In the Art Room: Kindergarten Mouse Paint Masterpieces!

Recently I decided to change up my previous Mouse Paint lesson with a new one and I'm so glad I did! My kindergarteners have loved this portion of our color unit. I just have to share with you the details!

 I have my students for 30 minutes, twice a week. On our first day, we read the kid's favorite book Mouse Paint. Afterward, each kiddo was given a 7 1/2" square matte board and a MOUSE PAINT BRUSH (see below). I happen to have a ton of matte board and wanted a solid surface for them to create on as I knew it would need to support a lotta paint and their wee clay mice. At their tables, they had small Dollar Tree palettes with the following: blue, turquoise, yellow, white, red and magenta. I have found that turquoise, yellow and magenta actually are the best at color mixing...but I still give the kids red and blue so they can have more options. 

OF COURSE I had to add mice to their paint brushes! That was so fun, the kids loved naming their mice and talking to them while they painted. Each was attached with hot glue. It is simply a cotton ball, pompoms, google eyes and a pipe cleaner tail. This photo was taken after a day of kindergarten painting. 

The following art class I shared this with my students so they would know how to make their mice. I was worried they'd run out of time or get frustrated...Y'ALL. THEY TOTALLY ROCKED IT!

 I glued them to my stash of Hobby Lobby plates (that make the best frames) and I couldn't be more excited. These are just the cutest thing ever. I mean, tell me I'm wrong!

 This project was such a hit and the kids learned so much!

 They can name the primary colors, tell you how to make the secondary colors and how to make a mouse...and what you should name it.

 As far as the Model Magic goes, the kids don't need a lot. In fact, less is best. The kids just pressed their mice onto the board and they stuck.

 One little gal took her three pieces of clay and made an entire family of colorful mice. Love it!

If you give this lesson a shot, you won't regret it and your kids will LOVE it to bits. Have fun!