The Yarn Color Wheel project is a project this kids and I did last fall. It was originally post on Wee Folk Activities Oct 12, 2009. We used yarn but scraps of tissue paper or construction paper would work as well.
For this week’s Unplugged Challenge theme Wheel, we made fuzzy yarn color wheels. We started by reading one of our favorite books, Mouse Paint. We’ve done a Mouse Paint project in the past, so I wanted to do something different this time around. Since my kiddos are part hamster (they love to shred, cut, rip little bits) we took scraps of yarn and cut them up into little bits to make our color wheel. You do not need to use fancy yarn, and just a little bit goes a long way, especially if you have several different yarns in one color family. Have fun with the yarn color wheel project.
Yarn Color Wheel Project Materials
- scraps of yarn in the 6 colors of the color wheel
- scissors
- paper plate or cardstock
- ruler
- pencil
Yarn Color Wheel Project Directions
The kids had fun cutting up the yarn into little bits. A little yarn goes a long way!
After we cut up the yarn into little bits, we sorted them into the color piles. Mixing several shades together of each color adds some interest.
I then took paper plates (regular card stock with a circle template would work too) and cut out the center circle.
I found the center of the circle and then used a ruler to divide the plate into 6 equal pieces.
The kids covered the plate with a liberal amount of glue and started with placing the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) in every other piece. They then went back and filled in the secondary colors (orange, green, purple). When you are done you want the color order to be Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple. If your kids are having trouble knowing which colors go where, use a colored marker and place a correct colored dot in each section.
We did something like this when we were learning about primary and secondary colors. We dipped cotton balls in paint on “glued” them on a paper plate with the paint. Messy, messy, messy! But when it dried – which took 3 days – it looked great. We refer back to the color wheel whenever we talk color. They are now learning about complimentary colors. Very easy to see on a color wheel. I love your fiber color wheel. Such pretty yarns.
My kindergarten art students will love this! Thanks for the wonderful idea!
I am going to use this to help kindergarten and first graders learn about the color wheel through play. Thanks so much!