Food Coloring

Make different colors and shades with food coloring and water.

Print Activity

Materials

food coloring (red, blue, yellow)
plastic bottles filled with colored water
white ice cube trays
eyedroppers/pipettes
cups of clear water
optional: clear plastic egg cartons to mix food coloring in and a light table to shine light through the food coloring in the cartons

Directions

During Week 2, the focus is on mixing colors to make a new color. Place two colors of water—for example, red and yellow—in two compartments of the ice cube tray and have children use pipettes to mix these two colors. They can then use clear water to make many different shades of the resulting color. Each day, give them a choice of colors to mix. Children can record their results with crayons and paper, or even photographs.

Back to Curriculum

Week 2, Day 5

Learning Centers
Indoor

Accommodations

For very young children having trouble using the pipettes, give them basters, baby spoons, or small squirt bottles so they can still explore independently. If you find children struggling with spills, you can move the investigation to a water table, which will contain the spills.

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