How to Teach Colors?

Colors are one of the best parts of this universe. They represent joy, warmth, happiness, calm, comfort, and many other emotions. They hold the power to change our moods and perceptions. Hence, introducing kids to them for the first time is a big deal.

The first few years of a child are the most critical for their cognitive development. The information they absorb during these years builds the foundation for future education and learning. You can start introducing them to the names of colors by the time they turn one.

How do kids learn? They observe, hear, and repeat what you teach them. Therefore, the best way to teach them something new is to adequately expose them to the concept. If you want to teach shades, make sure they see, hear, and answer questions about them frequently.

Here are some tips and activities to help you understand how to teach these tones and shades:

 

1. Teach Only Two or Three Colors at a Time

They may seem simple to you, but it’s a different story for kids. They might find it difficult to differentiate between different colors. Introducing them to too many shades or tints at once can cause confusion. Therefore, you need to start slow.

Begin with only two or three, at first. Point out and talk about only those pigment choices until the kids are completely familiar with them. Then move on to other shades in the same way.

 

2. Teach Different Colors Using Same Objects

Introduce kids to different colors using the same object. Let’s talk with an example. Suppose you are teaching them red and blue. Don’t show them a blue toy car and then a red ball. Why? Because they might confuse the various shades with the names of actual objects. Make them learn two different shades using identical objects, i.e., show them a red and a blue ball together.

 

3. Teach With Color Songs

What better way to memorize something than music? The melodious rhythms help kids remember the color names more easily. The song’s video also retains their attention, enabling them to learn even more quickly. So, put some color songs on the TV and encourage them to sing along. Let the color-learning experience be fun and musical for the kids!

 

Arrange Color Matching & Sorting Activities

A simple and interesting way to teach colors!

There are endless versions of color matching and sorting activities. You can either buy them or create them on your own.

For example, you can spread colored mats on the table and cut out flashcards of different colors. Ask the kids to identify the color on the flashcards and place them on the mat of the same color.

Another interesting version? Take a cardboard frame and stick some colored push-pins on it. Give the children some colored rubber bands and ask them to place each rubber band on the push-pin of the same color.

You can also collect different-colored objects, mix them up together, and ask the children to sort them out in bags, tins, or other containers.

Besides colors, kids learn the following skills through matching and sorting activities.

- Organizational skills
- Motor skills
- Classifying skills
- Problem-solving skills.

 

How Did Colors Get Their Names?

Look around; the world is beautiful. The blue skies above that provide shelter to white fluffy clouds or how the sky turns purple with dark, threatening clouds is just one example of how the world arranges itself into a picturesque view. The world is constantly evolving, and we can spot that change by carefully looking at how the world presents itself. So, what makes the world appear different and beautiful?

The many colors that exist help form the beauty of the world. However, it is essential to know how they were named. How do we know that the sky above us is colored blue or purple? Let's find out.

How Were They Named?

Colors didn't have their own names for the longest time and were recalled with describing words. For instance, back in the sixteenth century, you wouldn't define a gown as "bright" pink. Instead, the more appropriate adjective would be "loud." Similarly, the color red could be called fiery. Interestingly, people transitioned from using adverbs for colors to nouns.

If you look back at history, it becomes clear that the most attractive and commonly seen colors were named first. The reason is the perceived importance of that color. Shades that created a greater frequency on the visual spectrum were deemed more significant and hence named quicker. For instance, the color red is eye-catching. Red affects us visually because it becomes easier to recall and pick out in a crowded room due to its undeniable impact on our vision.

The colors named first came in a specific order, like red, black, white, green, and blue. On the other hand, colors like purple, brown, and pink were named later on.

It's interesting that various colors hold different meanings in different cultures. As mentioned above, these tones make the world beautiful. These tints have been used for decades as symbols to represent unique messages. For instance, country flags have been around for ages. What differentiates one flag from another are the designs and the colors used to bring life and meaning to those ciphers.

A single color can mean a hundred different things to an individual, so the names of colors vary amongst cultures. People of one ethnicity may call the color red scarlet, while people of another race may recall red with an entirely different title. This is why colors don't share names in every language, you may call a color one thing in English, but you may find yourself calling it something else in French. These hues hold so much power over us and present meanings we hold sacred. Hence, the way humans react to a color determines the urgency with which it was named, and its impact on the human visual spectrum explains its title.

What's your favorite color? What would you call it if it didn't already have a name? Questions such as these really make you think about the qualities of color and how you perceive it, bringing much-deserved attention to things we don't regularly value enough.