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Mouse Paint
Author: Ellen Stoll Walsh
Published: 1995
This is my favorite children’s book about colors, and learning what happens when you mix them.
The book is joyful in its simplicity and so easy to approach, especially for young kids. I love the story, and the mice with their little feet are adorable. The artwork makes the whole book come to life - each color is so rich and classically toned.
Basic color is a topic that every 3 or 4 year old can relate to and feel some mastery over, which makes it a perfect pick for the beginning of the Pre-K year. And this book can work well with any size group: one-on-one, small groups of kids, or the whole class.
I found a large format version of this book from my local volunteer office. This was perfect for my first day of volunteer reading this year. Since I was reading this book with the entire class, the large format worked great. And the kit came with flash cards that were perfect for engaging the students after we read the book.
This book is also the perfect backdrop to do a hands-on painting activity. Here is how you could do the painting activity:
What you’ll need for this activity:
plain white construction paper
washable tempera or project paint
small jars (baby food jars work great)
small paint brushes
Use the small jars to contain a small amount of each color of paint: one red, yellow, and blue. Do not use the full jars of paint from the store because they can spill too easily and too much paint gets on the brushes. Provide a fourth jar which just contains water for rinsing the brushes. You can have 2 or 3 kids sharing the 3 jars of paint, with 2 brushes in each paint jar. You may have 2 groups of kids (each sharing a set of jars) up to 4 to 6 kids total. If you have a helper (or two), you can do this activity with an entire class at once. This activity can be done with kids as young as 3 (depending on the child), but I would recommend it for slightly older kids, or towards the end of the pre-school year or older.
The activity process:
To start - do not put out the painting supplies yet (or they will be too distracted to listen to the story). Read the story and discuss the colors. Ask the kids to think about what they want to paint with those colors. Show one set of the supplies and use it to explain the ground rules of the project. Teach them not to mix the colors in the paint jars: put the red brush back in the red jar, etc. They can mix the colors on their paper but not in the jar. Have another jar with plain water that they can rinse a paint brush in before putting it back in the correct jar. Set out the paper for each child, then the jars and paintbrushes. Let the fun begin!
Book recommended Age 2 years and up.
Also, check out Ellen Stoll Walsh’s companion book Mouse Shapes for another great book and activity!
Author: Ellen Stoll Walsh
Published: 1995
This is my favorite children’s book about colors, and learning what happens when you mix them.
The book is joyful in its simplicity and so easy to approach, especially for young kids. I love the story, and the mice with their little feet are adorable. The artwork makes the whole book come to life - each color is so rich and classically toned.
Basic color is a topic that every 3 or 4 year old can relate to and feel some mastery over, which makes it a perfect pick for the beginning of the Pre-K year. And this book can work well with any size group: one-on-one, small groups of kids, or the whole class.
I found a large format version of this book from my local volunteer office. This was perfect for my first day of volunteer reading this year. Since I was reading this book with the entire class, the large format worked great. And the kit came with flash cards that were perfect for engaging the students after we read the book.
This book is also the perfect backdrop to do a hands-on painting activity. Here is how you could do the painting activity:
What you’ll need for this activity:
plain white construction paper
washable tempera or project paint
small jars (baby food jars work great)
small paint brushes
Use the small jars to contain a small amount of each color of paint: one red, yellow, and blue. Do not use the full jars of paint from the store because they can spill too easily and too much paint gets on the brushes. Provide a fourth jar which just contains water for rinsing the brushes. You can have 2 or 3 kids sharing the 3 jars of paint, with 2 brushes in each paint jar. You may have 2 groups of kids (each sharing a set of jars) up to 4 to 6 kids total. If you have a helper (or two), you can do this activity with an entire class at once. This activity can be done with kids as young as 3 (depending on the child), but I would recommend it for slightly older kids, or towards the end of the pre-school year or older.
The activity process:
To start - do not put out the painting supplies yet (or they will be too distracted to listen to the story). Read the story and discuss the colors. Ask the kids to think about what they want to paint with those colors. Show one set of the supplies and use it to explain the ground rules of the project. Teach them not to mix the colors in the paint jars: put the red brush back in the red jar, etc. They can mix the colors on their paper but not in the jar. Have another jar with plain water that they can rinse a paint brush in before putting it back in the correct jar. Set out the paper for each child, then the jars and paintbrushes. Let the fun begin!
Book recommended Age 2 years and up.
Also, check out Ellen Stoll Walsh’s companion book Mouse Shapes for another great book and activity!