Connecting With Literature: Colors Part Five!

Connecting With Literature: Colors Part Five
Mouse Paint by Ellen Walsh

This is my last post in the Connecting With Literature: Colors series.   I hope you have found some fun ideas to try with your little ones at home or at school :)  This last connection was set up as an Invitation to Create activity, for my whole group.  I chose to do it last because it really encouraged kids to play with color mixing and making new colors.  After a week of color exploration I thought this was a nice way to wrap it all up.  It is simple, fun, kinda messy, and the kids really enjoyed it.  I broke the Invitation into two parts.  In the book the Mice first mix with their bodies.  Then they mix with brushes.  So, we had a chance to create with mice and brushes too!

Part One: Mix with MICE!

Setting It Up:

I just got some fabric mice from the cat toy section at Target.  They came in packages of three.

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I put a large piece of butcher paper across the middle of our table (already covered by a paint table-cloth).  This way we could seamlessly move from part one to part two later on (by cutting the butcher paper right in front of the paint trays/brushes and throwing it away)...but the kids could use the big blobs of paint any way they wanted during part one.  I gave the kids regular sized paper to have in front of them but they could also paint on the butcher paper.  The mice got to hop into the blobs, which was very entertaining!  

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So much FUN!

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The kids got to take their mouse home!  Many were excited to mix colors again later with their mouse.  And they sure looked cute with painted bodies!

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Part Two: Mixing Colors with Brushes

Setting It Up

I had these trays set up before the activity began.  When we were done with the mice (the kids decided when they were done), I just cut the butcher paper right in front of these trays and threw it away.  They got a tray of colors, and picked out their brushes!  As a side note: We have a "clean" brush container and a "dirty" brush container.  This way we don't have to worry about water or rinsing/spills during the project.  The kids can get as many brushes as they want, and just put them in the dirty basket when done.  It makes my life sooooo much easier!  

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I gave the kids these papers with the two circles without much direction.  They had seen me mix blue and yellow on one earlier, but they could mix and paint how they wished.  It was just an "invitation" for them to create...I didn't have expectations other than that they would explore and create something with the colors.  Fun!  Of course, plain white paper was available too, and the mice could come back out any time if they wanted!

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Thanks for stopping by to check out the Connecting With Literature: Colors series on my blog!  If you enjoyed it find me on facebook or pinterest via the links at the top of this page!  
I hope you have fun exploring colors with your children :)
-Jeanine