Teaching kids about color

9 Simple Ways to Get Your Toddler to Learn Colors

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Once your child has reached the big milestone of turning 1, you’ll notice they become little sponges of information. They start walking, talking, and being so much more independent now that the baby stage is long gone.

Around this age is when you can start introducing them to colors. It’s important for a child to start hearing words often in order to remember it.

Even though they probably won’t be able to fully understand and retain the concept of colors until around 18 months, it’s a good idea to start teaching it early on. This is when learning colors will start to make sense to them, just like learning names of objects made sense to them around the 1 yearmark.

Color matching (putting the red piece on the red spot) is one of the simplest forms of learning colors. It may occur first, along with recognizing and choosing colors when asked for them (handing you the red piece when you say give me the red piece). Lastly comes naming colors (being able to say red when asked what color is this?).

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The key to your child learning colors is over-exposure. As I’ll talk about below, you want to give them tons of opportunities to hear you say the colors names, be asked the color’s names, and see them often.

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I started really introducing my daughter to colors around 16 months old and she got a grasp of the concept quickly. Here are some simple tips to teach your toddler their colors:

1. Start simple

Don’t overwhelm your toddler with too many colors at once. Focus on two at a time and then add more in as they become familiar with those.

Whenever you see those two colors, point them out to your child, but don’t label any other colors yet. For example, choose to teach your child red and green first. Whenever you see anything red or green, point it out. Give them only red and green objects at certain playtimes.

Clearly label and talk about the red versus green objects. Ask them to sort only objects that are red or green. Once they are familiar with red and green and the differences between those two, add in yellow. Of course they will see other colors while they play, but really try to only speak about the few colors that you choose.

Showing them less choices will help them to remember the colors easier.

Related post: Pom Pom Tube Drop: Toddler Fine Motor Activity

2. Use small, colorful objects for sorting

I love using fun, simple objects for learning colors and counting. Toddlers love little pompoms because of their softness and they’ll be excited to learn with them.

I like to group and sort them by color as my daughter puts them into their correct pile. If your child is just learning colors, naming the colors of each pompom works great too.

This Rainbow Counting Bears Sorting Toy makes a fun learning resource for introducing color recognition & basic mathematics concepts such as counting and addition. It can also be used for kids math and counting games for toddlers and great for developing fine motor skills with the tongs.

Have your toddler sort the bears into their same color cup. They can use their hands or tongs . They’ll also have a fun time using their imagination to make stories and games with the bears.

3. Distinguish contrasting colors

It’s best to use colors that are not at all similar to each other so you don’t confuse your toddler. Items that have contrasting colors will stick out more to them when they’re learning.

For example, if you’re teaching colors side by side, don’t put blue and purple together, red and orange, red and pink, etc. Colors that pair well with contrast are red/green, blue/yellow, purple/green, and black/white. There are plenty more combinations to use.

Also, sometimes certain shades of a color will be closely related like a yellowish green will look similar to yellow or a turquoise could look closer to a green or blue. Try to stick to the basic primary colors when teaching them.

Check out our post on the Pompom Whisk Activity for Toddlers where you child can try a fun activity while also learning their colors.

4. Color puzzles

Puzzles are a great activity to develop language, cognition, and fine motor skills. My daughter loves the Melissa & Doug Colorful Fish Puzzle and is always asking to do it.

While we play, I verbally label each color as she puts the piece in the board so that she hears it over and over and can match the color name with what she sees.

Since this color puzzle is using all fish, your child won’t have to focus on the pictures or objects on the puzzle, but will be able to just pay attention to the colors. I think this was one of the best aids that taught my daughter her colors so early.

5. Use the same objects

The concept of colors may be a little difficult for babies and toddlers to understand because it’s a word typically used to describe something else. So far they have been learning words of actual things, like ball, car, mommy, milk, etc.

All items they can see or hold and names of these objects can make sense to them.

To get them to understand the concept of colors better, make sure you’re using two identical objects to point out the color differences. For example, don’t show your child a red car and a blue block because she will just think that you’re naming it differently because the object is different.

Instead, use a red car and a blue car to distinguish the differences.

This activity below works on color matching and sorting which are the first color activities your toddler will be able to do. We used MegaBlocks, but you can really use any blocks or toys that have different colors.

Simply put construction paper on the floor in the colors of the blocks and have your child match their toy to the colored paper. Read more about this activity here.

6. Label EVERYTHING with a color

This will help them to quickly build their language and vocabulary. Anything they see in their everyday world has a color. Make sure to verbally label objects with their names and colors as you see them, pass them, and give to them.

When you’re first starting to introduce colors, you may want to just label the colors on their own so they’re not confused by the color and the name. You’d be surprised how quickly children pick up these concepts and understand that you’re not naming the object, but just describing the color.

Related Post: Sticker Letter Activity: Letter Learning for Toddlers

7. Color with crayons and markers

Coloring is a great skill for toddlers to develop fine and visual motor skills (coordinating their hands and eyes to perform a task). Have your child use crayons to scribble on paper and point out and label the colors that they use.

You can print out free blank coloring pages of their favorite characters or objects hereif using a blank paper gets boring to them.

For little hands, I highly recommend these finger crayons. They are perfect for tiny fingers to wrap around and promote a proper grasp around the crayon. Skinny or chunky crayons just don’t allow your young toddler to hold it the correct way and it will end up tiring them out quicker.

8. In their natural environment

Kids learn best in the context of their everyday environment. Point out the contrasting colors at:

mealtimes (green beans, yellow corn, red raspberries)
during dressing (blue shirt, black pants)
during playtime (red blocks, blue balls)
outdoors (blue sky, green grass, pink flower)

9. Fingerpainting

Sensory experiences where children are actively touching, tasting, hearing or smelling things are one of the best ways to teach your kids new concepts. Your toddler will love trying out their artistic capabilities by rubbing their hands on paper with finger paint.

By just getting 3 primary colors (blue, red, yellow) of finger paint, you can mix them until you make secondary colors (green, purple, orange).

Have your toddler rub their hands and fingers in the paint and just smudge it onto paper. Talk about the colors they are using and ask them what color is on their hands and on the paper.

You can make your own finger paint at home so quickly, which is safe and even edible for your child. Check out this post: Sensory Edible Finger Paint for the recipe!

Related Post: Edible Finger Painting Recipe

10. Songs and Videos

Toddlers and babies love to hear music. Whether it be songs on the stereo, mommy singing, or making their own sounds by shouting at the top of their lungs, they are drawn to it.

Using songs (especially with visuals) is a great way to teach your child new concepts. Putting words to music helps things to stick better in their brain and will give them a higher chance of learning the skill.

Here is a short video that can help your toddler to learn their colors by combining colorful graphics to a catchy tune. You can also make up your own songs and melodies to sing as you show them colors.

Even just saying the colors but having a little rhythm to it will help your child to remember the colors easier.

How to teach color theory to young children

Color is a foundational concept of visual art. By teaching color theory to children, we can help them to recognize and understand the make-up of different colors. This post shares the work of Josef Albers and presents two fun experiments that can be used to teach children (aged 3-7 years) about primary and secondary colors. You can also download these printable resources to extend children’s learning:

Primary and Secondary Color ChartDownload

Primary and Secondary Color Shade PrintoutDownload

Once children are familiar with the basic concepts of color-mixing, they can apply this learning to different art mediums including painting, plastics, and textiles.

Josef Albers and the theory of color

Josef Albers (1888-1976) was a German-born artist, designer, and educator. He originally trained as a primary school teacher before studying painting at the Royal Academy of Arts. Albers then worked as a professor at the Bauhaus (Germany), before fleeing Nazi Germany for the United States. He then taught at the revolutionary Black Mountain College before becoming the head of design at Yale, a position he remained in until the end of his career. ⁠⠀

Albers had a life-long love of color and wrote one of the most influential books on the topic, ‘Interaction of Color’ (1963). In this, he laid out a set of principles for understanding color. For example, he proposed that all colors can only be understood in relation to other colors around them.⁠ This means that how someone perceives a color can change depending on the colors that surround it. The video below summarizes this idea and shares a design activity based on Albers’ ‘Homage to the Square’ exercises.

The key principles of primary and secondary colors

Building on Albers’ principles, the following two experiments aim to teach children these understandings:

There are 3 primary colors: Red, yellow, and blue
There are 3 secondary colors: Green, orange, and purple
Secondary colors are created by mixing two primary colors together
How we perceive a color changes depending on what colors are positioned around it

Experiment 1: Shaving cream + food dye

Shaving cream and food dye can be used to make a sensory-play experiment for children to learn about primary and secondary colors.

What you need: Shaving cream, food dye (red, yellow, and blue), 3 x plastic bowls, a plastic tray, and kitchen utensils that children can use to play with the shaving cream.

Let’s get ready: Ask children to squirt a fist-sized blob of shaving cream into 3 of the plastic bowls. Add one of the yellow, red, and blue dyes into their own blob of shaving cream and mix (pictured below). Name each color with your child as you go.

Let’s experiment: Set children the challenge of mixing 2 of the primary colors on the plastic try to see what new colors they make. For example:

Yellow + Blue = ?
Blue + Red = ?
Red +Yellow = ?

Children can add more food dye or shaving cream to change the shades of the colors. Let children enjoy the sensory experience of playing with the shaving cream and dye. It will feel soft and slushy on their hands!

Children can use the utensils to play with the shaving cream on the tray. They may like to draw pictures in the shaving cream or make shapes out of its foamy texture.

Let’s reflect: Ask children to keep a small sample of each color they make (pictured below). Once you have finished the activity, ask your child to tell you about how they experimented with the colors. The following questions could be used as prompts:

What colors did you use to make using the green/purple/orange?
Tell me about the trickiest part of making the colors?
What surprised you?
What would you like to make next out of colors?

Experiment 2: Paint + egg carton

Paint is another great medium to teach children about primary and secondary colors.

What you need: Yellow, blue, and red paint (tempera or acrylic will work best), a paintbrush, water jar, a paint tray (an ice-cream container will work well), and an egg carton.

Let’s get ready: Ask your child to squeeze out a small amount of each paint onto a paint tray. Setup the water and egg carton so that your child can easily reach all the materials.

Let’s experiment: Set children the challenge of mixing 2 of the primary colors together in each section of the egg container to see what new colors they can make. For example:

Yellow + Blue
Blue + Red
Red +Yellow

Children can try mixing different amounts of the two colors together to make different tones of the secondary colors. Once they have made their different colors, children can then use these to paint other objects. For example, you could make a 3-D canvas out of recycled cardboard and paint it using the colors. Children could also name the different colors that they make and record them by taking photos.

Let’s reflect: The following questions can be used to encourage children reflection and learning on this experiment:

What are the primary colors?
What are the secondary colors?
Can you tell me what the difference between primary and secondary colors is ?
What colors did you need to make orange/green/purple?
Did you find out what happens if we mix all of the colors together?

Download the color theory printable resources

Here are the two printable resource again. These help to reinforce key concepts explored in the activities above!

Primary and Secondary Color ChartDownload

Primary and Secondary Color Shade PrintoutDownload

Happy making!

Louisa

Great children’s books about color theory

Mix it up by Herve Tullet (Chronicle Books, 2014).

The Game of Red, Yellow, and Blue by Herve Tullet (Phaidon, 2012)

A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni

Related Posts

Josef Albers on the wonder of color in art education

Free printable quotes on art and education

Free ebook! Making art with repurposed materials

Learning colors: how to teach a child to distinguish colors and shades

It is generally accepted that by the age of three a child should learn to distinguish between primary colors. This skill is an important part of sensory development, it gives the child the opportunity to see the world in a new way. Often, if the baby does not know or confuse colors, parents have concerns about the pace of development of the child. Do I need to worry if the study of colors is not easy for a child? How to teach a child to distinguish colors? You will find answers to these questions in our article. nine0003

At what age does a child begin to see colors?

Studies have shown that children begin to perceive colors by 2-3 months. The first colors a child sees are yellow, orange, red, green. At this age, babies can already react differently to their toys of different colors (for example, a red rattle can please a child more than a blue one), look at bright pictures with enthusiasm. The baby's world quickly acquires colors, but if we talk about the ability to consciously find an object of the right color, then usually it appears in children at the age of one and a half. It is at this age that it is optimal to start learning colors in a playful way. You can voice the names of flowers to a child for up to a year, this will only benefit him. But do not demand too much from the baby, remember that his brain is actively developing, and as soon as the time comes, you will certainly see the results. nine0003

To see if your child is ready to learn colors by playing with building blocks, ask your child to point to a part that is the same color as yours. If the baby can find objects of the same color, then he is quite ready to memorize the names of colors.

Learning colors in everyday life

Children get most of their knowledge about the world in everyday life: communicating with adults and peers, observing nature, playing. The study of flowers is no exception. Sometimes a child does not need to do special exercises to learn to recognize colors. For this, it is enough that he hears the name of the color and associates it with a specific thing. During daily activities, voice for the child what color the objects are around. Whether you are drawing, playing with blocks, looking at cars in the yard, reading, swimming, eating, dressing - in each of these situations, you can gently teach your child to distinguish colors. nine0003

It is important that the study of colors does not turn into torture. You should not constantly test the child's knowledge by asking him which color is which. Soon the baby may just start to ignore you. “Let's paint the sun yellow!”, “What a delicious green cucumber!”, “Oh, where did the blue cube go? Here it is!" are examples of how you can gently help your child remember colors.

Games for learning colors and their shades

In order to get your baby interested in learning colors or to reinforce the knowledge they already have, you can offer your child to play special “color” games. nine0003

Color Sorting

Sorting games are designed to help children learn to group objects by color. Any materials at hand can be items for sorting: toys, covers, designer parts, cubes, buttons, cereals, pencils, etc. You can organize the game in various ways:

You can come up with as many options for sorting by color, it all depends on your imagination. So that the child does not lose interest in the task, connect the plot of the game with his favorite characters, toys (for example, a cat will eat from a yellow bowl, and a baby elephant from a red one, etc.). nine0003

Match a Pair

Help your child learn colors with the Match a Pair series. Ask your child to find a petal for a bug, a pot for a flower, a roof for a house, etc. You can present the baby with a deliberately wrong option and ask to correct the mistakes.

Pick up a patch

Show the child the picture with the missing details. Ask him to fill in the gaps (this can be done with plasticine, pom-poms, caps, cards, etc.). nine0003

Color Lotto

At the age of about one year, children begin to be interested in various lottos. In the color lotto, the task is to collect pictures of the same color on the card.

Colored Sensory Boxes

Create a sensory box for your baby where everything is the same color. During the game, the child will be able not only to remember the color that he sees, but also to develop fine motor skills, tactile sensitivity, thinking, and imagination. nine0003

Color days

This is one of the most interesting and popular ways to teach your child to distinguish colors. Its essence is that during the day (or several days) you draw the child's attention to objects of a certain color. For example, on a yellow day, you can dress in yellow clothes, play with yellow toys, draw a yellow chicken. Surrounded by one color, the baby will easily remember it.

Cards for learning colors

You can learn colors with your child using cards. With the help of Doman's "Colors" cards, you can introduce your baby not only to the main colors, but also to different shades. It is important not to overload the child with unnecessary information about the names of 10 shades of green or red. Learn only those shades whose names you can use in the game and life. nine0003

Board games for learning colors

Board games are a great way to learn about colors and consolidate knowledge about them. Currently, the stores offer a wide range of similar games for every taste and budget. Choose a game that suits your child.

Educational cartoons

There are many educational cartoons on the Internet that will help your child memorize colors quickly. Here is one of them:

Educational books

If your little one loves to listen to stories and look at pictures, this is the way for you. We all remember the wonderful story of V.G. Suteev "Rooster and paints", by S.Ya. Marshak has a whole “Colorful book”. You can also find many educational books that will become your faithful assistants.

Conclusions

We have listed for you different color learning games. In order for a child to master the concept of color well, it is worth adhering to a number of principles: do not rush the baby, provide a variety of material for games, discuss what you see. nine0003

Conclusion

You can start studying colors from an early age, the main thing is that it is interesting for the child. It is impossible to specify clear age limits when a child should learn primary colors. This process, like all development, is individual for each baby. The Sozvezdie Development Center has created a Montessori environment for kids, aimed at the comprehensive development of the child. In the classes "Together with Mom" children in a playful way get acquainted with the concepts of color, shape and size, do thematic creative work. You can learn from our teachers how to interest a child in an activity and how to properly present him with cognitive information. Develop with us! nine0003

Prepared by a Montessori teacher
Sokolova Oksana

Teaching children colors

As the baby grows, he distinguishes more and more colors, his color perception develops and improves. Starting from the age of 2, you can conduct classes aimed at learning colors with a child.

Sorting and matching by color

First, the child needs to be explained what color is and to learn to distinguish objects of different colors. Start with exercises with a small number of colors. At first, yellow, red, blue and green are enough. Color can only be seen, so by applying objects to each other, explain to the child how they are similar or different. Thus, without knowing the names of colors, the child learns to group objects by color. Play with your baby in simple games aimed at grouping objects by color and matching the right color. nine0003

"Item sorting". Invite the child to put in separate boxes all yellow, blue, green, red items. First, let them be homogeneous (cubes or designer parts, colored candies), then heterogeneous. In the latter case, toys, items will differ slightly in color within the same color range, and sorting will be more difficult for the child.

“Pick up a couple”. Such games are aimed at selecting an item that is identical in color. You can remove the caps from the felt-tip pens and invite the child to choose the right cap. Or cut out cards from colored cardboard, on which you need to attach clothespins of the corresponding color. You can make an educational board game. To do this, glue a cube out of paper, the sides of which, using felt-tip pens or colored paper, make different colors. Roll the cube alternately. The player needs to find the item of the dropped color. In the case of a repeated roll on a die of the same color, the player finds another item. nine0003

Memorizing colors

In the process of learning the names of colors, start with a few basic colors, gradually expanding the spectrum. Preschool children tend to remember colors by associating them with an object: red like an apple, green like grass. Therefore, summer with its bright colors is the best assistant in this matter! While walking, unobtrusively name the color of the object. If your child likes cars, practice on them. At home, when playing with a pyramid, cubes, pay attention to color. To memorize colors, the child needs repeated repetition. Drawing, modeling, appliqué also contribute to the improvement of children's color perception. You can make a collage - take sheets of white paper, unnecessary magazines and let the child, with your help, cut out all the red pictures and stick them on one sheet, green on the second, etc. After the child has memorized 3-4 primary colors, introduce him to the colors of the rainbow and the sequence of their arrangement. nine0003