Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Teaching Colors To 3 Year Old...HELP
My4SunshineGirlsNY 08:03 AM 04-24-2012
I'm looking for effective ways to teach my 3 year old daycare boy his colors. He clearly does not know his colors, I do a lot of repeating using one color at a time and re-ask and reask what color we just used and even after I tell him over and over his answer is always different. I will just get done telling him what color we are using and immediately ask him what the color is and he comes up with the wrong answer.

Any suggestions/ideas are welcome, thank you!
Reply
SunshineMama 08:06 AM 04-24-2012
Originally Posted by My4SunshineGirlsNY:
I'm looking for effective ways to teach my 3 year old daycare boy his colors. He clearly does not know his colors, I do a lot of repeating using one color at a time and re-ask and reask what color we just used and even after I tell him over and over his answer is always different. I will just get done telling him what color we are using and immediately ask him what the color is and he comes up with the wrong answer.

Any suggestions/ideas are welcome, thank you!
He should know his colors by age 3.

Is there a possibility that he is color blind? There are kid friendly tests available online (the color blind test with pics of animals, etc for them to identify).

If theres no medical issue, then just keep on trying. Use colors as adjectives, "Look at the red ball. Hand me the blue train, etc."
Reply
Blackcat31 08:15 AM 04-24-2012
Originally Posted by SunshineMama:
He should know his colors by age 3.
Is there a possibility that he is color blind? There are kid friendly tests available online (the color blind test with pics of animals, etc for them to identify).

If theres no medical issue, then just keep on trying. Use colors as adjectives, "Look at the red ball. Hand me the blue train, etc."
NOT true. Kids develop at many different rates and there is NO one right age for having to know colors, numbers or letters.

I have had kids learn colors early and late and all went to school knowing the appropriate and necesary things and no one would never be able to tell who learned their colors at what age....kwim?

I do agree though that integrating the colors into everyday activities is very helpful. I would also try to make a game of it. I give my kids laminated color cards and have them go around the daycare and try to find things that match that color. Try to stick with one color at a time and work on it until they get it before moving on to the next color.

I would also try to have the parents work on the same color at home with the child so he is learning it from all angles...

Learning colors will come naturally and I don't think anyone should be concerned about the fact that he doesn't know them at 3. That is still a pretty young age and they are just starting to really feel that academic pull then so relax and go with the flow and work colors into eveyday activites and before you know it...they will know them!
Reply
MarinaVanessa 08:41 AM 04-24-2012
Can you maybe focus on only using one color a day/week and then introducing a second color the next while revisiting the first color etc.? When I teach my littles their colors we focus on only one color for a certain amount of time (usually 3-5 days) depending on the child. I found that some kids wouldn't "get it" because they had a hard time with remembering too many colors at once or too soon. Maybe you can show him color cards and ask him which one os his favorite color and start with that color first? maybe try asking him "Which ones are blue" while showing him different colored objects instead of showing him colors and asking him "what color is this" ???
Reply
MizzCheryl 09:17 AM 04-24-2012
Black cat is right. All kids learn differently and at a different pace. He may not be able to name the color but he might be able to pick it out from a choice of 2 if.... and here is the biggie... he wants to.
If he isn't enjoying the experience he may be off in lala land.

A game my kids like..
I take a picture of the kids face and cut it out and put it on a popsicle stick.
then I make simple cut outs of a shirt shape that correspond to the size head I made. Then we sing
Clueless wore a blue shirt,
blue shirt,
a blue shirt,
Clueless wore a blue shirt, all day long.
we just change the color shirt and if I am doing with the group I change out the face.
They love the picture of them. Gets their attention.
Reply
SunshineMama 09:19 AM 04-24-2012
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
NOT true. Kids develop at many different rates and there is NO one right age for having to know colors, numbers or letters.

I have had kids learn colors early and late and all went to school knowing the appropriate and necesary things and no one would never be able to tell who learned their colors at what age....kwim?

I do agree though that integrating the colors into everyday activities is very helpful. I would also try to make a game of it. I give my kids laminated color cards and have them go around the daycare and try to find things that match that color. Try to stick with one color at a time and work on it until they get it before moving on to the next color.

I would also try to have the parents work on the same color at home with the child so he is learning it from all angles...

Learning colors will come naturally and I don't think anyone should be concerned about the fact that he doesn't know them at 3. That is still a pretty young age and they are just starting to really feel that academic pull then so relax and go with the flow and work colors into eveyday activites and before you know it...they will know them!
I guess I have just havn't had a child who doesn't know their colors by age 3

Good to know that it doesn't mean theres a medical issue!
Reply
daycare 09:22 AM 04-24-2012
I agree that you should not be concerned about the child not knowing their colors at this age. you have to think about what environment the child has or has not been exposed to. I have had kids over 3 not know their colors, because no one ever spent the time to work with them before.

I don't really TEACH colors, I think that my environment teaches the colors to the kids.

If you want to teach the colors, try holding up something BLUE and ask the child can you show me blue? (give them a pile of items of different colors first)

if you make a game out of it, I am sure they will also pick it up. Like how many blue blocks can you find. Be sure not to hide them too hard...

Sounds like you are doing a great job, don't get frustrated and don't give up!!!
Reply
My4SunshineGirlsNY 09:28 AM 04-24-2012
Thank you everyone! Some great tips here, I appreciate them all!
Reply
Ariana 10:06 AM 04-24-2012
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
NOT true. Kids develop at many different rates and there is NO one right age for having to know colors, numbers or letters.

I have had kids learn colors early and late and all went to school knowing the appropriate and necesary things and no one would never be able to tell who learned their colors at what age....kwim?

I do agree though that integrating the colors into everyday activities is very helpful. I would also try to make a game of it. I give my kids laminated color cards and have them go around the daycare and try to find things that match that color. Try to stick with one color at a time and work on it until they get it before moving on to the next color.

I would also try to have the parents work on the same color at home with the child so he is learning it from all angles...

Learning colors will come naturally and I don't think anyone should be concerned about the fact that he doesn't know them at 3. That is still a pretty young age and they are just starting to really feel that academic pull then so relax and go with the flow and work colors into eveyday activites and before you know it...they will know them!
Completely agree! kids learn at different rates. I also find that they really don't know the word for a color but can identify colors. Try a matching game where they have to match colors together. My DD was able to sort colored bees on their appropriate colored hives at 12 months but is only now getting the words right and she's nearly 3! It's higher order processing that can take some kids a while.

I actually started this week with color themed circles. I have an old kleenex box and I put all sorts of household objects in it that are the color we are working on. Today was blue so I put in about 10 blue object and during circle I took them out one by one to show the kids. I then asked the kids to search around the room for objects that are blue and bring them back to circle (for younger kids you could have them look in a bin of colored objects to pick a blue object). My 2 yr old wasn't able to complete the task so I helped her. Each day you can do the same thing or come up with new "blue" gmaes to play. This will help make a strong association between the colors and their names.
Reply
Hunni Bee 10:48 AM 04-24-2012
I dont teach stuff like that anymore.

My director was big about being able to regurgitate colors, shapes, etc on demand...so I used to drill it. Then I realized how dumb that was....

So I teach it as I go along. I found that a great teaching time was clean up. They have to identify, sort and classify. Anything you like - colors, shapes, size, physical characteristics, whatever. Plus it takes the abstract-ness out by using real world objects.

Yeah I do a color/ shape of the week til we get through all of of them, but I make no special effort to "teach" them. I find they retain it better though an indirect method.
Reply
mema 11:15 AM 04-24-2012
I think it really depends on the child. My ds didn't know any colors, letters, etc until he was 4, but when they came, they came all at once! He wasn't much of a talker. I just kept saying colors, numbers and letters of things and pointing them out at clean up or the store and eventually he got it!

DD was 2 when she knew her colors and shapes and 3 for letters and numbers, but she was a huge talker and very inquisitive. Constantly asking questions.

Just keep introducing them and talking about them and they will eventually grasp it when they're ready.
Reply
jojosmommy 11:22 AM 04-24-2012
Can he sort objects by color? Maybe he knows the difference of which colors are which but can't recite the word associated with each color.

Have him sort buttons by color or pompoms (my kids love this!)
Or pick out a piece of construction paper at circle and have kids hunt the room for things that are the same color. When they find that color item they can bring it to the circle and share about it.

I think kids learn things like that through experience and especially through experiences with others. The other kids who know colors can help him learn.

My kids love the book/character: Pete the Cat I love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin. google Petethecat.com has great classroom applications too. The reading/song that goes with the book is the best.
Reply
itlw8 11:25 AM 04-24-2012
I did not realize but knowing colors comes in 2 stages.

get the red ball comes before what color is the ball. Just keep talking , playing and sking them to get the red ball. It will come.
Reply
itlw8 11:28 AM 04-24-2012
Originally Posted by jojosmommy:
My kids love the book/character: Pete the Cat I love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin. google Petethecat.com has great classroom applications too. The reading/song that goes with the book is the best.
My kids LOVED that book they read it on the bookmobile and they all have been saying it all month. I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes
Reply
Kaddidle Care 12:07 PM 04-24-2012
Originally Posted by daycare:
I agree that you should not be concerned about the child not knowing their colors at this age. you have to think about what environment the child has or has not been exposed to. I have had kids over 3 not know their colors, because no one ever spent the time to work with them before.

I don't really TEACH colors, I think that my environment teaches the colors to the kids.

If you want to teach the colors, try holding up something BLUE and ask the child can you show me blue? (give them a pile of items of different colors first)

if you make a game out of it, I am sure they will also pick it up. Like how many blue blocks can you find. Be sure not to hide them too hard...

Sounds like you are doing a great job, don't get frustrated and don't give up!!!
Yes this! We had a boy that knew which colors matched but didn't know them by name. See if he can find other things the same color like Daycare said above. If he still isn't getting there he may be color blind. Try again next month and see if anything changes.

Does he seem to have a favorite color - going for a certain color paint or crayon consistantly?
Reply
Tags:color identification, learning colors, learning stages
Reply Up