There is really no need to go to the store and purchase manufactured flashcards or other props that teach color recognition to preschoolers. Young children will have more fun (and start learning earlier) when they help create a game that they can play over and over and when they explore the magic of mixing colors.
Color Match Game
Take a stack of white index cards (any size) and a box of crayons. Have your child use each crayon to color one side of two index cards. Start with the basic colors of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, along with brown, black, and white (uncolored cards).
To play the color matching game, shuffle the cards and then set the cards color-side down in rows and columns. To play, players take turns flipping over two cards at a time. As a card is turned over, the player should name the color. If a match is made, the player keeps those cards. If the cards are not a match, turn them back over. As play continues, when a child turns over a blue card she’ll recall from a previous round where the other blue card is hidden. Players go back-and-forth taking turns; if no match is made, the next player turns over two cards. Optional – If a match is made, that player earns another turn.
You can also adapt this game to support budding reading skills. Parents write the color of the crayon on individual cards (so, write “green” with a green crayon, “orange” with an orange crayon). As children learn the basic colors, parents can branch out by adding colors such as teal, pink, and tan to the game.
Color Mixing Experiment
For young children, mixing two colors to come up with a third color is a bit like magic. While mixing paint colors is fun, try allowing colored ice cubes to melt together in glasses. To prepare, add six-to-eight drops of food coloring to each ice cube compartment and add water (be careful to not add too much water or the colors will mix in the tray). Make four ice cubes of each of the following colors – red, yellow, and blue.
When the ice cubes have frozen, set them into clear glasses or clear plastic cups and allow them to melt. Encourage the children to set different combinations of ice cubes into the different cups (red and blue, yellow and red, yellow and blue) that will result in purple, orange, and green. Set the leftover ice cubes back in the freezer. After the original cubes melt then allow the children to try different combinations with the remaining ice cubes (for example two red and one yellow).
Make Tie-Dye Rainbow Sun Catcher Ornaments
After doing the color mixing experiment, take white coffee filters, fold them in any pattern and dip the corners into the different colors created by the melted ice cubes. Unfold the coffee filters and lay flat to dry. With a sewing needle and thread (or a hole-punch and yarn) add a loop to the colored filter and hang in a window from a hook.
Parents, teachers, or caregivers can help preschoolers learn their colors by making and playing a color matching game. Watching colored ice cubes melt into new colors is a fun experiment that can turn into a colorful craft project.
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