FloPo | Mixing primary colours in sealed squishy bags to explore secondary colours

Step-by-Step Guidance

1. Prepare a wipe-clean surface and place paper towels within adult reach. 2. Set out three sealable bags and check each seal works smoothly. 3. Add small amounts of two primary colours into each bag: red with yellow, blue with yellow, and blue with red. Keep paint away from the seal line. 4. Remove excess air and seal each bag fully. Reinforce the seal with tape if needed, and consider taping the bag edges to the surface to reduce slipping. 5. Present one bag at a time, placing it flat and inviting children to explore with hands and fingers. Allow children to choose how to press, pat, or smooth. 6. Model a few descriptive words without taking over, such as naming the two starting colours and noticing where they meet. 7. Offer the other bags when interest is steady, allowing children to compare results across the different colour pairs. 8. Support children to pause and look closely at streaks, swirls, and areas where the new colour is strongest. 9. Close the activity by wiping the surface, checking bags for leaks, and storing or disposing of bags according to setting practice.

Learning Objectives

Children may explore cause and effect and early scientific thinking through Understanding the World as they combine colours and notice changes. Children may build Communication and Language by hearing and using colour words and simple descriptive phrases. Children may practise Physical Development through controlled hand and finger movements as they press, pat, and smooth the bags.

Adult Role

Stay emotionally attuned by noticing children who are unsure of the texture or who dislike the feel, and offer choice to watch, touch with one finger, or use the flat of the hand. Model simple, accurate language such as colour names, “mix”, “lighter”, “darker”, “more”, and “less”, and mirror children’s own words and gestures. Scaffold only when needed, for example by steadying a bag, slowing the pace, or showing a gentle press, and step back when children are exploring independently. Observe closely for how children approach problem-solving, whether they repeat actions, and how they communicate preferences. Take responsibility for safety by checking seals, supervising closely, and removing any bag that shows signs of leaking or tearing.

Observation Cues

Reaches for a specific bag or colour and shows a preference through repeated choice. Uses gestures or words to label colours or to request a colour to be added or changed. Presses with different strengths and notices how quickly colours spread or stay separate. Watches closely for changes and returns to areas where colours are meeting. Compares outcomes across bags, such as noticing different results from different pairs. Shows persistence by reworking the same area to change the shade or remove streaks.

EYFS Links

Communication and Language: Adults can model and repeat colour words and descriptive language linked to what children can see, supporting understanding and expressive talk. Physical Development: Pressing, smoothing, and using fingertips can support hand strength and control in a purposeful, motivating context. Understanding the World: Children may notice cause and effect as two colours combine and change, building early enquiry habits such as watching closely, comparing, and revisiting. Expressive Arts and Design: Children can explore colour as a material, noticing shade, pattern, and visual effects without needing a finished product.

Age adaptations

Budding Adventurers

Provide two bags side by side so children can compare outcomes without needing to hold them. Add colour cards for matching once a new colour is visible, keeping the focus on noticing rather than getting a “right answer”. Encourage children to show “where it changed” with a finger, and introduce simple comparison words such as “same”, “different”, and “more here”.

Curious Investigators

Offer all three bags and invite children to predict using gestures or words which new colour might appear, without correcting quickly. Add a small amount of white paint to one bag as an optional variation to explore lighter shades, keeping the same two-colour pairing. Encourage children to describe patterns they see, such as streaks or swirls, and to compare how long mixing takes across bags.

Confident Discoverers

Add simple recording options such as a sheet with three circles for children to draw the starting colours and the new colour they notice. Invite children to sort the bags by the new colour they created and to explain their thinking in their own words. Offer a controlled extension by providing a second set of bags with different amounts of the same two colours so children can notice how ratios change the shade.

Ethos adaptations

Set out one flat tray at child height with two ziplock bags only, each holding a pea-sized drop of two primary colours placed in opposite corners (e.g., red+yellow; blue+red), press out air, seal fully, and tape edges so the bag won’t shift. Keep the third colour pair and spare bag nearby but off the workspace, and place the two bags left to right to show order of use so the small paint amounts and corner placement make the meeting point and resulting secondary colour visually obvious. Offer one slow, mostly silent demonstration: press from each corner toward the centre, pause to look at the meeting line, then smooth once to blend and place the bag back; say the colour names once, then step away and avoid questions or prompts. Observe for sustained pressing, fingertip control, repeated resets, and whether the child notices the boundary, the new colour, or shade changes, stepping in only for a leak or safety.

In an outdoor or nature-integrated space, set the activity on a low picnic bench, stump or tray on grass so children work with uneven surfaces and nearby natural materials. Materials such as heavy-duty freezer bags with very small amounts of washable paint are provided alongside open-ended natural colour options (crushed petals, berry water or soil suspensions) and wooden spatulas; stones or pieces of bark are used to weight or anchor bags instead of tape. Materials are arranged for choice so children can explore mixes and textures, not follow a fixed recipe. The adult observes from close by, kneeling or standing back to check seals and manage safety, offering minimal responsive language like single-word colour labels or short prompts when asked. Children choose how much to add, press, pat and smooth bags, compare resulting shades, and repeat experiments at their own pace without a set outcome. The adult steps in only for practical needs (re-sealing a bag, replacing a leak) and gives concise observations to reflect what children notice.

Set a low table by natural light with a wipe-clean tray or mat. Place several ziplock-style sealable bags containing small separate blobs of washable red, yellow, and blue in varied corners and amounts; include a few single-colour bags and a few with two colours. Leave some bags free to slide and lightly anchor others with clear tape. Arrange so children can reach, swap, stack, or line up bags independently; towels and a spare bag are visible for resets, enabling open-ended mixing, comparing, and revisiting. The adult stays at the edge as co-learner, offering noticing language without steps: “I can see red sliding under yellow,” “You’re using two fingertips,” “What happens if you pause there?” The child may invent routes, overlap bags to test new shades, or tilt the tray to invite gravity. The adult notices emerging vocabulary, cause–effect talk, hand control, patterns revisited, and peer exchanges, capturing brief photos or notes of choices, comparisons, and moments of sustained attention.

A quiet table space is defined with a neutral cotton cloth and one wooden tray per child, with soft light and minimal visual clutter. On each tray sits a single glassine envelope pre-sealed with gummed kraft tape holding small amounts of red, yellow, and blue plant-based paint, set on a wool felt pad to prevent slipping; a spare envelope and a damp cotton cloth rest at the edge for swift, calm replacements. The adult makes one slow press and glide across the envelope, then steps back, observing and keeping language sparse. Colour words and simple descriptions are offered only in response to what the child is watching, while the adult remains nearby for safety and to exchange a leaking envelope if needed. The child returns to pressing, patting, and smoothing at their own pace, watching where colours meet and change in a steady rhythm of explore, pause, and tidy.

Mixing primary colours in sealed squishy bags to explore secondary colours

Time & Space