# Hold-Hands Color Mixing Handprints > Two kids cover their hands in different finger paint colors, hold hands and rub (and dance!) to mix a new color, then print each color side by side on taped-down butcher paper. Feet work too. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/mix-those-colors-sister/ - Ages: 1–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: high - Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group - Skills: color-mixing, colors, sensory-exploration, cooperation, gross-motor - Cautions: ingestion-risk ## Materials (one batch) - Finger paint (red, blue, yellow, white, plus green and orange) - Butcher paper - Tape - Paper plates or shallow dishes for paint (household) - 1 piece Bowl of water (household) - 1 piece Marker (optional) (household) ## Safety - Use non-toxic, washable finger paint. Toddlers may get it everywhere, including mouths and belly buttons, so supervise closely. - The author recommends having another adult around if you are working with more than one kid, especially with a toddler. - Painted feet are slippery on paper and smooth floors. Hold the child's hand while they print and walk. - Paint ends up on clothes (and on mom's shirt). Use old clothes or swimsuits and plan for a bath after. ## Before you start - Dress kids in old clothes and plan for a bath afterwards. - Pick a spot outdoors, such as a back yard patio, where paint can go everywhere. ## Steps 1. Tape a long sheet of butcher paper down to the floor. 2. Set out the finger paint in plates or dishes, with a bowl of water nearby. 3. Cover one child's hands in blue and the other child's hands in red. 4. Press each child's hands on the paper to make a handprint in their color. 5. Hold hands together and rub them to mix the colors. Dance and jump around while you mix! 6. Look at your new purple hands, then make purple handprints next to the red and blue ones. 7. Wash hands in the bowl of water and try a new pair: red and green, yellow and blue, red and white, red and orange. 8. Want to try feet? Paint one foot red and one white, rub your feet together and make a pink footprint. 9. Step back and look at your whole strip of color mixing prints. ## Tips - I had a bowl of water nearby to clean their hands once they were done with one set of colors. - The girls were clearly excited by the idea of holding hands and dancing to make new colors. The dance moves are half the fun. - Big A understands color mixing but kept screaming MAGIC, MAGIC to get her little sister excited. Baby A promptly said "Again!" - After 3 rounds they got really playful and started throwing paint around and making handprints on mom's shirt. That's a good time to wrap up. - Mixing colors with two feet is a bit tricky, but Big A really got into it and had a ball rubbing her feet together. - A great hands-on way to introduce colors to a toddler who isn't interested in color books. - If kids aren't into a project, don't push it. They usually come back with their own ideas, and you can elaborate on those. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2012) Baby A is nothing like how Big A used to be at 18 months. As it appears, Baby A seems to prefer hands-on learning a lot more. Showing her a book of colors and pointing to colors through the day does not seem to capture her interest. I was (am still) looking for fun ways to introduce colors. What’s more fun than PAINT? Whenever we set out paint in the back yard, this is what happens with Baby A. Looks at paint excitedly and squeals “paint”. Scoops a handful of paint Thinks it is soap and starts slathering it all over her palms. Slowly spreads the paint to fore arms then to her belly while making that paint enters her belly button and then on to the legs… May be one of these days she will know the difference between soap and paint! 1. Finger paint 2. Butcher paper 3. Tape Since she already had her hands covered with blue, I helped her make a hand print on a sheet of butcher paper taped down to the patio floor. Then Big A made a hand print with red. Still they had so much paint left on their tiny hands. Later came the fun part, the girls held their hands together and started rubbing them. This was met with tons of squeals of joy.. Once they were done, they took a look at their purple hands and were totally excited. Even though Big A understands color mixing, she kept screaming MAGIC, MAGIC to her sister in the hopes of getting her excited. Baby A looked amused by the new color on her hands. She promptly said “Again“ Both of them made purple hand prints on the paper. Later we mixed red and green, yellow and blue, red and white and red and orange and made corresponding hand prints on the paper. When the kids were holding hands trying to mix the colors, they did quite a few dance moves. The held their colorful hands together and jumped around while mixing the primary colors to make more vibrant secondary colors. I had a bowl of water nearby to clean their hands once they were done with one set of colors. Both the sisters were clearly excited by the the concept of holding hands and dancing to make new colors. After 3 iterations, both of them got really playful and started throwing around the paint, making hand prints on mom’s shirt. Daddy B came down and whisked Baby A for a much needed bath. I continued with Big A since she wanted to do feet painting. Mixing the colors with her two feet was a bit tricky but she really got into it and had a ball rubbing her feet together to make a new color. We mixed red and white and made a beautiful pink foot print. Here is our final color mixing hand prints I would really recommend to have another adult around if you are working with more than one kid- especially with a toddler. You know, when you have an idea in your head and visualize your kids completely buying your enthusiasm and having fun and if it really lends itsef to reality then it is a thrill. I say this because we have had our series of busts. I would be all jazzed up about a new project and the kids would look at me like "nah.. whatever I'm would actually take a nap instead of this."Not today, definitely not today!