Color Mixing Activity – The Colorful Path

This color mixing activity is a fun way to get kids on their feet! This is where gross motor, sensory play, and science collide to discover how primary colors mix to form secondary colors!

Even the littlest of kids can enjoy this one! Using plastic bags to mix the paint is low prep and keeps things mess free!

Plus, Once your kiddo stamps on the bags to create a secondary color, you can use that paint for an art project!

Read on to see how simple this is to set up and what materials I used, including paint and tape!

All activities should be supervised by an adult. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links.

Skills: Sensory Play

Ages: 12 Months +

Prep Time: `0 Minutes

Watch the Video to See the Color Mixing Activity in Action

Back and forth, back and forth! My kids enjoyed running on top of the colorful bags, mixing them with their feet as well as getting on the floor and mixing them with their hands!

They made guesses of what colors were going to form, and enjoyed the mess-free sensory experience!

Watch the Video to See the Color Mixing Activity in Action

Back and forth, back and forth! My kids enjoyed running on top of the colorful bags, mixing them with their feet as well as getting on the floor and mixing them with their hands!

They made guesses of what colors were going to form, and enjoyed the mess-free sensory experience!

color mixing activity for kids sensory path

How to Make Your Own Gross Motor Color Mixing Activity for Kids

Making this color mixing activity requires the simplest of materials! Everything we used, you likely already have in your home!

If you’ve been following along on our play journey, you know we constantly save and use cardboard! So naturally, this is what we used as the foundation of our sensory path!

In addition, I will break down everything that we used to keep this color mixing activity vibrant, yet mess-free!

Materials

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1

Use an alcohol swab to remove the white label on top of the plastic bag. This is optional, but it allows you to see into the bag more clearly!

Step 2

Fill plastic bags up with paint, each with 2 colors that will form a secondary color. Blue and yellow to form green. Yellow and red to form orange. And blue and red to form purple.

Step 3

Tape the bags over the zipper portion to give extra security in case of the bag opening.

Step 4

Tape the bags onto the floor, or first on to cardboard (like we did!) as an extra security in case a bag ruptures.

Step 5

Task children with mixing up the paint using their feet. Walking back and forth until the colors combine. Make guesses, and enjoy discovering the results!

Step 1

Use an alcohol swab to remove the white label on top of the plastic bag. This is optional, but it allows you to see into the bag more clearly!

Step 2

Fill plastic bags up with paint, each with 2 colors that will form a secondary color. Blue and yellow to form green. Yellow and red to form orange. And blue and red to form purple.

Step 3

Tape the bags over the zipper portion to give extra security in case of the bag opening.

Step 4

Tape the bags onto the floor, or first on to cardboard (like we did!) as an extra security in case a bag ruptures.

Step 5

Task children with mixing up the paint using their feet. Walking back and forth until the colors combine. Make guesses, and enjoy discovering the results!

Color Mixing Activity Printable

We created a super fun printable that explores color mixing. The set includes 5 hands on activities all about colors and color mixing!

Enjoy coloring and distinguishing each of the colors in the rainbow! Then, learn all about what happens when primary colors mix to form secondary colors. Next, learn about shades (making colors darker) and tints (making colors lighter). And finally, go over all those concepts in a final round up review!

For this printable color mixing activity set plus many other printables visit our Printable Shop!

Educational Benefits of Color Mixing

There are so many benefits a child can gain through color mixing activities, especially gross motor ones like this!

They will experience the concept of cause and effect. When they cause the two primary colors mix, they will see the effects visually in the new color they created!

This activity is also a great way for even the youngest of kids to learn color recognition. Not only will they be able to distinguish primary colors from secondary colors, but will enjoy the process of creating them!

This is also a great opportunity for language development. Asking questions, making predictions, and discussing the names of the different colors is key!

color mixing activity for toddlers sensory path

Last but not least there are both gross motor and fine motor skills being experienced in this color mixing activity. My having children walk over the color path, they are exercising their gross motor skills. Then, they can sit down on the ground and use their hands to mix the colors, exercising their fine motor skills too!

Educational Benefits of Sensory Play

There are so many benefits a child can gain through color mixing activities, especially gross motor ones like this!

They will experience the concept of cause and effect. When they cause the two primary colors mix, they will see the effects visually in the new color they created!

This activity is also a great way for even the youngest of kids to learn color recognition. Not only will they be able to distinguish primary colors from secondary colors, but will enjoy the process of creating them!

This is also a great opportunity for language development. Asking questions, making predictions, and discussing the names of the different colors is key!

Last but not least there are both gross motor and fine motor skills being experienced in this color mixing activity. My having children walk over the color path, they are exercising their gross motor skills. Then, they can sit down on the ground and use their hands to mix the colors, exercising their fine motor skills too!