“I’m really an artist right now. I’ve seen artists hold a palette like this before!”

After returning from winter break, friends began learning about colors and color mixing as we kicked off our long-term color study!  We started by reading Monsters Love Colors, a very silly book that introduces colors and color mixing to young children really well.

Next, I introduced some new materials, such as a palette.  Children learned that palettes are a tool that artists use for mixing colors.  They were very excited to hold it in one hand and their paintbrush in the other.  For the first week, each palette was prepared with the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) for children to mix new colors with.  Friends loved mixing their own colors, and many tried to mix colors they they thought the monsters would love!

Elijah: Look, I’m mixing brand new colors.  This is super pumpkin orange!  We should send this to the monsters.  We could put it in the mailbox and we could send it to Monster University!

Isaac: My mom uses a palette when she paints because she’s an artist.

Santi: I made green again.  It’s different green because it’s lighter.

Mina: I mixed a color that looks like it has a little bit of yellow in it.  Oh, it’s orange!

Theo: Avery, did you say white is your favorite color?  Try mixing yellow and blue.  That might make white.  Oh, no, that’s just green.

Elizabeth: This color looks like cabbage green!  And this green is like Grinch green.  I’m stirring this so fast.  I call this… green garbage!

Uhura: I made two greens but this green is different because it’s darker.  It has more blue mixed in it.

Gerson: Red and yellow.  Oh, I made orange!

Mateo: Mileena and I made green.  But mine looks more yuckier.  Mine looks like spinach green.

Adele: I made a rainbow with red, yellow and blue.  But then I painted more and it looks like it turned brown to me.

Briana: I made a lighter orange with more yellow.  I’m really so good at painting because I can mix any color!

Daniela: I used rainbow colors to make brown.  How did I do that?

Luca: Whoa, I made a new color.  I made brown with all three colors.  It looked like a little rainbow but then I mixed it and it turned brown.

Jax: I’m having so much fun with paint!  I mixed brown with all the colors, did you see that?

Amie: I was right!  Blue and yellow made green.  I want to make it light… maybe it needs more yellow.

Kyrie: The monsters, they would love it!  Look what I made!  Look, look, look!  Green!

Katherine: The monsters really told me how to make purple.

Kate: I made another purple now.  That one is darker purple and this one is lighter purple.

Frances: Lava is red, too.  Just like this color.

Kaleb: I made brown with rainbow colors.

Marcus: I mixed blue and yellow and it made green!  Red, yellow and blue go to brown.  Blue and red go to purple.

Kourtney: I mixed all the colors together and it made brown, not rainbow.

Drew:  This is maybe darker green, like teal green.

Alden: I’m really an artist right now.  I’ve seen artists hold a palette like this before!

Julian: I like that Hope mixed a color like Spongebob.

Connor: Whoa, I’m pretty good at mixing colors.

Mariyah: I think you put paint in those little spots to mix new colors.

Aaron: I made a red that looks like Spiderman!

Hailey: I was right, yellow and red made orange.

“I’m going to make the crying face blue because tears are blue. When I see water coming from the sky it’s blue.”

Phew! We have been so busy with all this color mixing that I’m not really behind on blogging— sorry about that!

A couple of weeks ago, friends began making connections between colors and feelings.  To further explore this, we read My Many Colored Days by Dr.Seuss.

Once it was time to start mixing colors, friends were excited to see that different facial expressions were on their paper and immediately made connections between colors and feelings.

Victor: I made grey. White and black made grey. The sad face is grey.

Autumn: Peach is a silly color.

Luca: When someone makes you mad your face get’s red.

Elijah: When someone’s making a really silly joke, you might laugh really hard and cry at the same time.  I don’t know what color to make that face, though.

Naomi: There’s black in the story and it was a mad page. I’ll make the mad face black.

Amen: It’s making it grey. Daniel, you’re right, it’s making grey. Dark grey. You mix up all the colors to make it.

Dafnee: That face feels exhausted.

Eva: I make the happy face pink. It’s my favorite color.

Elliott: I’m using blue for the sad face. Because blue is the color of tears.

Amal: That face feels shy. And that’s a love face.  This is a curious face.

Nydelyn: The face with the hearts is purple because purple is my favorite color. I like purple.

Cora: A smiley face with tears? I loved something so much that I cried.

Frances: Heart eyes, he’s in love. Pink or red are good love colors.

Elizabeth: White is confusing because then you can’t see the face underneath.

Kai: I’m putting more mad. It’s getting so mad.

Alden: The laughing and crying is a rainbow face. Because I said so.

Eli: Look at this one. I made the sad face pink because I don’t like pink.

Mileena: The sad face is red.  I don’t like red.

Waju: I made my mad face super duper red. Some peoples face look red when they get mad. I made it super duper dark.

Jayde: Pink for heart for red for aaawwww. Love.

Isaac: I’m going to make the crying face blue because tears are blue. When I see water coming from the sky it’s blue.

Konone: He’s smiling and crying at the same time because he’s so happy. My mom smiled and cried at the same time because she was so happy.

Eden: Yellow is for happy, for the happy face. Yellow makes me happy. And it looks like a happy face sun.

Drew: This one looks silly. That’s why he’s a clown with a red nose.

Kwame: He’s making a happy face. Do you see he has a beard. He has a ginormous beard. He’s a little embarrassed that he has a beard.

Siah: Happy is pink like in the book.

Dylan: I’m making mad. Red and blue, it look like a rainbow. Look, Siah, I made a rainbow. Because it’s beautiful.

Julita: The heart in eyes is purple.

Anders: I’m putting yellow and white, haha. I feel surprised about that color.

Sammy: I made a wolf color for mad.

Kimi: It’s like your eyebrows are like up, up, up, angry.

Julian: This face is red because he’s angry.

“Purple and yellow together made a dark yellow that looks like a rotten banana.”

For the second week of our color study, friends mixed colors using primary (red, yellow, blue) and secondary (orange, green, purple) colors.  We began by reading Color Dance by Ann Jonas, which gives really great visuals for how colors mix and change… especially highlighting that all colors mixed together make grey or brown.

Next, friends began mixing colors on their individual palettes and shared with friends what they noticed and wondered throughout the process.

Autumn: What did I make? Red! But what kind of red? It’s yellow red!

Gerson: I made brown.  No, this is purple.

Phoenix: I made two purples… like twins.

Luca: Purple and yellow together made a dark yellow that looks like a rotten banana.

Naomi: Wow, this is a new color.  It’s so new that I don’t even know the name for it.  I guess I can call it yellow gold.

Elijah: I made a special color.  It’s called violet jam.

Nazeer: I’m holding the palette in my hand like I’m an artist because I am an artist.

Daniel: Red like the lobster.  Red lobster.

Brandon: Let me see what happens.  I used all the colors and see, it made brown.

Leonel: This color is called dark rose.

Frances: I think I made grassy green. And this kind looks like cactus green.

Elliott: On sunny days, I want to be cooled down. On cold days, I want to be warmed up. I’m going to make a color to make me really warm. A color like the sun makes me really warm, I used yellow and orange to make that.

Isabella: Does anyone know this color? It’s a dark stormy color.

Cora: I’m mixing Christmas-y colors. It made purple brown.

Trebor: I mixed a little bit of orange and a lot of green and it made monster green.

Elizabeth: Look look look what I made, it’s garbage green.

Mileena: This color is like the clouds. Like outside the window on those clouds.

Gionni: What happens if I put a little more green on the blue… it got lighter! I put more blue and now it’s darker.

Eden: That’s how real artists actually do when they paint on the walls they hold the palette.

David: What color this is? Blue. Yes.

Siah: Let’s see how it changes. Orange, I got orange! Uhhhh, I used red and orange.

Avery: I’m making black. But I’m not finished yet, I’m still making colors.

Anders: Let’s see what happens to this. It made green. I made light green and dark green. It looks like trees.

Jax: Some red and some yellow, mix the colors and now let’s see what happens now! It turns to an orange with…. Blood!

Julian: Mater is brown and McQueen is red.

Joelle: I’m gonna mix two colors. Not a lot of colors, just two colors. It looks like green beans, right?

“I need to take a little break… mixing colors is making me tired!”

Last week, friends began learning about colors and color mixing as we kicked off our long-term color study!  We started by reading Monsters Love Colors, a very silly book that introduces colors and color mixing to young children really well.

Daniel: Red monster!  Blue monster!  Yummy colors!

Elizabeth: I can’t wait to mix so many colors for the monsters.

Felipe: Will red, yellow and blue make a rainbow?  The monsters will be so happy!  We made new colors, too.

Next, I introduced some new materials, such as a palette.  Children learned that palettes are a tool that artists use for mixing colors.  They were very excited to hold it in one hand and their paintbrush in the other.  For the first week, each palette was prepared with the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) for children to mix new colors with.

Leonel: We’re going to paint with Colombia colors… red, yellow and blue.

Sebrina: A palette holds the paint.  It’s important.

Finally, it was time to paint.  Children began mixing colors that they thought the monsters from the story would love!

Autumn: Look at how I made it…  I mixed red and blue and it’s purple!

Phoenix: That color looks like the color of Ethiopian food.  My mom likes that food!

Luca: Red is the color for love.

Dafnee: Daniel was right!  Red and blue makes purple!

Brandon: I’ll mix red and blue and let’s see what happens!

Isabella: How did you make that kind of purple, Elliott?  Does it have more blue or more red?

Cameron: I mixed all the colors… let’s see what happens!  How come when I did all the colors it made brown, not rainbow?

Nydelyn: I made red, like a strawberry red, because I like them.

Trebor: I want to make rainbow.  Wow, I did it actually!  It’s because I’m an artist.

Cora: I can’t believe red, yellow and blue can make all of these colors!

Frances: I made turquoise with a lot of blue and a little yellow.  Now look, when I put a lot of yellow and a little blue it makes light green, like slimy green.

Bella: I made the color of ducks!

Elizabeth: When you mix colors, the paint is loud.  When you paint, the brush is quiet because it’s busy.

Waju: I made dark green!  Now I have two types of green.  This one is darker because it has more blue in it.

Eli: I made green because I thinked about it and remembered that blue and yellow would do that.

Kwame: I mixed all the colors and it made brown.

Siah: I made tropical blue, how did I do that?

Katherine: Blue and yellow I told you made green.

Anders: I was right… red and yellow did make orange.

Joelle: A little bit of yellow and a little bit of blue makes a little bit of green.

Sammy: I need to take a little break… mixing colors is making me tired!

 

“I’m going to make the perfect color ever!”

As friends are continuing to broaden their knowledge and understanding of color mixing, many have been experimenting with how to mix “perfect, special colors!”  In this video, Florentina tries many different times to mix a color that is “perfect” and still is working on getting her colors mixed just how she would like them.  Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera died before the end, but she was in fact able to mix a “rainbow” color that she was thrilled with!

“We’re so good at mixing paint, we should be on a commercial!”

Over the past three weeks, all children in Pre-K have been busy in the Studio working on mixing their own, unique colors with paint!  Friends are discovering that when you mix paint, it creates a new color that’s one of a kind and special.  We have been building rich, descriptive vocabulary as we broaden our knowledge and understanding of color.

The first week was all about painting with primary colors, which are red, yellow and blue. Friends were introduced to a palette, which is a tool that artists use when mixing colors because it has many segments that keep colors separated.  Next, we read the book Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin and worked on mixing colors that the monsters in the book would love!

Autumn: Where are the monsters?  I want to show them my painting!  They will like it.

Jariel: I made another brown that looks like dirty mud.

Siah: I made green again, but now it’s dark green because I put more blue.

Cory: I used a lot of colors.  I love them all.  The yellow looks like honey mustard, red looks like sour soda and blue looks like water.

Zavier: Red is the color of lava.  Green is the color of a leaf.  We’re so good at mixing paint, we should be on a commercial!

Maia: These colors are so cool because I made them myself.  I’m such an artist because I hold my palette.

Siena: I made three turquoises but they are all different.  Will the monsters like them?

Sophie: Three greens that kind of look the same, but mostly different.  You have to look very closely.

Iris: I’m still working on making purple so it’s my favorite kind of purple and not just regular purple.

Andres: I have an idea, if you want green, just mix it yourself!

The following week, children were excited to see that white and black paint were added to their palettes and were eager to begin mixing!  We read the book Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin and enjoyed singing Pete’s song about the different colors he stepped in.  After the story, friends continued to mix colors and created tints and shades with the black and white paint.

Carlos: I’m going to make a pile of blueberries like what Pete stepped in in the book!

Adrian: I didn’t know I could make so many different purples.  The white changed the purple to light purple and the black changed the purple to dark purple.  And when I put more red, it made red purple.  And when I put more blue, it made blue purple.

Nneka: Every color you make is different than someone else’s!

Claire: Christian, well done, the first color you mixed was turquoise!

Florentina: Holding the palette is very hard.  Just like being an artist, you have to practice and you’ll get better.

Elijah: The white paint teleported into the black paint to make grey paint.

Marquis: All the colors together make mud puddle brown.

Zavier: I’m making a magic trick with paint.  I’m changing pink to purple.

Claire: The color I mixed is stunning.  That means really, really pretty.

Zoe: I  made indigo and violet.  Violet is a beautiful type of purple.

On to week three!  We began by reading My Many Colored Days by Dr.Seuss and learned that different colors can make us feel different ways, as well as evoke emotions and feelings.  In each circle on their paper, there was a different expression drawn in to support friends in thinking about how color is connected to the way we feel.  Children had so much fun acting out different expressions and mixing unique colors, as I added orange, green and purple to their palettes.

Friends enjoyed making angry, surprised, happy and silly faces with their friends.  Also, Ra’Maya noticed that the faces on her shirt were similar to the faces on her paper!

Adrian: Remember the Sophie book?  Her face turned red when she was mad so I’ll use red and orange for the mad face.

Miguel: That face looks sleepy, but like they’re having a good dream.  I’ll make it peaceful purple.  When I think of nervous, I can use all the colors and paint it kind of gently so it’s like a rainbow.

William: My mad face looks like it has fire on it.

    

Mae: Did you have a feeling that we would like the feeling papers?  I don’t like the faces the most, I like the circles because they are my favorite shape!

Jariel: Dark yellow makes me feel angry!

Greyson: How does that face feel? It looks like he has a snake for the mouth.

Friends will be continuing this Color Study project all the way up until our December 15th Showcase.  We will have lots of work to share with families and friends at the event!

“When I squish them they are wonderful!”

During the first six weeks of a new school year, children explore new materials in different areas of their classroom. Learning about new materials is a great way to build relationships with both classmates and new teachers!

During the second week of school, Pre-K friends began working with oil pastels in the art area. It was exciting to compare and contrast crayons, which children have been working with since the beginning of the year, with oil pastels. Children were able to draw freely as they acquainted themselves with the new material. Once friends were finished with their masterpieces, they learned how to clean up oil pastels and where they could find them the next time they wanted to draw with them!

Ryler: I rubbed my finger and now it’s on the paper and my finger.  I made lots of trees, a pattern, line, line sideways, line, line sideways.  What do orange and purple make?

Ronan: Why are these called oil pastels?  They don’t look like oil to me.

Moses: I want to try to make it white but the pastel is white and the paper is white so I think it won’t work.  The white on the blue made it indigo now.  I made ice cream but it’s too sweet for your bones.

Mae: The colors turned to blue!  Now it’s green… I made broccoli!  I’m doing so much colors.

Claire: When I squish them they are wonderful!

Kofi: I remember, those are oil pastels!  You can mix with them.

Sylvie: Smudging is putting your one finger on it.

Vivian: Let’s see how they make a person.  If I put pink and black and purple, let’s see how I can smudge mine.  Let’s see how it changes.  What is the white going to do?

The third week of school was very exciting as we began learning about different types of paint! Friends learned about primary colors (red, yellow, blue) and how to mix them to create secondary colors (orange, green, purple). We practiced putting on smocks to protect our clothing, and learned how to carefully carry wet paintings to the drying rack. Next week, we will begin art groups in the Studio!

Chrishelle: You have to brush it for a long time to turn it to another color.

Madison: It turned black.  How?

Mackenzi: I can make a swirl with the blue.  It swirled in red and made purple.

Adrian: I painted my name.  It wasn’t hard to do it.

Noah: Put on your paint jacket so you don’t get paint on your clothes.

Isley: The paintbrush made it look like footprints.  I made an elephant eating blueberry pancakes.

Zavier: What does paint mean?

Justin: I’m going to make the prettiest one of all!

Zuri: I want to put it in the hall so everyone can see my painting!