Materials
Plastic bowl (large, empty margarine containers work well)
Colored plastic clothespins
Instructions
1. Pour 1/2 to 2/3 cup (120 to 160 ml) water into each of the four measuring cups.
2. Add a different color of food coloring to each cup. (Add enough to make very bright colors.)3. Put an eyedropper into each cup.
4. Place the cups in a circle in the middle of the sand area.
5. Encourage the children to use the eyedroppers to create color pictures in the sand. Encourage them to explore with color and designs. Be supportive and give lots of praise for their artistic efforts. They will soon discover on their own that when they mix together two colors, a third is created. Comment on this and encourage them to experiment more.
6. Take a picture of the children's artwork before they mix everything together to create multicolored sand.More to do:Use purchased or handmade stencils to create intricate designs, such as a sunburst or rainbows. Put the colored water into spray bottles and encourage the children to spray large areas of the sand play area to create a large picture. Collect the separate colors or the multicolored sand and put it into shaker jars (old spice or glitter shakers work well). The children can then create sand pictures by "drawing" with glue and shaking the colored sand on it.
