Here’s a fun color mixing activity using playdough! The hands-on, sensory activity for kids is inspired by Leo Lionni’s popular children’s book, Little Blue and Little Yellow. The post also includes a free printable for teachers to send home to parents so their children can enjoy the activity at home. Such great way to encourage a school and home connection!
Follow our Children’s Book Activities Pinterest board!
(This post contains affiliate links.)
Little Blue and Little Yellow
More Books About Colors
Playdough Color Mixing Activity
One of my favorites things to do with the story is something I did as a Kindergarten teacher- mixing blue and yellow playdough to make green! The kids always loved to explore the mixing of colors with this hands-on playdough activity.
After we explore the activity in the classroom, we would put together little baggies containing a little yellow and little blue ball of play dough for the students to take home. (Here’s a recipe for our favorite homemade playdough. It’s very soft~ perfect for mixing colors!)
We attached a note to each baggie inviting the parents to ask their child to retell the story using the little balls of play dough. The students were always so excited to do this and couldn’t wait to bring it home.
Wouldn’t this be a fun activity to pass out to your child’s class after being a guest reader in their classroom and sharing this book?
Here’s a free printable with directions to attach to each baggy.
Other Activities Based on Little Blue and Little Yellow
- Use tear art to create your own pictures similar to the ones in the book. Tell a story using the picture you made.
- Do our chromatography experiment showing which colors make up the color green.
- Talk or write about any connections you have to the story. Did it remind you of anything from your life or any other books you’ve read?
Related Posts
Counting Math Game Inspired by I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More!
Mixing Colors: Create and Name Your Own Colors
Cooking with Kids: Little Blue and Little Yellow Cookies
Crayon Box Craft Inspired by The Day the Crayons Quit
Free Printable Scavenger Hunt for Kids: Go on a Color Walk
Mixing Colors: Color Array Using a Tray and Pipettes
15 Ways for Kids to Explore Color Mixing
Free Printable Christmas Coloring Game
Kirstylee says
March 28, 2013 at 12:21 pmThis is a great activity by itself to teach color mixing, but I especially love that you did it along with this book. Now I want to go buy this book and do this activity with my kids ASAP. 🙂
Chelsey says
March 29, 2013 at 9:24 pmThanks! Definitely check it out~ fun little book! 🙂
Coombemill says
March 29, 2013 at 5:07 pmPerfect way to understand colours
Chelsey says
March 29, 2013 at 9:26 pmI think my kids never tire of wanting to mix colors!
The Picture Book Review says
April 1, 2013 at 12:22 amWe just checked this book out from the library. I’m excited to read it to my son along with the play dough. 🙂 What a great idea.
Thank you for sharing this!
Gosia says
April 1, 2013 at 3:42 pmThis is really great! Thanks for sharing at DelicateConstructions, I will have one more activity for my daughter’s birthday party! 🙂
Gosia @www.kiddiefoodies.com
Erica @What Do We Do All Day? says
April 3, 2013 at 5:59 pmThis is such a wonderful book and I like your activity. Thanks for sharing at The Children’s Bookshelf.
Julie says
April 4, 2013 at 11:27 amWe had a Waldorf painting book for educators that talked about activities like this.
Angela @ Teaching Mama says
April 4, 2013 at 7:08 pmThis is a great activity! Thanks for sharing. Would love it if you linked up on our Toddler and Preschool link up. http://teachingmama.org/clothespin-dinosaurs/
Karyn says
April 5, 2013 at 9:04 pmThis is wonderful! I love this author! Thanks for linking to Share It Saturday, I am featuring your post tomorrow!
Chelsey says
April 6, 2013 at 8:47 pmThank you so much for the feature, Karyn! Always love seeing the neat stuff on Share It Saturday!
Rebecca from Here come the girls says
April 9, 2013 at 12:57 amWhat a fun activity. I must get this book.
Thanks for linking to the Sunday Showcase. I’ve pinned it to our board.
jeannine: waddlee-ah-chaa says
August 20, 2013 at 2:59 pmWe absolutely adore Little Blue and Little Yellow. So many directions to go with this book! We read when studying the color wheel and had fun mixing our own colors!
Kristen Chapman says
September 9, 2013 at 6:58 pmWhat a great idea! I’ll be doing this with my preschoolers next week when we learn about colors! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Debbie Hinton (South Africa) says
August 13, 2016 at 5:08 amThank you for this! I have ordered the book and will be using the lesson in my pre-school class (in South Africa). Much appreciated!