Make your own skin color! AGES 3+

Make your own skin color! We have been talking about our skin and what makes people’s skin different colors. I think this is such an important lesson for kids to learn young so they have a better understanding of why people are different.

First we read the book The Colors Of Us by Karen Katz. In this book Seven-year-old Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when she and her mother take a walk through the neighborhood, Lena learns that brown comes in many different shades. Through the eyes of a little girl who begins to see her familiar world in a new way, this book celebrates the differences and similarities that connect all people. The book even tells you what colors to use to mix skin colors.

After we read the book we have the kids match their skin color to a paint strip. Then they mixed their very own jar of paint to match their paint strip! They were so excited to do this. After they mixed their color they named them: honey, cinnamon, butterfly pink, sweetie. We are going to use them to paint self portraits!

Materials (aff link):
The Colors Of Us by Karen Katz
Paint
Paint Strips (Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart)
Paint Brushes

Check out how we use our skin color paint to make self portraits!