Mixing colors: Ideas for homeschool preschool activities

These homeschool preschool activities help kids learn about mixing colors in a hands-on, fun way. Make sure to read all the way to the bottom to read about our preschool science experiment, a dragon that spits foam! This post contains affiliate links.

At a recent meeting of our homeschool preschool, one mom joked that I was the messy mom—not necessarily because my house is always disheveled (which it is), but because my homeschool lessons always involve a warning: “We could get messy today. Dress accordingly!” The toddler-friendly activities about mixing colors were no exception.

I’m a giant fan of anything having to do with art and paint, but I try to design my homeschool preschool activities to involve pre-math skills, science and/or fine motor and gross motor skill-building options. So when I planned a day to learn about mixing colors, I kept this in mind and included hands-on projects that tick multiple boxes.

The mixing colors homeschool preschool lesson was a success! The kids—and the moms—got a kick out of the variety of activities we did to learn all about mixing colors.

Mixing colors activities for homeschool preschool

No-mess paint baggies

I don’t shy away from messes, but not every parent—or kid—is as mess tolerant as I am. That’s why I love these no-mess paint baggies: You simply squirt two colors of tempera paint into a ziplock, tape it to the window and let kids mix colors.

No one gets messy, but they still get a hands-on, tactile experience that helps them learn what happens when they combine yellow and blue or red and blue.

(Also, I need to wash my windows. Look at all those handprints! Yikes!)

(Also also, did you see Kiwi’s twin braids? OMG SHE’S GETTING SO BIGGGGGGG)

Mixing colors and stenciling

K was the letter of the day (more detail on our daily homeschool preschool schedule here), so I made K stencils with my Cricut. Instead of squirting a ton of paint onto a plate or palette, I put only two colors per plate. That way, the colors mixed into something other than brown.

(Some of the time.)

We made sure to point out when the paint made a new color to help the kids learn about mixing colors.

Colored vinegar and baking soda

Science is cool—just ask these super-excited toddlers! They loved this hands-on, kid-friendly science experiment that explored the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar.

I have a gallon of distilled white vinegar and cheap baking soda from the dollar store on-hand at all times because this is a project you don’t want to cut short. Vinegar and baking soda activities can last a long time.

I added a few drops of liquid watercolors (not food coloring, which stains!) to about a half-cup of vinegar for each kid. (I use these liquid watercolors.) Each child got a clean dropper or medicine syringe from our first aid box. Using them required fine motor skills and a little practice. Once they got the hang of using them, though, they were so proud!

The kids loved watching the bubbles erupt when they squirted vinegar on the baking soda.

Baking soda and vinegar dragon

The only thing that could top the colored vinegar and baking soda activity was the baking soda and vinegar dragon. I got the idea from a book I love, 50 Science Things to Make and Do.

The dragon took about 5 minutes to make: All I did was cut a tail and arms out of red card stock, which I taped to a milk bottle, then glued on googly eyes to the top. (This glue is washable, so I didn’t ruin the milk bottle.) You’ll just want to make the dragon ahead of time to give the glue time to dry.

Put the baking soda and vinegar dragon on a large rimmed baking sheet (to contain the mess!). Then fill the bottle half-way with white vinegar and add a squirt of dish soap. The kids decided to make the dragon’s fire blue, so I added a few drops of liquid watercolors. (That prompted a Game of Thrones reference to ice dragons—dun dun dun!!!!!!!!)

Next, I cut a kleenex into four squares. One of the kids scooped a heaping teaspoon of baking soda onto one kleenex square. Another child twisted the corners of the kleenex to make a little baking soda package. (The package helps the baking soda sink to the bottom of the bottle, ensuring a bigger chemical reaction.) A third child dropped it into the dragon’s mouth, and a fourth used a straw to poke the package to the bottom of the dragon.

And boom! Ice fire!

You could do this experiment multiple times, mixing colors to get different colored foam. In reality, these preschoolers lasted only one go at the baking soda and vinegar dragon because it was snack time.

Learning makes toddlers hungry!

Color dancing

Dance parties have been a daily joy in our house lately, so we couldn’t wrap up our homeschool preschool without one. I brought out colored scarves (I use these) to connect to our mixing colors theme. Plus, scarves are fun to dance with!

Dancing is a great way to get the wiggles out after quieter activities like painting and reading books. What’s more, it hones gross motor skills and social skills, as the kids dance together—and learn to apologize when they bump into each other.

We had so much fun learning about mixing colors! Let me know if you try any of these homeschool preschool activities—I’d love to hear how they went!

Are you interested in homeschool for your toddler? Or do you want ideas for fun, educational activities? Check out all my homeschool preschool posts!