Teach Toddlers Their Colors

Do you have a toddler that keeps identifying everything around him or her as blue? Maybe you want to finally teach your toddler that there are many more fun colors in the world around him or her. But learning can be tedious for a child, so you might want to find a way to teach your toddler while having fun. By incorporating learning into fun activities and then reinforcing your lessons in everyday situations, you can teach your toddler the colors with relative ease.

Steps

Giving Fun Lessons on Colors

1. Use games. Children learn best when they are engaged and enjoying themselves. Using different games and fun activities can spark your child’s interest in colors and help him or her retain the information more effectively. A good way to think of this is “busy hands, busy brains.”
   • Try different types of games with your child and see which one he or she likes best. For example, you could ask you child to select a crayon, marker, or piece of construction that he or she likes. Then take your toddler out for a walk and say, “let’s spot colors that are the same as your paper. I bet you can beat me!”
   • Tie a different colored ribbon to the tops of three long-handled spoons. Put them in a small pail and tell your child to dash to a specific colored spoon. Make sure to offer positive reinforcement such as, “great job, Sara, you found the pink ribbon!”
2. Play dress up. Toddlers often love to pick out their own clothing and will put together all sorts of fun combinations. Use getting dressed as another opportunity to teach your little one different colors.
   • Allow your toddler to pick out an item of clothing and say, “that’s very nice, what color is it?” If your child knows the color, then ask him or her to get another piece of clothing in the same color. Remember to keep your color descriptions as simple as possible—no mint and green, just green.
   • Let your toddler pick out all of the articles of clothing he or she wants to wear that day. As the child puts on each piece, ask him or her what color it is. If the child isn’t sure, say, “this is orange, Callie, just like your favorite shirt and the oranges you love to eat.”
3. Identify foods by color. Nutrition is key to helping your child grow. Because healthy foods are often bright and beautiful colors, you can use meals as a way to teach your toddler his or her colors.
   • Ask your child what color a food is as you pass it to him or her. For example, say, “what color is the piece of broccoli?” If your child says, “green,” give him or her a bit of positive reinforcement with a, “great job, Luca!” You can extend the lesson by asking, “what other foods are green, Luca?”
   • Let your toddler pick out his or her own foods from healthy pre-selected choices. Tell your child to let you know what color each food is as he or she picks it. Make sure to reinforce the lesson as much as possible with statements like, “that’s right, Emma, strawberries are red.”
4. Sing a song. Songs about colors set to the tune of popular children’s music can also help your toddler learn his or her colors. Teaching these songs to your child and singing them in places such as the car or the bathtub can distract your child while helping him or her to learn his colors.
   • Try using “I Love Red” by Jean Warren. Sing the following to the tune of “Three Blind Mice”: I love red, I love red.That’s what I said, that’s what I said. Firetrucks, wagons and strawberries piled high. Stop signs, hearts and pizza pies. Roses, tomatoes and apples, oh my. I love red. That’s what I said.
5. Color or paint pictures together. Set aside some time every day or every couple of days to make pictures with your toddler. Most small children are thrilled to have a crayon or some finger paint with which to “draw” on a piece of paper. As you paint, ask your toddler what colors he or she is choosing and why. Then ask your toddler if he or she can tell you what colors you are using.
   • Think of was to make painting or coloring a game. For example, ask your toddler, “What colors should I use today?” and let him or her run and pick out your colors for the day.
6. Compare identical objects of different colors. Introducing variables is another good way to teach your toddler colors, as well as the differences between them. Have your child compare identical objects, such as balls, of different colors. Seeing the distinction between colors can help your child more clearly identify them and their names.
   • Use items you have around your house to highlight the differences. You can use things like balls, shoes, or even fish. Remember to keep the number of choices relatively low until your toddler has a good grasp on multiple colors.

Using Effective Learning Tactics

1. Introduce colors gradually. Toddlers and their brains are still growing. Presenting a two or three year old child an entire box of crayons and expecting him or her to learn all of the color would overwhelm the child. Instead, have the child pick out one or two of his or her favorite colors and reinforce your lessons of those during the week. Move to a new color or two the next week and repeat this pattern until your toddler knows a wide array of colors.
   • Consider starting your child with the basic colors of the rainbow. These are the ones he or she will need to know for school. Keep in mind it may also be difficult for a toddler to differentiate between similar shades of one color. It’s easier for a toddler to know “red” instead of “carnelian” or “vermillion.”
2. Give the object a concise description. It may be more difficult for children to learn colors in English because the name is often used before a noun—for example, “the blue whale.” But by saying, “The whale is blue” instead, you can help your child successfully narrow his or her focus to the object before telling the color. In turn, this can help your toddler more quickly learn his or her colors.
3. Repeat to encourage the learning process. Repetition is important for the development of a child’s brain. Stick with games and lessons your child enjoys to help him or her learn the colors more effectively and even quickly. Build on these lessons as you introduce new colors to their palette knowledge.
   • Let your child use the same digital media to learn the colors. For example, make it a ritual to watch a show at the same time every day or week. Ask the same questions every week: “hey Max, you love Daniel Tiger! Can you tell me again what color he is?”
4. Reinforce lessons outside of your home. Take any opportunity you can to help your child learn his or her colors. Playing games in the car or on walks like “I Spy” can reinforce your lessons and minimize boredom.
   • Use car trips to your advantage and help your child avoid the dreaded “are we there yet?” question. As you approach traffic lights, ask your child what color is showing. You can also ask your toddler if he or she sees a certain color car.
   • Have your child search for different colored foods in the grocery store.
5. Let your child show off. If you’re with family or friends at gathering, give your child the chance to show off his or her new knowledge. Having the praise from others can help your toddler retain the information and motivate him or her to continuing learning the colors.
   • Ask your toddler in front of others, “what color is Mrs. Neumaier’s dog, Charlotte? Isn’t she pretty?” Then let everyone fawn all over your toddler and how smart he or she is.
   • Make sure to let your significant other know when your toddler learns his or her colors. Say to your child, “Caroline, let your mom know what color you’re wearing today.”
6. Reward your child. As your child begins retaining more colors or even showing off his or her knowledge, make sure to reward him or her occasionally. It doesn’t need to be anything big, even a small box of crayons and coloring book or a toy will work. Tell your child, “Owen, you’ve been so awesome at learning your colors. Why don’t you pick out a toy train that you like. What color train do you want.”

Warnings

• Be alert to your toddler confusing the same two colors over time such as red/green, lime-green/yellow, brown/red. This could be a sign of color blindness. No one can be sure if your toddler is colorblind until age four or five when children have learned their colors perfectly. If by Kindergarten you suspect that your child is color-blind, it's time to schedule for testing.

Things You'll Need

• Variety of differently colored balls

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Sources and Citations

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