10+ Activities that Teach Kids Colors in a Fun Way

simplyoutrageousyouth

7 years ago

Colors is a topic that all kids learn. My son learned his colors around 16 months with a combination of fun activities. I remember spreading out various colored poms poms on the floor and asking him to bring me specific colors. He got them all correct! He learned because I used in-depth fun learning to naturally expose him to it. In-depth learning is exposing your child to new concepts in various ways such as sight, hearing, and touch. The activities below will help you incorporate these types of learning techniques.

Let’s get started with learning colors in a fun way!

Sorting

Sorting is a great way for kids to learn colors. Below are some ways to accomplish this at home.

Gather various colored items in your home such as blue, yellow, green, purple, red etc.
Help your child to put all items of the same color together.
- For example put all the red items together.
My son, Cory, likes to sort his toy cars and balls.
Make a game of it by racing all the green cars, then blue cars, and so on.
You can also create a ball race between the various colors.

My son sorted balls and made each Black Panther Action Figure guard them.

Color Day!

Pick a color day in your household.

Pick a day where everyone in the family wears the same color clothes.
Everyone can wear the same color shirt, pants, or socks.
This activity is like St. Patrick’s Day where everyone wears green.
However, you will pick a different day of the week to wear a certain color.
For example, on Monday everyone wears a blue shirt and then on Tuesday everyone wears a red shirt.

Pick the Color

This activity was actually how I found out my son knew all his colors. This is a fun one for the kids.

You may use various colored items such as pom poms, crayons, balls etc.
We used poms poms for this activity.
Spread them on the floor.
Ask your child to bring you various colored items. For example say to your child…
- “Please give me the blue poms poms”
- “Please bring the yellow poms poms”
Optional: you may alternate roles with your child and have them ask you to bring them certain colored poms poms.

Call It in the Real World

Children don’t have to be in school or at home to learn colors. It can be done anywhere. Try the activities below…

While you are outside, pick a color you will identify such as green.
- Identify with your child green grass, cars, and tree leaves
While running errands, identify various colors on signs or advertisements
While at the grocery store, identify various colors of fruits and vegetables.

Color Hunt

This activity encourages children to get physical and learn simultaneously.

Hide the same color items in one room or all over your home.
Have your children find the items you just hid and identify the colors.
Optional: You may hide different color items around your home as well.

Digital Media

My son and I love watching educational videos on our television. At times after dinner, we dance, sing songs or just watch videos about colors from YouTube. Below are YouTube videos about colors.

Paint

Being able to use colors to create pictures is a great learning tool for children.

Once your child learns certain colors have them paint a picture using that color.
You may also create stories using the picture.
- For example, paint a yellow stick man playing with a blue stick man and write a story about it.

My son’s finger paint art work of the beach.

Make Color Potions

Making potions is a great hands-on activity for kids. Below is how to do it.

Make a simple potion by mixing glitter, various food coloring, vinegar, and baking soda.
Your child will see bubbles while creating this chemical reaction.

Make Slime

Mix water, cornstarch and washable paint until it feels like glue.
You may use food coloring instead of paint.
Let your child play in the slime.

Books with Movement

Before my son knew the colors, I would go to the library weekly and get books about colors. Reading a variety of books about colors helped my son see colors from many perspectives. Don’t just read books, but get physical as well. Once you read about a color in the book, look around the room or your home and try to find that color.

Below are 10 great books to read to your child about colors

Melissa and Doug Sort and Snap Color Match

The Melissa and Doug Sort and Snap Color Match was given to my son as a birthday present. Your child will be able to create various colorful pictures using boards and snap caps. It is an interactive educational tool that is great for color recognition, sorting, and beginning math skills. Cory liked creating the pictures. It is a good way to supplement your child’s exposure to colors.