Color Mixing with Model Magic

I FINALLY found something that created actual, real, honest to god EXCITEMENT in my 1st grade class... MODEL MAGIC.  I didn't order it, rather I found it sitting in a locker in the back of my classroom last year.  Upon further investigation, most art suppliers sell the stuff and although the stockpile I came across included individual packages, I would probably order a bucket-style supply of it for upcoming years, since I ended up opening all the packets and smooshing them together into a megaload and dividing it into three piles, (one for each primary color).  Oh, did I mention we first watched the story of "Little Blue & Little Yellow" on YouTube first?

So since I had no idea what it was or how to use it when I found it, (have I written a post yet about how I have no idea what I'm doing teaching Art most of the time?!?  If not, I probably should,) here's a step-by-step of my first experience with Model Magic for anyone else who is curious.

It comes in little packages, but I found it being sold in buckets too.

Little packages!

NOT cream cheese.  Unfortunately.  I'm so hungry...

Remember "floam"?  It sort of feels like floam without the bubbles.  I know that makes sense because Floam was basically all bubbles, but that's all I can think of to compare it to right now.  It's lightweight and you just want to mush it up a lot.

At this point I thought it would be a good idea to combine all of the non-floam on a plate for some reason.

Mmm... Model Magic lump.

Color time!  I made a shot in the dark decision to dump a bunch of tempera paint into the lump.

What do non-art teachers do during their lunch breaks?  Do they eat?  Do they grade things?  Do they dump paint onto non-floam lumps on their lunch plates?  I will never know.

Folding the tempera paint into the Model Magic.  I feel clean hands coming on!

Dang, I was SO wrong about the clean hands.  But ooh-la-la, look how blue!!!

Now to figure out how many little blue balls to make so each first grader has one and that they're big enough for each first grader to separate their ball into two balls to mix with each other primary color.  Look at my fancy manicure!  My husband loves my fancy manicures.

Each 1st grader got one ball of each primary color.

They were instructed to pull each ball apart to make 2 balls, (2 blue, 2 red, 2 yellow,) then we went step-by-step as a class, smooshing and smashing the colors together just like Little Blue & Little Yellow!  THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!  Well worth the lunchtime pain in the hoo-hoo just to hear them giggle and squeal as their Model Magic colors "magically" turned into a new, secondary color!!!