When children are very young, their minds are very quick to retain information. Think for a moment of all the words your child has learned in the last three months. Now try to imagine that you have to learn an equal number of new words – words you have never heard before – and use them regularly in your own vocabulary.

Pretty difficult, right? Children are amazing learners.

This is one of the reasons that learning concepts, like colors, can be so hard for children. It’s simple to us as adults. We don’t even think about why this thing is red and this thing is blue anymore. It’s very natural. For a child, though, who may not even have the word in her vocabulary for the thing you’re pointing to, it’s very hard to understand that the refrigerator is gray, and so is the handle on the sink.

But those are two very different things! How can they both be gray?

Once you know the concept, it’s easy, of course. For a child, though, it can be confounding. Here are a few ways to help your child learn their colors with a minimum of confusion and a lot of fun.

Finger Paints

Finger paints are an excellent way to teach colors for several reasons. For one thing, finger paints are sort of amorphous, not really a defined “thing”, so the only obvious feature they have is their color. This can help the child figure out that the pigment is what we’re differentiating, not the physical appearance of the thing.

Finger paints are also lots of fun for a child to use, so they’re more likely to enjoy learning. Try putting out a piece of paper and asking your child to draw you something orange. Then something yellow, and so forth. If they make mistakes, gently correct them. If they simply really want to use a different color, then shift your focus and teach them the correct word for that color and make sure they understand – then let them paint away!

Find the Color

Sit on your child’s bed with them and cuddle up. Point to objects around the room and say both the name of the object and what color it is. “The table is yellow. The carpet is blue.” Try to avoid objects that have multiple colors, as this may be confusing. Then ask your child to find colors of their own. “Can you find something orange in this room?”

If they have trouble, suggest different objects to them. “Is the table orange?” No, the table is yellow. “Is the carpet orange?” No, the carpet is blue. “Is the book cover orange?” Yes! This will help the child feel like they successfully identified the color without putting the pressure on them to find it, which can seem overwhelming at first. They’ll quickly find it fun, though!

For a great learning environment, join us a Discovery School and camp for preschool and kindergarten level children’s learning in West Chester, PA.

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