Learning colors with your child - why shouldn't you force your toddler to cram? How to teach a child to distinguish colors? Games and tips Learning color for children 3 4 years old

10.12.2020

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Today I'll tell you how Maxim and I study colors. We are now 2 years old, but some materials are suitable for younger kids too. I'll make a reservation right away, we don't have a goal to memorize all colors and their shades with exact names, we play and get pleasure and useful information. The only thing I think is the most important is to teach a child to recognize many colors and shades. And the best way to teach a child to do this is to enter first the basic pure colors - red, blue, yellow, black, white. Then introduce the concepts of "dark" and "light". And only then proceed to the study of complex shades, studying them by the types of mixing.

How to teach a child to distinguish colors

Colors around
Creation
Books
Educational toys

Materials for studying flowers

Books

I would call the first series of books - professional for children. Pantone is a globally renowned organization, a recognized authority on color and a provider of color schemes and advanced technology for accurate color reproduction for a variety of industries. Several interesting textbooks have been published for children. As a designer, I cannot help but buy these masterpieces for a child, especially since we are starting to get acquainted with English. In fact, all these names are easy to translate into Russian and make stickers or come up with your own children's ones (what / who does this color look like). I repeat once again - the task of studying shades is not to memorize their names, but to learn to distinguish.

Pantone: Color Puzzles. Colored puzzles. Each spread is one of the 6 primary colors and its shades. All titles are in English. On the amazon site the price is $ 16 plus shipping. On ozon under the order.

Pantone: Colors Board book This book of colors introduces children to 9 basic colors and 20 shades of each. Toddlers will learn that one color name actually corresponds to dark, light, and intermediate tones. This is one of the ways to enhance the visual perception of different colors and shades. On the amazon site the price is $ 10 plus shipping. For ozon 809 p.

Pantone: Box of Color: 6 Mini Board Books! 6 mini-books in different colors with text cues will help parents and children distinguish between lighter and darker shades of the same color, developing the ability to notice the colorful and wonderful world around us. On amazon, the price is $ 8.8 plus shipping. For ozon 1009 р.

The budget option is to take free color palettes in a hardware store, examine, select similar colors and shades at home and on the street, cut and assemble according to the main color!

We learn colors, shapes and objects. Photobook

Over 600 subjects to study. Large format, bright photos and large letters.

Marina Lozhkina: Color, hello! (interactive book)

Aino-Maya Metsola: Colors

By the first 2 - 3 months of life, the child begins to distinguish the red color. This is due to the fact that the cones (special elements of the retina), which are sensitive to the long-wavelength part of the light spectrum, are the first to start working.

At 1 year old, the baby can distinguish 3 simple colors - red, yellow, blue and 1 complex - green. However, it is still difficult to check what exactly the one-year-old toddler sees. In each specific case, it all depends on the development of speech and thinking.

It is actively worth starting to study colors with a 1 year old baby, but children can remember and distinguish only from 2 to 3 years old, when an active cognitive interest appears.

How to teach a child to distinguish colors?

There are many techniques for teaching a child about flowers.

for kids 2 years old and younger, the lesson should be carried out unobtrusively, in a playful way, stopping at the first signs of fatigue, switching attention. It is worth using for training objects that have one or another required color;
at 3 years old, when interest in fairy tales wakes up, and vocabulary and spatial thinking is growing, it is worth reading and telling stories, poems and works, stopping at the description, trying not to leave the main plot. For example: the princess's dress was pink, a green Christmas tree grew near the house, the wind dispersed the blue cloud;
at 4 years old, try to get the child to tell something and try to describe it in a specific color. To do this, ask him leading questions.

6 ways to learn colors with your child

Method number 1."Awakening creativity"

We learn to distinguish colors using paints, plasticine, markers and pencils. You can start training in 1 - 2 years. The paint must be non-toxic and washable well.

For babies, freshly squeezed juice of beets or berries can be used as a dye. It is safe, but the stains from it are difficult to remove.

Initially, the parent will have to draw.

clearly and clearly state what color you are drawing;
allow the child to draw a couple of lines or completely paint over a sheet of paper;
make sure that the child does not eat paints, felt-tip pens or pencils;
do not start learning the next color until the baby begins to confidently name the previous one.

Wax pencils are used with caution, as children often gnaw them, scratch them with marigolds and make attempts to shove them into their ears or nose.

Method number 2."Finishing the picture"

Color learning is passive. This method is used in children over 4 years old, since certain thinking skills are required. It is necessary to draw a picture in which something is missing. For example, the sun - rays, a hare - an ear, a hedgehog - needles.

The child is offered several pencils. The essence of the task is for the kid to distinguish colors and choose the correct one to complete the drawing. As they grow older, the picture becomes more complex with a lot of details.

Method number 3.

A modern teaching method that allows parents not to bother too much. It will help you learn colors and check previously studied material. Combines everything with songs, poems and riddles.

Usually, at least 1 light filter is built into each toy, the main purpose of which is to attract the child's attention.

Be sure to read the instructions carefully before use. Ask about the material from which the filter and the toy itself are made.

The age recommended for the modes in which we study colors, on average, ranges from 1.5 to 2 years, although it can be used by older children. In the case of small parts and collapsible structures, an interactive toy is allowed to play for those who are already 3 years old.

Method number 4."Sorting"

The method is good for children 3 - 4 years old. It is necessary to ask the kid to put all his toys into several sorting piles, depending on the color. If the child is small, then the parent will conduct an example of sorting by color for the first time, or even two.

Do not worry, children learn quickly enough, and they even like this type of sorting. Another item that babies love to sort is scraps of fabric. Nowadays, so-called sorter toys are popular, which help to learn colors and shapes.

Ask the child playing with them additional questions, specify what color should be this or that element that needs to be inserted.

Method number 5."Color day"

Kids at 4 years old love to play on color day. The essence of the method is to find objects of a certain color during the day. In the morning you demonstrate the color, during the day the child in your presence tries to find, see and show the object of the color that you have in mind.

Take stock at the end of the day. You can come up with a reward system. The method is good because it develops attentiveness and allows you to keep the child busy.

Method number 6

The method is good for mothers using slings, ergonomic backpacks, or walking with a child in their arms. Mom tells the baby everything that she sees, actively describing the color of objects or phenomena that she sees, attracting the attention of the baby.

It is believed that although they begin to study colors at a more conscious age, certain semantic links are formed in the child's memory, which make it possible to speed up the learning processes in the future.

Diseases in which it is impossible to learn colors with a child

It is worth remembering that if a child at 4 years old does not distinguish colors, cannot remember what seems elementary, wants to learn, but cannot recognize one, two or even three colors, do not scold him, but consult an ophthalmologist.

There is a hereditary disease of color blindness, in which color recognition is impaired, therefore, such a developmental activity, how to teach a child to distinguish colors, will have to be left for a while.

Using Rabkin tables, and then a certain light filter, the doctor can establish a violation of sensitivity to 1, 2 or even all 3 primary colors. It is impossible to cure the anomaly at this stage in the development of medicine. However, for children and adults, glasses have been proposed with specially manufactured lenses that work as a light filter.

The glasses are made specially, depending on the existing sensitivity disorder. The light filter can be red, blue, green, as well as a combination of both 2 and 3 shades.

The baby is laid in the womb. The direction of its development is determined in the first years of life. It depends on the parents what the baby knows and can do at the nursery age. Therefore, they are often interested in the question of how to teach children to distinguish colors.

In stores you can find a huge number of expensive educational toys. They are interesting and entertaining, but in order for knowledge to really accumulate, it is necessary to be guided by the peculiarities of children's development at every stage, to apply them with love and attention in communication with a little man.

Cognition of the colored world up to 1 year

A six-month-old baby begins to see the world in color. He reacts to bright things. This age is characterized by short-term monochrome color. So, for several days or weeks, the child chooses toys and objects of the same color (for example, yellow). The surrounding objects are full of obscurity for him.

What you need to know about how to teach children to distinguish colors at this stage?

The period is informative rather than educational. The task of parents is to interest and tell.
Constant communication is the foundation of early development.
Environmental awareness should be systematic.

Rules and methods of early learning "color" literacy

In this case, as in the development of any business, there are certain rules:

The verbal method is a description of the world around. Repetition is the mother of learning. Say what you see as often as possible. Walking with your child in the park, talk about the leaves on the trees, their color and shape. Tear off the leaf and let it tactilely familiarize yourself with the new object. Repeat the same on the next walk. And the third time, show the weed in the sequence he already knows. It will be useful to focus on the fact that the leaves and grass are green.
Do not rush! No need to chatter incessantly: the berry is red, the leaf is green, the sun is yellow. If you chose green first for training, only pay attention to things of this color for several weeks. Only then can one move on to new discoveries. Do not forget to remind about what is already known before.
Use Show cards with paint tone, name it. The duration of the playback is a few seconds. A gradual increase in the number of images and information about them is the key to more effective memorization.
Consider the character and mood of the child. You can learn only when he is full, satisfied and does not experience other needs.

How to teach a child to distinguish colors: a list of techniques

Verbal method (pronunciation).
Creative (drawing, modeling).
Rhymed (rhymes and songs).

Play and creativity among colors: from 1 to 2 years

This period is already more informative. The kid got acquainted with the world through parental stories and his own discoveries. He knows a lot, but he is just beginning to speak, understands the questions and can answer them by pointing his finger or nodding his head. At this stage, it is already possible to teach the child to distinguish between shapes and colors. It is at this age that such actions will bear the most noticeable results.

To do this, you need to know important nuances. Further - information on how to teach children to distinguish colors:

The first year and a half - the accumulation of understanding of colloquial speech. After - the development of their own speech apparatus.
The child actively learns new things and remembers as a result of playing tasks and comparisons.
The period can be called the "second fundamental". The child, until he learns all the information by heart, will be confused and rarely show interest. But it depends on how the little man will navigate in the world of colors at the age of three.
There is no need to demand regular correct answers. Don't be discouraged if he points to green when asked about red. The main thing is the process of thinking.
We learn colors without shades: up to 2 years old - four basic ones.

Learning in the game is not only educational, but also very interesting.

Potential and limitations in the learning process from 2 to 3 years

The kid is already very well developed. The stage of independence comes to replace the knowledge of the world: he most often prefers to eat, dress, undress on his own. At the same time, his brain is prepared to receive new information and successfully memorize it. After certain achievements of a one-year-old baby, it is important to prevent inhibition of development and remember how to teach a 2-year-old child to distinguish colors.

The color range expands. He is able to remember more than four tones already. Black and white are added to the main ones. Optional - orange and purple (individually).
It is now possible to play effectively and learn not only with the help of toys, but also with clothes, household items and books.
Continue to use the already known methods in accordance with the age characteristics of the little man and the common truths on how to teach children to distinguish between colors.

Given these age-related changes, parents can teach their child a lot, including preparing them for an adequate perception of the color scheme.

We draw, sculpt, glue. Creativity is the engine for the development of a two-year-old, a teaching method and a means of self-realization. Paper, cardboard, salted dough, plasticine, watercolors are the main assistants in "color" science.
We do not stop talking about the colors around us. The little man remembers information better in a relaxed atmosphere. Have you seen a crow? Tell us about her, about the color of her plumage. Went out for a walk on a snowy frosty day? Play with white snow while speaking information. Later, periodically remind about what you saw and its characteristics. This reinforces associations and stimulates memory.
The base games are the same, with a corresponding expansion of the palette.
Introduce the color "letter" to the wardrobe processes. When dressing for a walk, choose clothes in the same range with your baby. On another occasion, leave it in a conspicuous place in advance and ask to bring tights or a blouse of a certain shade.
"Colored things". Necessary items: pre-painted large pasta, multi-colored beads, mosaic elements, as well as 6-8 containers or boxes of the corresponding basic colors. Task: sort the "lost" objects by "houses".
"Colorful world". Draw a picture in advance, for example, a green meadow, a green tree, a red house, a yellow sun in the sky, a blue cloud, a flying black crow, a white stork, an orange ball, a purple car (the variety should correspond to the level of development). It is necessary to cut the same images out of colored paper. Ask your baby to make an applique. He can just sort things out, or he can use glue for this.
"Associations". Prepare colorful images. Place them in balls of the appropriate color. Inflate them and let your child play. Pop and make inferences.
"Colored letters". From this age, you need to begin acquaintance with letters and numbers. This should not be memorization, but a familiarization process. In this context, this is ideal. Sort letters, name the main ones. Ask to find "yellow letter A", "red letter A", "blue letter B", "orange letter B". The number of letters to study is 2-3. The emphasis is on colors.
Read together poems on this topic, learn songs. Children often memorize better in poetic or song form.

On the eve of the crisis, a 3-year-old child regularly shows character. It is important to listen to your baby, understand him, be able to interest him. Psycho-emotional harmony and mutual understanding are in the first place, and only then is learning.

Colors in the world of childhood from 3 to 4 years old

The kid is already quite adult and independent, he owns a certain stock of knowledge, which needs to continue to be replenished. It is important to show ingenuity and patience in order to teach a 3-year-old to distinguish colors. In connection with some peculiarities, inevitable but surmountable difficulties arise.

What is important to know about how to teach a child to distinguish colors:

Crisis 3 years. It is characterized by the persistence of the child in what he wants and protest against everything that is imposed on him. There comes a period of awareness of one's own "I" and the formation of independence.
An important period of psychoemotional development. The color scheme is perceived differently. Expand your existing knowledge to 12 colors (add pink, purple, orange, blue, brown). Depending on the level of assimilation of the material, it is possible to get acquainted with the shades of the main colors (crimson, burgundy, beige, gray).

Speak, remember, remind. Tell your baby about everything that is around, focusing on the colors.

Play basic games: blocks and balls, bingo, puzzles, sorters, associations - and get creative: “colored things”, “colorful world”, “color” analysis of the wardrobe. Improvise with familiar game situations, reworking them in a new way.
"Rainbow". Children love rainbows. Try to learn the "memory" about her together. Draw a large rainbow. Cut out the colored circles in advance. Have the child arrange them in appropriate arcs.
"Multi-colored cars". Walking along the streets of the city, while waiting for public transport, kids watch the road and everything that happens around. Counting passing cars is a good activity. It is even more interesting to look for a car of a given color among them. You can also count the number of red or white cars on a given stretch of highway.
"Ice cream". Draw or cut and glue together images of sweet "horns" with different colored ice cream balls. Let him choose his favorite. There may be several shades and the task is to count pink (strawberry) or chocolate (brown). You can collect cutouts of your favorite dessert in your purse or shopping basket.
"Who is bigger?". While on a walk, select an interesting object (for example, a car). Play the game, who will count the most cars of a certain color.
Learn poetry, sing songs. Many children remember better this way.

If the baby does not show interest in the game, do not force it. Let your fantasy work in favor of his positive emotions. Trust is the key to quality learning. Based on their experience, adults usually already have a good understanding of how to teach a child to distinguish colors. 4 years is the age when it is time to expand and consolidate the previously acquired knowledge.

We repeat, teach, understand

At this age, the kid should already know 12 basic tones: he easily chooses clothes by color, performs tasks set by his parents, which were previously given with difficulty, he himself "teaches" the surrounding colors. If difficulties exist, continue to persevere with the above techniques. This period is the beginning of preparatory preschool. It is important to accustom you to a more assiduous and calm form of perception of knowledge (sitting at the table, using books, albums, goods for creativity). At the same time, it's time to learn shades: raspberry, burgundy, terracotta, lilac, beige, cream, turquoise, salad and others. Here, again, one must not rush. It is better to study more slowly and longer, but with good quality.

It has been scientifically proven that an intellectually developed person has a better and longer life. Invest in your child love and efforts, and he will delight you with his successes day after day.

For a long time I promise to write an article about how to teach a child to distinguish colors and how we did it with Taisia. Judging by the number of questions that come to me, this topic is of interest to many mothers. This is not surprising, since knowledge of colors is an integral part of baby's sensory development. Acquaintance with color greatly expands the child's ideas about the world, allows him to classify all the surrounding objects in another way - by color. In addition, the ability to distinguish colors opens up a new layer of interesting developmental games for the child.

When does a child begin to distinguish colors?

Experts say that for a child, the world acquires paints within the first 3-4 months of life. Indeed, a child can pay attention to contrasting patterns, react differently to rattles of different colors, but, of course, it is too early to talk about a conscious separation of colors at this age. The ability to find a certain color among the rest, and even more so to name colors, appears in the baby much later, not earlier than 1-1.5 years ... Well, the exact timing depends solely on whether you will pay attention to the study of flowers with your child.

It is possible to name colors during games with a baby even up to a year, there will be no harm from this. Well, after a year, you can introduce special "color" games, which will be discussed in this article. These games are also suitable for kids 2-3 years old, who are still confused in the names of colors.

The child's readiness to memorize the names of flowers can be checked very simply. While playing with cubes (constructor, balls in a dry pool ...), take, for example, a red cube and ask your kid to find exactly same, same... If the child understood you and coped with the task, it can be argued that he distinguishes colors and is ready to learn their names.

We learn colors during everyday games and walks

Generally speaking, I am convinced that in order to teach a child to distinguish between primary colors, there is no great need for special activities, it is enough just to regularly name the colors during your usual games. - be sure to pronounce the colors of pencils, build from cubes, a designer or a mosaic - also do not forget to remember the shades of details. The same applies to dressing, walking, and your other favorite activities - in a conversation, constantly name the colors of the objects around you and play materials.

Just remember that “learning colors” does not mean at all that you have to constantly examine your child “Tell me what color it is”, “Show me where it is red”, etc. A child, like any other person, does not like it too much when he is given a test of knowledge, so at first just name the colors and answer your own questions “Where is our yellow cube? There he is!" "Let's draw the grass with a green pencil."

How to teach a child to distinguish colors? Games

In "sorting" games, the child is required to divide objects into groups, focusing on their color; constantly voice the names of colors so that they are deposited in the baby's head. What can be sorted? Here are some options for the game:

You can make a color sorter out of any unnecessary box, just glue the box with colored paper and make several slots. You can push through the slots mosaic details, multi-colored paper clips, buttons, etc. Our sorter is made from tea boxes and mosaic fittings. Occasionally and ready-made options.

We spread toys and other small household items on the floor and suggest that the baby sort them into boxes of the appropriate color. Instead of boxes, you can prepare a large sheet of paper with colored sections. Our game was much more dynamic when we distributed the colored sections between Taisia and her favorite toy. For example, Tasya took all the red objects, and Masha the doll - the yellow ones.

We find a mother hen for each testicle, focusing on color.

We put all the testicles in a cut-off plastic cup attached to the chicken.

You can think of a huge number of options for color sorts, all of them cannot be listed here. You can arrange colorful butterflies in flowers, fruits and vegetables in baskets, and settle colorful animals in houses ... By the way, in A piggy bank of games from readers there are still good ones.

2. Games from the series "Match a pair"

Match-up games work well for learning about colors. You can pick up covers for houses, caps for gnomes or clowns, dwellings for colorful little people, etc.

You can try this version of the game: lay out the wrong version in front of the kid and ask him to correct mistakes.

3. Color lotto

Lotto games become interesting for children about a year old. Of course, while the kids do not play according to adult rules, they simply select cards for the playing field with pictures.

In a colored lotto on each playing field, the pictures have only one color. (An example of a colored lotto can be DOWNLOAD HERE ). Therefore, in order to collect such a lotto, the child needs to select the cards of a given color from the rest and place them correctly on the field.

In a more complicated version, you can use 2-3 playing fields at the same time, as well as learn to compare color and black and white images, as in the game « Gnomes and houses» (Ozon, My-shop, Read) from the "School of the Seven Dwarfs".

4. "Colored" days

This method of acquaintance with color is now very popular. It consists in the fact that during one day (and some even stretch this pleasure for a whole week), the child very often "bumps" the same color, regularly hears its name and accordingly quickly remembers. So, on the day of red, you and your baby can dress in red clothes, find all the red toys, and even eat red fruits and vegetables. Of course, all this time you will remind your child of what color is on your way. Here's a rough list of what you can do on a colored day:

Together with the baby, we look at the pre-selected toys of the studied color;

We put on clothes of the appropriate tones;
We go through the apartment in search of toys and other objects of the studied color;
On a walk, we look for cars of the color we need;
We play with color;

We consider a book or cards with pictures of the color we need ( download example cards);

We play lotto of a given color (see above);
We include in the menu products of the studied color (For example, for red day suitable: berries, tomatoes, red apples, pomegranates; for green : grapes, green olives, lettuce, peas, green apples, green beans, kiwi, avocado; for yellow : banana, corn, yellow apples, lemon, butter, cheese, pineapple; for white : rice, cottage cheese, semolina, milk; for orange : carrot, apricot, pumpkin, orange)

5. Cards of Doman "Colors"

To be honest, I think that learning about colors is the easiest and at the same time the most effective method, especially if we are not talking about too "popular" tones. Doman classes require a minimum of effort and time, and the colors are remembered almost guaranteed, especially if the kid has already had experience of interacting with cards before. Just remember, in order that in a month the learned colors do not fly out of the child's head, their names are necessary reinforce through other games (sort by color, play lotto, etc.).

What's more important: learn only those shades that you yourself distinguish and whose names you are really ready to use in your games and conversations. Do not get carried away with sets like "100 colors" from "Clever Girl". What is the point of learning, for example, a purple shade, if, having met it in life, you yourself, most likely, will call it purple. This will only confuse the child.

My daughter and I began to study flowers on cards at 1 year 4 months (by that time Tasya already knew and showed the four basic colors). We memorized 14 more colors from the cards in a few days (total in our arsenal was 18) and began to mention their names in our games. For those who are skeptical about Doman's technique, I can assure you that Taisiya has not forgotten any of the colors she studied then!

Read more about Doman's methodology and the principles of training. "Color" cards can be DOWNLOAD HERE, and buy HERE.

6. Board games

After 2-2.5 years, board games can be used to consolidate knowledge of colors. For example, here's a good option:

(Ozon, My-shop) and its analog - game "Figures", I wrote about them before.

Educational cartoons

Educational cartoons can be a good help in the study of colors. A couple of cartoons on this topic:

Books

Don't forget about books. You can read about colors in a poetic and artistic form, for example, in the "Multicolored Book" Marshak, or Suteev's story "Rooster and Paints" (usually published in collections of Suteev).

Glen Doman is a well-known figure not only in physiology, but also in pedagogy. Cards for children are widely used today in preschool education for the rapid and comprehensive development of children's intelligence, as well as for the treatment of children with brain damage. You can also use Doman's cards to study colors and their shades.

What is the essence of the technique?

How to apply Doman's technique to learn colors with your child?

The technique is based on the fact that cards are pictures of any objects or phenomena with bright red inscriptions. Pictures with captions are shown to the child for 1-2 seconds for each picture. There should be about ten such lessons per day. As a result, the kid remembers the sound of the word, its name and its recording, quickly learns to read, and acquires encyclopedic knowledge. Cards can represent colors instead of images. If it is not possible to buy Doman cards, you can download and print them on our website.

Why do we teach color to children?

For children, the world is full of diversity, they do not yet have ingrained ideas, like adults. If you ask a professional artist to tell you what color the sky is, he will tell you hundreds of shades, as he is used to noticing them every day. An ordinary person is unlikely to name at least 5-6 shades, since he is not used to distinguishing between them. Children are little artists and we teach them to stay that way longer. To do this, we not only study colors with them, but also focus on the shades of each of them. As a result, the baby begins to perceive the rich color gamut of the world, visual memory is activated, which means that the development of intelligence in general is stimulated. To learn colors, just download Doman's cards for children on the theme "Colors" on our website and use them at home or in class. However, you can download them completely free of charge.

However, the following point should be taken into account. It is not enough to download the cards - you need to print them later. Printer inks can have many shades and may not always represent color correctly. So if we are studying pure colors, without impurities (for example, red, blue, yellow), then the manuals printed on a printer are quite suitable. It's better to be careful with shades of colors. In this case, it is better to download the cards and show them on a computer or other electronic device, although it can also introduce distortion, but to a lesser extent.

Doman's theory at one time was a great success, and today it remains popular in preschool pedagogy. But, like any pedagogical system, it also has its drawbacks. A child, visually perceiving images and inscriptions on cards, does not know how to apply this knowledge in practice. Therefore, when we teach color with children, it is necessary to show what it is for. For children, it is better if they try to mix paints and get a similar shade, or, going outside, try to find such a color in nature.

Thus, when we teach preschoolers using Doman's flashcards, it is always necessary to make a connection between theory and practice, image and reality, as much as possible. Then knowledge ceases to be a dead weight, which it often is during the school period. Let the child feel that this world is alive, and that images and colors are only a way to get to know it deeper.

Downloads

Games

Color memory domino game: