Little Blue and Little Yellow

Leo Leonni's book, Little Blue and Little Yellow, is one of my favorite books to read this time of year.  While fitting in perfectly with all things green in the classroom this month, it provides a meaningful extension for numerous color mixing and art lessons.  Last year, I used this book as inspiration as we explored collage techniques as seen in the post HERE.  This year, I have put together a color-mixing activity utilizing a different gluing technique which is new for my students.


Sealing with Glue:  White card stock (with shamrock shape); bowl with blue and yellow tissue paper squares; on green tray - small bowl in which to place a handful of tissue paper squares; baby food jar with sealing mixture (two parts glue, one part water); jar for brush; glue mat (under tray).

The student takes a shamrock paper along with all necessary materials from the shelf to a workspace.  As will all the art lessons I present in my classroom, the tray is placed to the left of the glue mat promoting left to right directionality and therefore reading and writing skills.  The children were shown how to apply a layer of glue to a small section inside the shamrock and gently place a tissue paper square.  Then, they brush another thin layer on top of the tissue paper square, sealing the piece in place.  This process is repeated, with the squares overlapping in some spots, to create a color-mixing effect. 


Here, the child has set everything up and is in the process of sealing the tissue paper squares.
"It makes green!"

Once the paper was dry, the shapes were cut out and mounted.  They look great along with our Irish flag collages in our hall:


Sealing with tissue paper:  Shamrocks