Preschoolers can learn how colors mix to create other colors and shades. Give each child a moist baby wipe. Spread the wipe flat over a piece of waxed paper. Have children use a dropper to drop spots of blue, red and yellow water colors or food colorings on to the wipe. Add more drops, overlapping to mix the primary colors to create some secondary colors. Discuss the process and results as the children work, helping them to understand the scientific aspects of the colors spreading and mixing.
Preschoolers can create a color wheel using their handprints. Give each preschooler a paper plate. Mark three evenly-spaced areas on the paper plate with a pencil. Spread red, blue and yellow paints, separately, on to a pie tin or sturdy plate.
Have the children press a hand into one color and then on to the plate over one of the pencil marks. Wash the hand and press a different color on to the second pencil mark and then a third color on the last pencil mark.
To advance to the secondary colors (better for older preschoolers), preschoolers may make a second primary color plate. While the paint is still wet, have the kids press a hand into the blue and then yellow to create and press a green handprint between the blue and yellow prints on the color wheel plate. Continue by putting an orange handprint between the yellow and red and a purple handprint between the red and blue.
Provide preschoolers with tissue paper in red, blue and yellow. Give each preschooler a sturdy sheet of paper, such as construction paper. Pre-printed pictures with easy forms (such as a fish shape, one animal, rainbow or big flowers) may be used in place of plain paper. Have the preschoolers tear the three primary colors of tissue paper into small pieces. Kids may glue the tissue pieces on to the sturdy paper or create a design of their own.
Discuss the primary colors as the children work, helping them to understand what happens when they overlap two primary colors and produce a secondary color. The pieces of tissue paper can be overlapped in some places and left as the primary colors in other places as the children desire.
Provide spin-art wheels or salad spinners, enough for each child to take a turn at this color wheel art during the time allowed. Fill small squeeze bottles with liquid tempera paints, including red, blue and yellow. Place a circle of paper inside the spinner. Preschoolers may squeeze some colors of paint onto the paper, place the lid onto the spinner, and then spin the art device. Black and white paint may be used with the other colors, if desired.