How To Teach Young Kids The Names Of Different Colors

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By 2 ½, your child’s vision should be fully developed and they should be able to make out the full spectrum of colors. This is also when you can start teaching your little one the names of all the different hues. However, as you may have already realized, this is not a straightforward task. Simply repeating the names of colors doesn’t always work – although your child may quickly learn how to say ‘blue’ or ‘red’, they may not understand what these words represent.

So how do you make sure that your child matches the right color term with the right color? Below are a few tips that could help when teaching kids the names of colors. 

Use the object first method

Getting your child to distinguish the color from the object can be frustrating. When trying to describe a truck as red, you may find that they start calling all trucks of all colors ‘red truck’, because they think ‘red truck’ is the word for a truck. To prevent this, use the ‘object first’ method: instead of saying ‘red truck’, say ‘this truck is red’. By splitting up both words, you could find that your child is more able to distinguish the object from the descriptor. This goes for teaching all adjectives.

Focus on one color at a time

It’s easy to overwhelm your child by trying to teach them too many colors names at once. They may end up mixing up colors if you do this. By focusing on teaching one color at a time, you can help your child to more easily associate each color and word. Start with the primary colors, and then teach them other colors.

Use coloring pens and pencils

Coloring pens and pencils are a great tool for teaching the different colors. Young kids love coloring in and scribbling with pens, making it easy to engage them. You can also easily compare and contrast the different colors by pointing at each pen or at different lines on a piece of paper. Worried about introducing your child to coloring pens in case they draw on the walls? Nowadays, it’s easy to find washable pens. Creating an arts and crafts drawing station could also help to keep pens in a certain area. 

Sort snacks by color

Another fun way to help young kids identify different color names  – as included in these 50 fun and simple preschool activities for learning at home –  is to use snacks and to sort them by color. This could include sorting different colored candy or different colored fruits. You could try saying different colors and encourage them to pick out the snacks that are of that color. And if they get the color right, they get to eat that snack. Yummy!

Go on color walks

You may also be able to teach your little one the different colors by going on an outdoor walk. The outside world is full of different colors. You can point at flowers, fences, houses and cars, and encourage your little one to tell you what color each one is. It may even be possible to play I-spy with colors if your child is a little older. They will see it as both an adventure and a game. It’s worth noting that outdoor walks can have many other educational benefits such as being a chance to learn about different plants and animals, or even learn letters and words by reading signs.  

Point to colors in books

Another way to help teach your kids the names of the different colors is to use picture books. Children’s picture books are often full of vivid illustrations that incorporate all kinds of different colors. Some children’s books are even centered around the theme of colors and could be particularly effective at helping young kids to learn the different color names. This guide lists some of the best children’s books about colors. 

Use educational songs and videos

It’s also possible to use songs to teach colors to young kids. ‘I can sing a rainbow’ is probably the most famous one, but there are many other preschool songs about colors that you can look into. Such songs use rhymes and catchy melodies to make the names of colors more memorable. YouTube has many songs about colors that are accompanied by visually stimulating videos to help kids more easily identify each hue. Consider playing a few of these videos when trying to teach your child the different colors. 

Try educational apps

There are also a few educational apps that can help teach colors to kids. Such apps contain games that encourage kids to sort items by color, helping kids to distinguish the difference between different hues.  Check out some of these different apps that can teach kids the colors. You can also download coloring in apps that allow kids to color in drawings with different colors (a great non-messy solution if you don’t trust your kids with physical coloring pens). As they are coloring, you can manually point to each color and encourage your little one to tell you the name of it. 

Incorporate colors into pretend play

Pretend play can also be a chance for learning the names of different colors. This can be a way of incorporating color recognition into different scenarios and games. For example, when having a tea party, you could play with different colored teacups and you could ask for the teacup of a certain color. Alternatively, you could pretend to run a shop with toys made up of different colors for sale and then point at the different toys while saying what color they are.. 

Teach color theory using paint

As kids get a little older, you could consider using paint – not just to teach the names of colors, but to teach some basic color theory. By mixing paints, you can show how different primary colors can combine to make different secondary colors. You may also be able to use paint to show how there are different types of blue or red.