"The Purple is Grey!"

Since beginning our study on colors the Pine kids have really grasped the idea of mixing different colors to create a new one. Today the kids wanted to mix the colors a way we haven't tried yet, making their own playdoh colors. Typically the class decides on what color they want to make, but this time was different. 

W & J set off to the kitchen to start making the plain colored dough. 

They took turns pouring the flour, salt, cream of tartar, and oil into the bowl as they wanted for the water to boil. When the water came up to a boil the heat was turned off and the liquid was added to the flour concoction. 

"It's really warm. It kind of feels hot." 

J & W kneaded the dough. They pushed the heels of their hands deep into the mixture and folded it back over itself. They continued to squish it together to make a cohesive dough that was both soft & pliable.  

They returned to the classroom with the warm dough in hand. Now to add color! 

"I want to make it red. I need the red coloring."

M stared at his dough with a confused look on his face. 

"The color isn't working. There isn't enough."

Because only a few drops of food coloring were added, the kids had to really work the dough to notice any change. 

"I don't think it's working. It's not blue yet."

Meanwhile, K wanted to make orange and was diligently kneading her dough with stripes of red and yellow running through it.

"It's turning orange! I have to mix it up a lot."

M continued to push his dough into the table. 

"It's turning blue! It's working!"

L also had a tough time at first making the dough turn the color he wanted. 

"Look, look it's turning blue. It has stripes!"

M saw that because someone was also making the color blue, he wanted to make something different.

"Can I have red too? I want to make it purple!"

M started pushing the dough back and forth watching the red stain the bright blue dough. After a few minutes, M stared at his playdoh displeased. 

"Um, it's not really turning purple. It's like grey."

What happened? Why wasn't his playdoh turning purple? 

"Red and blue make purple, but this isn't purple. Maybe I need more red."

M went back to kneading until finally it resembled a familiar color purple. 

"Look, it turned purple! I needed a lot of red to make it purple."

It's so fun experimenting with different ways to create new colors. The Pine kids have definitely covered a wide variety of ways to mix the primary colors and create secondary. At the end of the day we wondered 

What else can colors represent?