Learning about Colour Mixing with Mix it Up

I recently discovered the brilliance of the book Mix it Up by Herve Tullet when my (almost) 3 year old chose to borrow it from our local library. It is the most engaging and interactive, beautiful and educational book I’ve come across in a long time. Little fingers are invited to tap, press and rub colourful dots to create new colours. They flip the book around and press pages together to discover captivating visual effects.

I must admit, it’s magical for kids and adults (although much better 1 on 1, I don’t think I would read it to a whole class of children as they would miss out on the magical experience of touching the book for themselves). It also provides a wonderful foundation to teaching young children about the primary colours and mixing colours to create secondary colours. Even black and white can be introduced to explore creating darker and lighter shades of colour.

Today I wanted to share a super simple activity to experiment with colour mixing that is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. All you’ll need is the trusty zip lock bag and some paint. Squeeze each of the colour combinations into each zip lock bag and let your little one do the mixing…of course, it’s fun to do the mixing without the bag too! Both have a place for exploring colour with kids.

Also wonderful is Herve Tullet’s Press Here. It’s amazing how many clever things one tiny dot can do! The dots in Press Here multiple, grow, form patterns and much more. These two books and accompanying activities are ideal for children aged 2.5 and older. And I promise they’ll want to read these books over and over again!

More activities inspired by Mix It Up and Press Here;

• Go on a DOT HUNT around your home

• Create a dotty picture – dot markers and dot stickers are perfect. Check out this example.

• Create a dotty stamp painting with a bottle cork

• Use a paper shape puncher to make colourful dots and use them to create a collage

• Sing “It’s A Spotty Kind of Day”