Prepare the painting project by having each child, along with the instructor, place a sheet of card stock paper on a clean flat surface. Fill two cups of water for each student to clean paint brushes used during the project, and place a paper towel next to the cups to dry the brushes after cleaning. Next, have the children place a dime size amount of red, blue, and yellow acrylic paint onto the wax paper to use as a painter's palette.
Paint three circles, each two inches in diameter, on the paper with a three-inch space between each one. The circles should be painted to create the shape of a triangle on the page. Paint the yellow circle at the top, the red circle at the lower right angle below the yellow, and the blue circle below the lower left angle below the yellow. This will help the students identify the "primary" colors that make the color wheel.
Mix the yellow, red and blue colors together to create the secondary colors of orange, purple and green. This will teach the children that secondary colors are the sum of two primary colors when mixed together. Yellow and red will create orange, red and blue will create purple, and blue and yellow will create green. Each secondary color should be painted in two-inch diameter circles between each primary color set.
Label each color using a black felt tip marker to classify the colors and their relation to each other. This will permit students to identify the primary colors and how, when mixed together, they create new colors. This will also help students identify what colors are used to create "warm" and "cool" hues, and how each color is complimentary to the color across the wheel.