5 Ideas for Teaching colors to preschoolers
When toddlers begin preschool one of the first things they start to learn are colors. Getting a child off the ground and running on learning colors can be difficult, so here are our 5 ideas for teaching colors to preschoolers.
Sometimes just telling your toddler a color can be ineffective. Toddlers are small and need to learn things in a variety of ways so here are a few items and activities that you can do with them to help you start teaching your preschooler his or her colors and incorporating them in their daily life.
- Play dough
Play dough is a fun item that all children like to play with but play dough can also be used for educational purposes. Target has a play dough super color pack that you can purchase and use with your child. For example; ask you child to make you a play dough house out of the blue play dough. Or you could make tiny play dough balls and ask your child to pick out all of the red ones. The play dough creates a hands on experience and is also fun for the kids to squish in their hands and build things afterwards, all while looking at the colors and learning them. - Lego’s
Lego’s are a great way to interact with your child while still teaching him or her the colors. Target has a box of basic Lego’s that you can purchase if you do not already have some. Once you have the Lego’s you can work on the colors with your child by having them sort the colors into different piles, having them build something out of each color or by having them find each color you ask them to find something that you built for them. Lego’s provide hands on ways for you and your child to work on colors. - Watercolor Paint
Watercolor painting is an activity that all young children love to do and it can be incorporated in learning their colors. Target has a washable watercolor paint set with a brush that is great to use. You can use the watercolor pain in special watercolor painting books or just on basic paper. You can give your child the paint, water and brush and allow them to freely paint or you can control what they are painting. If they are freely painting ask them about each color they are using. What the color is, is the color light or dark and what kinds of other things are that color. If you are going to control the painting you can ask your child to paint one part of the paper red and one part purple, or to use only dark colors or light colors. Watercolor painting can be another creative, hands on way of working on colors. - Food
Food is a great way to incorporate teaching colors to preschoolers. When you prepare a meal or give your child a snack discuss the colors that they see. If they have bananas in the morning that is a great time to discuss the color yellow. If your child is eating vegetables or lunch or dinner that is a great time to sort these colors. Sort their green vegetables, their yellow vegetables and even their orange ones. Other foods such as apples, grapes and raisins provide great opportunity for talk about other colors. - Clothing
Your child’s clothing can also provide you with a way to teaching colors to preschoolers. For example; have your child go to their closet and pick out a shirt of the certain color, like red. Have them pick out a shirt that matches the colors in his or her pants. If you dress your child ask him or her, what colors are on their shirt or their shoes. Ask them if the colors on their shirt match the colors on their pants or their shoes. There are many ways to find colors in the clothing your child is wearing that can help them to start identifying the colors that they see.
These 5 ideas can be a fun way for you to start teaching colors to preschoolers and of course, spend time with your child. The hands on approach can be beneficial to your child and to you. Teaching colors to preschoolers is often times a child’s first step in the education process and can excite them about learning.
Hopefully this helps you and your child’s journey to teaching colors to preschoolers. Enjoy!