Leaf in a Bag Color Activity
I love fall activities for preschoolers! You can learn about so many things, so it’s hard to choose which topics to cover in my lesson plans! I recently did a unit on fall colors and this Leaf in a Bag Color Activity was a hit with my students!
Leaf in a Bag Learning Objectives
This activity is wonderful for preschoolers because it covers several learning objectives.
- Colors – This is a great way to introduce colors to your students! Not only will they learn the colors red and yellow, but they will see that when the two colors are mixed together, it makes the color orange!
- Sensory – This is a mess-free sensory activity. Students will feel the paint through the bag, but they will not get their hands messy. This shows students how the paint feels…cool, smooth, and soothing, but they don’t have to actually touch the paint.
- Fine Motor – As the students mix the paint around, they are using their fingers and implementing fine motor skills. It’s not necessarily hard to mix the paint, but you may need to teach the children how to use their finger to spread the paint.
- Hand-Eye Coordination – Art is an amazing way to work on hand-eye coordination, which is the ability to do activities that require the simultaneous use of our hands and eyes.
- Concentration – This activity requires concentration! Students have to look at the baggie to move the paint around.
Materials for Color Mixing
Here are the materials you’ll need for the activity:
- sandwich-size zipper plastic bag with a sealed closure
- yellow paint
- red paint
- permanent marker
- leaf picture
- tape
- white paper
Preparation
There is just one thing you’ll need to do ahead of time to prepare for this activity. You will need to draw the outline of a leaf on each plastic bag. I printed this leaf, cut it out, and traced it onto the bag using a Sharpie.
Activity Instructions
This color mixing activity is quite simple!
- First, have the child squeeze in some yellow and red paint into the bag. If this is too difficult for your students, you can pour it in yourself.
2. Then seal the bag shut.
3. Tape the bag onto a white piece of paper.
4. Invite the student to use their fingers and hands to mix the paint. You may need to guide them on this part.
Some students will be apprehensive towards touching the bag because they think the paint will get on their hands. Once they figure out that it is mess-free, they should feel more comfortable.
As your students play with the bag, talk about how it feels to squish the paint around. Also point out that when you mix the two colors together, you get a beautiful orange color!
It is a very colorful and vibrant activity! I sent the sealed bags taped to the paper home with each of my students. They were excited to show their parents!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! If you don’t want to take the time to have the students pour the paint into the bag, then you can do that step ahead of time.
They did not. I did encourage students to just use their fingers and hands and not pick at the bag with their fingernails. I also taped the top of the bag to the paper to make it extra sealed shut.
I let them explore as long as they wanted. Most students did for 3-5 minutes.
This activity is fun and is great for learning! I hope you’ll try it out!
