Color recognition is an important skill for preschoolers to master before kindergarten. Youngsters should get the hang of recognizing colors fairly quickly when parents and teachers employ engaging color recognition activities on a regular basis.
Crafting a handprint book or going on a color hunt are great activities to begin teaching preschoolers color recognition skills.
Teach Kids to Recognize Colors by Crafting a Handprint Book
A colorful handprint book is a fun way to teach color recognition skills. Preschoolers will enjoy making their mark using all the colors of the rainbow. Once finished, the book not only makes a precious keepsake, but is a handy tool to reinforce color recognition skills over and over again. Preschoolers will love this book so much they’ll want to share it with all their friends!
Supplies Needed:
- construction paper
- 10 sheets of 8 ½ x 11 white paper
- washable paint in pink, red, orange, purple, green, blue, yellow, orange, black and brown
- paintbrush
- stapler
Directions:
- Paint each preschooler’s hand with a light coat of the pink paint.
- Have the child press his/her hands onto a piece of white paper, making handprints.
- Repeat steps one and two, using each color.
- While waiting for the handprint sheets to dry, have preschoolers decorate the sheets of construction paper with paint, crayons, stickers, etc. These sheets will be used for the front and back cover of the preschooler’s handprint book.
- Once all of the sheets are dry, arrange them into a book format, using the sheets of construction paper as the front and back cover, and staple them together to complete the book.
Now that the handprint book is completed, use it to help preschoolers master color recognition skills. Have preschoolers “read” the book by naming the colors they see.
For an added challenge, point to random pages in the book and have kids name the color.
Go On a Color Hunt to Teach Color Recognition Skills
Playing games to teach color recognition skills is a surefire attention grabber for young children. Making learning fun is key to helping kids master preschool concepts. They will get a kick out of going on a color hunt and their natural competitive nature will have them well on their way to mastering this skill.
Supplies Needed:
- a box of crayons or a small bag of M&Ms or Skittles candies
- tote bag
Directions:
- Arm kids with the tote bag and a small box of crayons or a small bag of M&Ms or Skittles candies.
- Using the crayons or candy as a color guide, set them loose in the house or classroom to find objects that match the colors of the crayons in the crayon box or the colors of the candies, depending on which item you are using. For a bigger challenge, perform the activity outdoors instead.
- Once they have found at least one object that matches each color, have preschoolers show their findings and tell you the name of each color.
- To vary the game, make the color hunt a competition between kids. See how many objects of each color kids can find in five minutes. The child who has collected the most objects and can correctly name the color of each wins.
Parents and teachers are sure to see positive results in learning when they utilize these fun preschool color recognition activities.
Find more developmental preschool activities on Suite 101.
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