5 fun ways to teach your child about colors

Teaching your child about colors is best done through everyday life experiences. As your child grows, they will learn the concept of colors from you as you point out the colors of different objects in your house. For example, ask your child, “what do you want to wear today- the white shirt or the blue shirt?” or “Give the yellow ball to mommy.”

When teaching your child about different colors, don’t overwhelm them by introducing multiple colors simultaneously. Restrict teaching to 2 or 3 colors and then build from there. You can start by talking about the primary colors- red, yellow, and blue. Point out different objects that have these colors and later play a game where you ask them to bring you an object from the room that has the same color.

Here are 5 interesting ways to teach your little one about colors.

1. Show the same objects with different colors

When you show different objects and attribute colors to them, your child starts associating certain colors with specific things. For instance, if you show your child a red apple, they may associate the shape of the apple with the color red and might narrow their understanding of the concept of red to just apples.

For this reason, show your child the same objects with different colors so that they understand that you’re referring to the color and not the thing itself. Show them the same size balls of different colors or the same shaped blocks of multiple colors, and this way, it will encourage skills of organizing and categorizing.

2. Sort objects by color

Once you think your child can recognize primary colors, you can start sorting activities based on color.

Keep multiple colored boxes (you can also stick colorful paper on boxes) and present colorful pom poms or colored objects, and ask your child to place the objects in their respective colored boxes.

You can also use cupcake trays or different colored containers and ask your child to sort the colors.

Another way of sorting out objects while making them fun is cleaning up at the end of the day. You can ask your child to put their different colored toys in different baskets, and this way, they’ll learn to recognize different colors and also end up decluttering their play area.

3. Mix and match color puzzle games

Placing matching puzzles is a great and fun way to learn, be it learning ABCs or shapes or colors. There are puzzle boards with the same object in different colors for your child to match the different colored puzzles on the board. There are also puzzle boards available that have different colored, shaped puzzles like square, triangle, rectangle, and circle, so your child learns about different shapes and colors simultaneously.

4. Finger painting

It is messy, but it’s pretty fun for kids. Engaging your child’s senses through finger painting is one of the effective ways to teach them about colors (please make sure the paints are safe for your child to touch).

You can ask them to paint anything with their fingers using primary colors and then show your child how primary colors when mixed make secondary colors. For example, mixing red and yellow will result in orange, yellow + blue = green, and blue + red = purple.

Apart from finger painting, coloring books also aid in learning colors. You can ask your child to paint the flower blue and the pot green and see if they’re able to recognize those particular colors. If they don’t recognize them right away, then keep in mind that it’s alright for them to take their time learning colors, and you can help them identify them.

5. Read about colors together

There are many children’s books that talk about different colors through stories. Make sure when you read these books to your children, point out the color in the book and repeat it multiple times.

You can also teach about colors through meals. Present a colorful plate of salad with cucumbers, carrots, or corn. Repetition throughout the day with different everyday activities will ensure that your child learns and recognizes different colors.

Young children can see all the colors the world has to offer but they cannot recognize or differentiate them, and for this, you, being your child’s first teacher, can help them navigate through this world of colors.

Head on over to byjuslearning.com to learn more about our Active Learning approach to Math, Language, and Reading for children between Pre-K and Grade 3.