Some children begin to consciously distinguish colors before they are one year old, but this is rare. The vast majority of children develop these abilities between 1.5 and 2.5 years. Possible exercises for learning colors depend on the level of knowledge about the world around us and the development of fine motor skills. Below are the basic games and techniques for learning about flowers for the first time.
The peculiarities of studying colors with the little ones are that new subjects and materials for study must be introduced gradually. Many properties of unfamiliar materials can distract the child from the main topic - color. Therefore, if the child is not yet familiar with drawing and modeling, then before starting to study colors, be sure to conduct several classes to get acquainted with paints and plasticine.
Learning colors | Ready to learn
Ikea plastic dishes go well with sponge cubes for washing dishes To test readiness to learn colors, provide your child with a variety of objects of the same shape and size different colors and ask them to divide them into groups - sort them. If your baby copes without difficulty, you can start learning individual colors.
Options for sorting items:
- cubes;
- details of construction sets (Lego, etc.) and mosaics;
- buttons;
- colored plastic dishes;
- foam cubes from a sponge for washing dishes (In order to get cubes, you need to separate the hard dark green layer and cut the sponge with scissors. The green layer comes off neatly if you first wet and dry the sponge a couple of times).
Learning colors | Colorful day plan
Once you have determined that the child successfully copes with distinguishing colors, you can begin to study them. It is better to spend the whole day studying the first names of colors (red, yellow, blue, green) (one day for each color). As an example, I will describe one day of studying color. Other colors will be learned similarly.
Day plan for studying the color red:
| 1. Show a group of red objects and explain that they are red. |
| 2. Draw a picture or color the picture with red flowers. If the child is under two years old, one drawing tool is enough. For older kids, you can add variety by using red paints, markers, pencils and crayons. An alternative to drawing is sculpting. If you like days full of activities, you can have time to draw and sculpt. For example, before napping, drawing, and in the evening, modeling. We also read about modeling with kids. |
| 3. We suggest sorting - select red parts from the proposed set of toys and objects of different colors. |
| 4. We organize a “hunt” for red things. Together we look for red everywhere. At home - in the interior and clothing; on walks, please show us the red cars. |
| 5. Read books, look at cards with pictures of red objects. |
To increase the effectiveness of color studies, it is necessary to actively use the names of the colors being studied in speech. For example, we say not “Now let’s put on a blouse and go for a walk,” but “now let’s put on red blouse...", "We'll eat red apple”, “Look how beautiful red car" etc.
To give your child even more impressions, dress your child in red clothes and add foods of the studied color to the daily diet:
- Red - berries, tomatoes, paprika;
- Orange - pumpkin, carrots, orange;
- Purple - grapes, blueberries;
- Green - lettuce, peas, kiwi, avocado, grapes;
- Yellow - pineapple, banana, paprika, cheese;
- White - rice, cottage cheese, milk.
Learning colors | Drawing and sculpting
Closer to two years of age, mixing play dough and dye can be done together with the baby. In this case, of course, you must be prepared to wash your dirty hands Creativity allows you to gain the most in-depth knowledge about colors. At the beginning of your acquaintance with colors, you need to engage in creativity using one color you are studying. When the baby grows up, we demonstrate how to obtain shades by mixing:
Learning colors | Color lotto
There are many lotto options. one of our options. Rules of the game:
- We lay out cards with animals in front of the baby;
- We give the child one card with a palette and ask him to find an animal of a given color.
You can also, on the contrary, give out cards with animals and ask them to choose a palette.
After multiple successful palette selections, offer a memory training game. Give your child a black and white version of the animal card and ask him to choose a palette.
Learning colors | Books about flowers
To study colors, you can purchase books entirely devoted to flowers, or you can use collections with various tasks. I have described a large selection of collections with developmental exercises for children 1-2 years old
The following hits can be distinguished from books about flowers:
For little ones 2-3 years old:
 « What happens in blue» from the series Wonderful stickers from the publishing house Mozaika-Sintez (Labyrinth, Ozone, My-Shop) Books in this series contain interesting tasks and cute stickers. The only negative is that the stickers are disposable. For a more detailed description from photo spreads, read |
|
 I teach colors myself
A cardboard picture book with flaps is what kids need! |
 Baby's big book. Learning colors(Labyrinth, Ozone, My-Shop) Learning colors Photo book with spreads of different colors. A large format book with coated (glossy) paper and a high rating in the Labyrinth. Such books seem useless and meaningless to me, but for some reason many people love such books. But it’s much more interesting about colors: flaps, stickers, search engines, tasks and other interactive things. |
For children 3-4 years old:
 Fun hide and seek games. Learn colors and counting
(Labyrinth, Ozone, My-Shop ) A wimmel book with high-quality illustrations for searching for objects in the fields.
|
Richard Scarry: Colors, Shapes and Numbers (Labyrinth) A magazine book from children's book classic Richard Scarry. The book contains a bunch of tasks and comes with stickers that need to be placed correctly. |
Hello color! (Labyrinth, Ozone, My-Shop) A small, ambitious interactive book about color mixing, warm and cool shades. Stylish design. By rotating the wheel you can change the color of the cut-out chameleon image. For gourmets and aesthetes, the rest will say nonsense. |
Toys and materials for learning colors
Learning colors | my approach
A few words about Yana's study of flowers. Her ability to distinguish colors began to manifest itself at 1.3. It was at this age that we learned red, yellow, and blue. The first color was the hardest, each subsequent color was easier. For us, it would be more effective to study colors from the age of one and a half, but I was really impatient :) By the age of 1 year. 6m. Yana has mastered 10 primary colors. At that time, I offered her the simplest exercises. At this point, we've moved on to learning how to manipulate shades.
After I acquired the skill of studying colors, I thought about the advisability of cramming the names of a large number of shades and came to the conclusion that this was unnecessary. We unobtrusively study only the most common ones (turquoise, light green, beige, etc.). In the future, I plan to expand to less common shade names that I use myself (champagne, lilac, indigo, etc.)
In any process, choosing a goal is important, otherwise there will simply be no result. After studying the primary colors, my main goal was to teach Yana to compare the colors of various objects and phenomena. I want her to be able to describe shades with images - “dark blue, like the sky in the early morning,” “blue, like the sea on a clear day,” “gray-blue, like the reflection of the sky in a dirty puddle,” etc.
In conclusion
Studying colors is a qualitative expansion of one's horizons. By recognizing colors, the child receives a new method of classifying all surrounding objects - by color. By the way, in addition to the developmental effect, knowledge of colors opens up a large number of interesting games with colors for the child.
Interesting discoveries for your kids!
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Tanya Shramko
Dear colleagues! To your attention, I want to offer a series of didactic games on color science. The idea of creating these games arose after studying I. A. Lykova’s manual “Didactic Games and Activities.” After analyzing the author’s games, I decided to create them and design them, adding my own developments.
Didactic game
"An Artist Called Nature"
Age: middle, senior groups
Purpose of the game: continue to teach children to draw analogies between the seasons and the color scheme of paints. Determine the nature of the color “cold”, “warm” “Gentle” (pastel).
Progress of the game: To the participants of the game, the host offers cards depicting the seasons, as well as palettes with color spots characteristic of one of the seasons. The children's task is to match the seasons with the most suitable color spot. Determine colors and shades on the palette, their character (cold, warm, delicate).
Didactic game
"Seasons and Colors"
Age:
Target: compare colors and shades with the characteristic color features of the season. To consolidate knowledge about the properties of color (character, saturation, brightness, composition).
Progress of the game: The game offers a landscape depicted by the artist in spring, summer, autumn and winter, with the characteristic colors of each season, as well as palettes and paint chips of different colors and shades. The task of the game participants is to select the color tips for each season, determine the saturation, character, shade, composition of each color (delicate - bright, cold - warm, basic - composite, shade of what color).
Didactic game
"Talking Colors"
Age: senior, preparatory group.
Purpose of the game: introduce children to the shade of color, clarify the concepts of “color” and “shade”. Develop associative thinking, expand vocabulary.
Progress of the game: Participants in the game are offered cards with images of objects, the name of which is associated with certain shades of colors (raspberry-crimson; rose-pink, etc., as well as cards - shades. The task of the game participants is to correlate the cards-shades with their subject names. Determine to what color do these “talking” shades belong to?
Didactic game
"The berries are ripe"
Age ast: junior, middle groups
Purpose and games: consolidate the ability to create a gradation series of colors from light to dark, with and without a model.
Game progress ry: the game consists of a sample card on which a row of berries is depicted, with a consistent increase in color shade. The task of the game participants is to be able to arrange cards with berries in a certain color order from lighter to darker according to the pattern, and then without it.
Didactic game
"Balloons"
Age st: middle, senior groups
Purpose and games: continue to get acquainted with the concept of “color spectrum”, compare it with a natural phenomenon (rainbow). Identify the colors included in the color spectrum and their sequence.
Game progress ry: The game consists of a didactic field, which depicts the silhouettes of seven balloons, as well as individual multi-colored balloon cards. Several game options are offered:
Option 1. The task of the game participants is to arrange seven colored ball cards in the correct spectral sequence, using a popular speech phrase-hint (Every Hunter Wants to Know Where the Pheasant Sits, in which the sequence of words and the first letters correspond to the color of the rainbow.
Option 2. In addition to the seven ball cards, the game participants are offered additional colors and shades. The children's task is to choose those ball cards that are part of the rainbow and arrange them in the correct sequence.
Option 3. The presenter places the balls in a spectral sequence, breaking the sequence of two or more colors. The children's task is to detect the mistake and correct it.
Didactic game
"Colors and Magic"
Age st: senior, preparatory group
Purpose and games: to introduce children to the concept of “color tone”, to give ideas about obtaining rich and light tones, and how to obtain them. Create a gradation series (from light to dark and vice versa).
Game progress ry: the game consists of a set of shades of three colors - silhouettes (blue, yellow, red, as well as cards depicting colored and white drops. The children's task is to arrange the shades of colors in an increasing sequence from light to saturated color and vice versa, during the game they find out what " shade of color”, how it is obtained.
Didactic game
"Color Transformation"
Age ast: middle, senior groups.
Purpose and games: strengthen children’s ability to obtain new colors in paints. Identify primary and secondary colors.
Game progress ry: children are offered silhouettes of colors with primary (red, yellow, blue) and composite (orange, green, purple, blue) colors. There are several options for the game.
Option 1. The presenter adds two paints of primary colors and invites the participants in the game to determine the composite color that will be obtained.
Option 2. The presenter chooses one of the composite colors of paint and asks the participants in the game to find those paints (primary colors, when mixed, the color he has chosen is obtained.
Option 3. The participants of the game independently determine which primary colors of paints need to be added to obtain composite colors.
For children, learning colors and shades in a playful way is more fun and easier. To help your child quickly learn to group objects by color and name colors, organize a variety of games for him.
- You can start learning colors as early as a year, but children will be able to distinguish and remember only after reaching 2-3 years of age, when an active cognitive interest appears.
- At the beginning of getting acquainted with colors, focus the child’s attention on the main ones - yellow, blue, red and green. Gradually add new colors. Do not start introducing the next color until the baby begins to confidently name the previous one.
- Draw analogies - a red pencil, a red car, a red ball - so that the child does not associate the color with only one object.
- Don’t distort the words, don’t say that the toy is “yellow” - it is yellow.
- For children, training should be carried out in a playful way, changing activities at the first signs of fatigue.
- Teach your child to distinguish colors through creativity using paints, colored paper, plasticine and pencils. We recommend the “cleanest” and simplest one.
Educational games for learning colors
Color sorting games
With the help of sorting, the child will learn to identify objects by color and divide them into groups. Parents will be required to voice the colors so that the baby remembers them. What can you sort? Here are a few educational games that you can easily make with your own hands:
Game "Colored Cars"
Source: thrive360living.com
Necessary materials:
- colored cardboard;
- wooden wheels for toys or large ones:
- template of a car or other vehicle with wheels;
- felt-tip pen;
- scissors.
How to do
Line A4 cardboard into four equal parts and cut off 1/4 of each sheet. Draw the cars using a stencil.
Coat the wooden wheels with acrylic paint and let dry. Select shades of paint so that the colors of the wheels match the colors of the cardboard.
How to play
Place colored cards and wheels in random order in front of the child. Invite your child to choose the wheels by color and sort them into pictures. Comment on his actions, name the colors.
This game is suitable for both home and outdoor use. Use a hole punch to make holes in the cards and secure them with ribbon or a ring. Place the wheels in a bag. Take the game with you to a cafe or clinic. The game will help keep your child occupied for a while.
Game with plasticine “Learning shapes and colors”
The game helps to learn colors and shapes, develops fine motor skills, and teaches counting. Will interest children from one to three years old.
Source: www.notimeforflashcards.com
Necessary materials:
- Play-doh plasticine of different colors (c) or make colored salt dough (recipe);
- multi-colored curly buttons corresponding to the colors of plasticine.
How to play
We chose 6 colors of plasticine: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.
Place 1/2 of a jar of each color of plasticine on the table. Place a container with colored parts nearby.
Invite your child to play, explain and show how to sort by color.
When your child begins the lesson, comment on the actions, naming colors and shapes. For example, with such phrases: “We put a blue star on blue plasticine.”
When you are finished sorting, count the number of items of each color.
Sorting game "Monsters"
Make your own educational game for kids to sort by color and construct simple objects. The game promotes learning colors and counting, develops fine motor skills and logical thinking.
Source: toddlerapproved.com
Necessary materials:
- designer Lego Duplo (c);
- brown paper bags or boxes;
- scissors:
- glue;
- colored cardboard;
- markers;
- doll eyes (in)
How to do
Cut out monster bodies from colored cardboard and glue them onto paper bags. Add shape and stability to each item by folding the top edges of the bag outward. Make cuts in the mouth area. The resulting hole should be slightly larger than the Lego blocks. Draw faces on the monsters with felt-tip pens and glue on the eyes. Monsters are ready to eat!
How to play
Place the monsters near the child and place colored Lego Duplo pieces in front of him. Tell your child that the monsters are hungry and need to be fed. Everyone loves food that has a matching color.
After sorting by color, invite your child to choose his favorite color, count the number of blocks in the bag and create a design from them. Be sure to praise your child for the work done!
Sorting Colored Stickers
Kids love to put on stickers. This activity is useful for improving fine motor skills. You can also learn colors using colored stickers ( , ) .
Source: busytoddler.com
We sort colored pompoms, buttons, mosaics, small toys.
Source: munchkinsandmoms.com
Source: gluedtomycraft.com
Source: supermom.ru
Source: supermom.ru
Looking for a couple
For example, look for a pair of multi-colored socks or felt-tip pens for their caps.
Source: supermom.ru
Color lotto
A small lotto from Lisa Chernikova (download), where the child has two tasks at once - to determine the color and to identify the object.
Source: supermom.ru
Games for learning shades
Palette cards from the paint department of a hardware store are a great tool for teaching your child about color shades.
Using them you can quickly learn the concepts of “dark” and “light”, and master “lighter” and “darker”.
Take the palette outside or walk around the apartment looking for a similar color, apply it, try it on.
Cut pantones into pieces and explore the variety of shades within the same color.
Color sensory boxes
Place small toys and household items of the same color in the box and invite your baby to explore them (see what to fill the sensory box with). For older children, you can use colored cereals in sensory play (read how to color rice). While playing with such a box, children remember the colors very quickly, because... the name of the color is repeated many times.
Games for learning colors outdoors
We prepare a large box with multi-colored compartments for the game. Take a shoebox, make partitions out of cardboard and cover the cells with multi-colored self-adhesive paper. A simpler option is to take a paper egg tray and paint the cells with paints.
We go for a walk with the box, collect colored pieces of natural materials - flowers, stones, twigs, leaves, etc. We arrange the finds into cells by color.
Many parents of children with speech disorders (especially motor speech impairments) are faced with the problem that their child cannot learn colors. This is due to the peculiarities of thinking and memory of such children.
If your child does not know the primary colors at the age of three, then you need to start studying them purposefully.
We announce the week (day) in red. In the morning, inflate the red balloon and secure it in a visible place. And all this time we study only one color.
It is always good to use drawing in activities with a child; this is something that is always interesting to a child. If your child cannot draw, draw with him.
We suggest to the child: “Let's take a red pencil and draw a red fungus (car, house)! I draw a hat and a leg. Let you paint the hat red, and I’ll paint the leg. What color do you paint your hat? That's right red! And I the leg? Exactly red! What kind of fungus did we get? Look, he has a red leg and a red hat. That's right, it's red! Then, together with the child, we hang the drawing in a prominent place (for example, on the refrigerator) and “brag” to dad, grandma, etc. about what a wonderful red fungus we drew.
Never start learning a new color until your child has mastered the previous one well!
We always start learning colors with red, and then get acquainted with yellow, green, blue - these are the 4 main colors that a child must learn. Then you can add additional colors - orange, purple, black, white, and then tints - blue, pink, etc.
Never rush your child during classes. Be sure to prompt your child if he makes a mistake: “No, this cube is not red, but yellow, let’s put it in another box.” To begin with, use one or two items of each color in the game and gradually increase their number.
I would strongly advise against using computer and online games, which are now abundant on the Internet, in learning colors.
Firstly, a child does not need such an early introduction to a computer.
Secondly, the monitor screen may distort colors. Thirdly, all these games are for lazy parents, because live communication is more beneficial and only you can introduce your baby to the world around him!
Most of the games presented below can be used in the development of children from 1.5 years old.
Game "Butterflies on a Flower"
Cut out 4 large flowers from cardboard: red, yellow, blue, green. And four butterflies of the same color. We show it to the child and say: “The blue butterfly flew and landed on a blue flower, and the yellow one flew and flew and landed on a yellow flower, etc.” Then let the child plant butterflies on flowers of the appropriate color.
We complicate the task: “Place a blue butterfly on a red flower, etc.”
Game "Little Builder"
Cut out 4 squares and 4 triangles of primary colors from colored cardboard. Fold the houses, but the color of the parts should not match and say: “Oh, the builders mixed up the roofs of the houses. You need to stack them correctly, by color.” Together with your child, change the roofs to the “correct” ones and name the color.
Game "Color Cleaning"
Take a laundry basket or a large basin and walk around the house with your child, collecting objects and toys of the same color into it. Tell your child about your findings: “Look at the red cube, it suits us, put it in the basket. But daddy’s red T-shirt, etc.”
Game "Building a tower"
Are we using a constructor with large parts? We select from it parts of two contrasting colors. We invite the child to build towers from them. Taking every detail? We call its color: “This is red, what is this?”
Game "Bring the clothes"
When going for a walk, place your baby's clothes in a pile on the floor. Ask your child to bring you blue pants. If he brought other clothes, say: “Thank you, you brought a red T-shirt, put it on and bring blue pants.” Continue until fully dressed, asking for one item at a time, naming the item and its color.
You can make the game more difficult by placing clothes in different places in the room and asking: “Bring the red shirt, it’s on the sofa, etc.”
Game “All Colors Make You Happy”
Walk with your child around the apartment or down the street, pointing to objects of the same color. You can compete with your child to see who can find the most objects, for example yellow ones.
Game "Traffic Light"
Cut out three large circles of red, yellow and green from cardboard. Invite your child to play an active game: “When the red light is on, we stand still. When the yellow light is on, we jump in place (on one leg). When the light turns green, let’s run.”
We show the colors one by one and perform the corresponding actions together with the child. You can complicate the game - give a command only by voice or only by showing a certain color. You can invite your child to switch roles. It will be a lot of fun if several people participate in the game.
Game “Sorting Toys”
We scatter toys of different colors on the floor: cubes, parts from large construction sets, etc. We take a tray and, together with the child, collect toys of a certain color on it. You can arrange a competition and take a tray for yourself and for the child and see who can collect the most blue pieces while the alarm clock is ringing (singing a song, etc.).
We sort the parts into boxes of the corresponding color (take 4 primary colors).
Game “What is green?”
Remember with your child what can be green (red, blue, yellow) - cucumber, grass, leaves, apple, etc.
This game promotes the development of imagination, but can cause difficulties for speech learners even of older preschool age.
Game "Miracle - Rainbow"
We take a large sheet of paper (whatman paper is better) and draw colored arcs several centimeters wide on it, depending on the size of the sheet. We arrange the colors according to the spectrum of the rainbow. And on each arc, together with the child, we glue objects of the corresponding color: lumps of colored paper, small toys, beads, colored feathers, caps from plastic bottles, pieces of fabric, beautiful stones. It is not necessary to do the whole rainbow at once; you can lay out the colors gradually.
