paint in soufflé cup
- Blue paint in soufflé cup
- Yellow paint in soufflé cup
- White paint in soufflé cup
- 1” brush
- Water in deli cup
- Sponge
- Tray
Activities
Step 1: Invitation to Explore
- “What colors did we create/make last week?”
- “What do you see on my tray this week?”
- “We have yellow, blue, red and white! What do think will happen when we mix white in the blue?”
- Review removing the lids off of the soufflé cups.
- “Let’s see what will happen when we mix white with the yellow?”
- “What happened? It became lighter!”
- Model mixing white with blue and red.
- “What color should make now?” Model making green, orange and/or purple.
- Model adding white to each of the colors.
- “What colors are we making?”
- “Light yellow…what can we call this color?” Lemon yellow.
- Light orange….peach
- Light purple…lavender or lilac
- Explain that you are making tints or pastels.
- Model cleaning the brush and drying it on the sponge. (Explain how important it is to dry the brush.) Review brush cleaning song.
- Review drying the brush on the sponge
Step 2: Work-time
- Invite 3-4 students to the art center.
- Encourage students to stand or sit, whichever is more comfortable for them so that they can use their whole arm as they move the brush on the paper.
- Review removing lids off of soufflé cups.
- Each student has his own tray with a cup of red, blue, yellow, and white paint, a brush, deli cup with water and a sponge.
- Remind students to wash their brushes between dipping into each color. Review brush washing song.
- Encourage students to mix colors to make green, orange and purple and to add white into each color combination.
- You will need to be fully present at the table until the students have internalized the brush washing routine into their approach to painting.
- Comment on the many colors the students are creating and how they are moving their brushes to create patches/areas of color.
Step 3: Reflection
“_______ made many different colors! What colors do you see?”
“How do you think _________made these colors?”
Vocabulary
Paintbrush, handle, bristle, mixing, add, blend, light, dark, lighter, darker, top, bottom, corner, middle, tint, pastel, lavender, lilac, peach