When to learn shapes and colors. How to teach children to distinguish colors: effective methods, interesting ideas and recommendations

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

At 1 year old, a baby can distinguish 3 simple colors - red, yellow, blue and 1 complex - green. However, it is still difficult to check what exactly a one-year-old peanut sees. In every 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 ways to teach a child about colors.

for toddlers aged 2 and younger occupation should be carried out unobtrusively, in game form, stopping at the first sign of fatigue, switching attention. It is worth using for training objects that have one or another required color;
at the age of 3, when interest in fairy tales awakens, and vocabulary and spatial thinking grows, it is worth reading and telling stories, poems and works, stopping at the description, trying not to deviate from the main plot. For example: the dress was on the princess Pink colour, a green Christmas tree grew near the house, the wind dispelled the blue cloud;
at 4 years old, try to have the child tell something and try to describe it in a specific color. To do this, ask him leading questions.

6 ways to learn colors with a child

Method number 1."Awakening Creativity"

We learn to distinguish colors with the help of paints, plasticine, felt-tip pens and pencils. You can start training in 1 - 2 years. The paint must be non-toxic and wash well.

In babies, freshly squeezed beet or berry juice can be used as a dye. It is safe, but stains from it are difficult to remove.

Initially, the parent will have to draw.

clearly and clearly pronounce what color you draw;
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 their nails and try to put them in their ears or nose.

Method number 2."Finishing the picture"

The study of colors is passive. This method is used in children over 4 years old, as certain mental 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 right one to complete the drawing. As you get older, the picture becomes more complex with more details.

Method number 3.

A modern teaching method that allows parents not to bother their heads too much. It will help to 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 attention of the child.

Be sure to read the instructions carefully before use. Take an interest in the material from which the light filter and the toy itself are made.

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

Method number 4."Sorting"

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

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

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

Method number 5."Color Day"

Children at 4 years old love to play on the 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 thought of.

Summarize at the end of the day. You can come up with a reward system. The method is good because it develops mindfulness and allows you to occupy the child.

Method number 6

The method is good for mothers using slings, ergo backpacks, or walking with a child in their arms. Mom tells the baby everything that she sees herself, 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 bundles are formed in the child’s memory, which make it possible to speed up the learning process 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, so such a developmental activity, how to teach a child to distinguish colors, will have to be left for a while.

Using the 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 of the development of medicine. However, for children and adults, glasses with specially made lenses that work as a light filter have been proposed.

Glasses are made specially, depending on the existing violation of sensitivity. The light filter can be red, blue, green, and also combining both 2 and 3 shades.

It is generally accepted that by the age of three, a child should learn to distinguish between primary colors. This skill is an important part sensory development, it gives the child the opportunity to take a fresh look at the world. Often, if the baby does not know or confuse colors, parents have concerns about the pace of development of the child. Do I need to worry if the study of colors is not easy for a child? How to teach a child to distinguish colors? You will find answers to these questions in our article.

Studies have shown that children begin to perceive colors by 2-3 months. The first colors a child sees are yellow, orange, red, green. At this age, babies can already react differently to their toys of different colors (for example, a red rattle can please a child more than a blue one), look at bright pictures with enthusiasm. The baby's world quickly acquires colors, but if we talk about the ability to consciously find an object of the right color, then usually it appears in children at the age of one and a half. It is at this age that it is optimal to start learning colors in a playful way. You can voice the names of flowers to a child for up to a year, this will only benefit him. But do not demand too much from the baby, remember that his brain is actively developing, and as soon as the time comes, you will certainly see the results.

To see if your child is ready to learn colors by playing with the building toy, ask your child to point to a piece that is the same color as yours. If the baby can find objects of the same color, then he is quite ready to memorize the names of colors.

Most of the knowledge about the world children receive in everyday life: communicating with adults and peers, watching nature, playing. The study of flowers is no exception. Sometimes a child does not need to do special exercises to learn to recognize colors. For this, it is enough that he hears the name of the color and associates it with a specific thing. During daily activities, voice for the child what color the objects are around. Whether you are drawing, playing with blocks, looking at cars in the yard, reading, swimming, eating, dressing - in each of these situations, you can gently teach your child to distinguish colors.

It is important that the study of colors does not turn into torture. You should not constantly test the child's knowledge by asking him which color is which. Soon the baby may just start to ignore you. “Let's paint the sun yellow!”, “What a delicious green cucumber!”, “Oh, where did the blue cube go? Here he is!" are examples of how you can gently help your child remember colors.

Games for learning colors and their shades

In order for the baby to have an interest in learning colors or to consolidate existing knowledge, you can invite the child to play special “color” games.

Sort by color

Sorting games are aimed at ensuring that the child learns to divide objects into groups by color. Any materials at hand can be items for sorting: toys, covers, designer parts, cubes, buttons, cereals, pencils, etc. You can organize the game in various ways:

“Hide” an object (arrange objects so that they blend into the background);

You can come up with as many options for sorting by color, it all depends on your imagination. So that the child does not lose interest in the task, connect the plot of the game with his favorite characters, toys (for example, a cat will eat from a yellow bowl, and a baby elephant from a red one, etc.).

To help your child learn colors, tasks from the “Pick a Pair” series can. Ask your child to find a petal for a bug, a pot for a flower, a roof for a house, etc. You can present the baby with a deliberately wrong option and ask to correct the mistakes.

Show the child the picture with the missing details. Ask him to fill in the gaps (this can be done with plasticine, pom-poms, caps, cards, etc.).

At the age of about a year, children begin to be interested in various lotos. In the color lotto, the task is to collect pictures of the same color on the card.

Create a sensory box for your little one where everything is the same color. During the game, the child will be able not only to remember the color that he sees, but also to develop fine motor skills, tactile sensitivity, thinking, imagination.

Colored days

This is one of the most interesting and popular ways to teach a child to distinguish colors. Its essence is that during the day (or several days) you draw the child's attention to objects of a certain color. For example, on a yellow day, you can wear yellow clothes, play yellow toys, draw a yellow chicken. Surrounded by one color, the baby will easily remember it.

You can learn colors with a child using cards. With the help of Doman's "Colors" cards, you can introduce your baby not only to the main colors, but also to different shades. It is important not to overload the child with unnecessary information about the names of 10 shades of green or red. Learn only those shades whose names you can use in the game and life.

Board games for learning colors

A great way to study colors and reinforce knowledge about them is desktop them. Currently, the stores offer a wide range of similar games for every taste and budget. Choose a game that suits your child.

Educational cartoons

There are many educational cartoons on the Internet that will help your baby quickly memorize colors. Here is one of them:

Educational books

If your kid loves to listen to stories and look at pictures, this method is for you. We all remember the wonderful story of V.G. Suteev "Rooster and paints", by S.Ya. Marshak has a whole “Colorful book”. You can also find many educational books that will become your faithful assistants.

We have listed different color learning games for you. In order for a child to master the concept of color well, it is worth adhering to a number of principles: do not rush the baby, provide a variety of material for games, discuss what you see.

Conclusion

You can start learning colors from the very early age, the main thing is that it is interesting for the child. It is impossible to specify clear age limits when a child should learn primary colors. This process, like all development, is individual for each baby. The Sozvezdie Development Center has created a Montessori environment for kids, aimed at the comprehensive development of the child. In the classes "Together with Mom" children in a playful way get acquainted with the concepts of color, shape and size, do thematic creative work. You can learn from our teachers how to interest a child in an activity and how to properly present him with cognitive information. Develop with us!

When it comes to child development, all parents become terrible alarmists. When should a baby know all the colors? How to teach a child to distinguish colors? What if the child does not know all the shades of the rainbow? We will try to deal with all these issues.

At what age should a child learn colors?

Babies can distinguish colors from one year old. Another thing is that children will be able to learn their names only when they start talking.

IN modern world the situation when the baby does not speak at 2 years old is considered the norm. Therefore, it is useless to demand from a "non-speaking" child the knowledge of all the colors of the rainbow.

In addition, it should be remembered that each child is an individual. One will be able to name four basic colors at the age of two, and someone will confuse red with yellow almost to school. Do not despair and think that “something is wrong” with your child.

Psychologists and pediatricians say that the baby has the right to confuse colors at both three and four years old, and his color perception will be fully formed only by the age of seven.

You can start teaching a child to distinguish between different colors from birth, but the optimal age for such training is in the range from 2 to 5 years.

How to teach a child to recognize colors?

Parents, when deciding how to teach a child to distinguish colors, resort to different ways. Someone uses special games, someone focuses on educational literature, someone just tells the baby about colors and shows them in everyday life. Each method is good in its own way. Choose the one that's right for you.

Below are the most popular methods and tips.

Speak in different phrases. (Blue ball. This ball is blue. The ball is blue)
Refuse diminutive words (blue, red).
Hold off with shades - all light green, pink and blue shades are best left for later.
Don't give your child a black crayon. Too clear bright lines will “block” all other colors in the mind of the baby.
Pay attention to colors everywhere - on a walk, at home, while reading a book or watching cartoons. When dressing a child, pronounce the color of the clothes, pour something into a mug or place food on a plate, also focus on the color.

7 Easy Color Learning Games

The first game is called Bright Boxes. Its essence is simple: take two shoeboxes and cover them with colored paper (for example, green and red). Invite the child to collect toys of a certain color in boxes.
"Pyramid". Buy a pyramid with colorful rings and ask your child to build it. Stringing the ring, the baby must pronounce its color. This can both teach a child to distinguish colors, and introduce the concepts of "more-less".
Constructor. Offer your child not just thoughtless “building”, but sorting parts by color. “Build” blue and red houses, make a tree out of green and brown details, yellow is suitable for creating a road.
Cards. This method underlies early development Glen Doman. Cut out some cards from colored paper. Stick them on cardboard to make the cards denser. Show your child a particular color and clearly pronounce its name. The advantage of this method is that you can start teaching a child from the first months of his life. Later, when the little one grows up, you can get feedback from him by asking questions.
Mosaic. There is a special floor mosaic, collecting which, the kid will learn not only to determine the color of the parts, but also develop fine motor skills of the hands.
"Wonder Butterflies". Cut out four flowers and four butterflies from colored cardboard. Lay the flowers on the table, hand the butterflies to the child. Ask your child to "plant a green butterfly on a green flower" or "a red one on a red one". Further complicate the task by mixing the color of butterflies and flowers.
"Magic Rainbow". Take a large sheet of drawing paper and draw it into seven strips. It will be a rainbow. Glue objects (leaves, buttons, scraps of fabric) of a certain spectrum on each part of the sheet. The kid will definitely like this game.

How to teach a child to identify colors with toys?

A variety of toys and aids will come to your aid in teaching your child colors. Some have already been mentioned above (mosaic, pyramid, constructor), but there are other entertaining toys that will help your child make friends with the palette:

cubes;
colorful plastic vegetables and fruits;
dry pool balls;
coloring books and pencils;
colorful buttons.

The color is very clearly presented in numerous books and children's manuals, of which many can be found both on the Internet and in stores.

What to do if the baby confuses colors?

It happens that no matter how parents try to develop color perception in the crumbs, all efforts are in vain. The child invariably confuses colors or forgets their names altogether.

Why does this happen in children? The reasons may be different.

Different pace of development in different children. Someone speaks in sentences at a year and a half, and someone is “silent” at 2.5. You should not equate all children "one size fits all".
Late training. The sooner you begin to engage with the child, the faster he will master all the basic information (including colors).
Daltonism. This is an extremely rare disease that affects only boys. If neither of the parents has abnormalities, then the child is unlikely to be color blind.

Conclusion

How to teach a child to distinguish colors? Take the time to introduce your baby to colors and shades. The smaller the child is at the time of learning, the faster he will learn and remember the basic (and then the rest) colors.

Many things that seem elementary to us are comprehended with some effort at a young age, whether it is the first uncertain step or the recognition of colors. No one remembers how this "science" was taught. We seem to have always known that the grass is green, the skies are blue, and the sun is yellow.

However, a child who learns the surrounding reality practically from scratch must somehow remember and realize this. And if some parents rely on the natural course of this problem child development, then others are constantly thinking about how to teach a child to distinguish colors.

Both of them will like simple techniques, techniques, exercises that develop color perception.

When born, the child sees the world in black and white, perceiving only contrasting lighting - dark or light in the room. Thus, the newborn accurately determines whether it is morning or late evening.

By about three months, the baby begins to perceive bright colors. And the palm here belongs to the red and yellow colors.

A little later, the baby discovers blue and green tones, and by six months, the crumbs are already able to recognize all the main colors of the spectrum, of course, without "impurities" and halftones.

A full-fledged color perception is formed in children up to 7-8 years of age.

It turns out that in the question of interest to us, how to teach a child to distinguish colors, a certain inaccuracy is hidden.

The baby can already do this almost from birth. Therefore, rather, parents need to develop in their children the ability to consciously highlight one or another shade, combine objects by color, and correctly name the desired color.

Why is it so important to develop color perception in children? The need to learn these concepts is not to get ahead of the development of peers. Color, along with the shape and size of objects, are considered to be a kind of standards for the child, on which other useful knowledge is superimposed. And the more information you need, the better your further education will be.

Now that you know how color perception is formed in children of the first year of life, it is necessary to move on to the basic rules for teaching a baby to recognize and name the main tones and shades.

Start learning from an early age. You don't have to think that Small child can't remember anything if he can't speak yet. To ensure that the information is securely deposited in his head, communicate with the baby during the game, explaining and naming the color of his favorite rattle, train or ball.
"Humanize" classes. If human perception is impartial, then memory much better remembers and retains those images, ideas and facts that are generously “seasoned” with emotions. Why don't you use this memorization feature? Start exploring shades with your favorite childhood toys, fruits and vegetables.
Put it into practice. The child can (and should) apply the acquired knowledge in real life. If you have studied yellow, invite your child to take a yellow apple from the basket. When going for a walk, ask him to bring yellow panties. On the street, you can see yellow flowers or yellow leaves.
Share knowledge with others. The kid needs to be encouraged to tell loved ones about the knowledge gained and new information. Let's say you studied the color red. Invite the baby to call her grandmother and tell about her successes. Or at a personal meeting, let the proud "student" bring her a red towel.
Separate words. No need to say the same thing every time - “blue ball”. For the baby, due to the specifics of thinking, these two words merge and become one “blue ball”. His perception does not yet allow to separate objects and their properties. Therefore, it would be better to say this: “This is a ball. He is blue. And this is a machine. She's also blue.
Don't caress the words. The kid cannot yet correctly assess the correctness of phrases and concepts, so there is no need to mislead him by using diminutive epithets in speech. Blue, yellow and green shades are absolutely not suitable for studying colors.
Do not distort the names of shades. Do not confuse children's perception, calling the blue tone blue, and burgundy or crimson - red. Child older than a year can already distinguish colors in almost the same way as adults. And he does not understand at all why mom applies the same word to different shades. And so that there is no confusion, at the beginning of the educational process, select game accessories that, without any ado, could be called red or blue.

If you are wondering how to teach a child to distinguish colors, then do not forget to remember the features of an early age. Classes with the child should be regular, but at the same time they must be carried out in an unobtrusive manner.

It is important to do without moralizing and turn learning into an exciting game.

5 basic tricks

There are a lot of methods for studying colors, but all of them can be reduced to a few simple tricks. Children's perception allows you to master the six basic colors (red, yellow, blue, green, white and black) as early as 3 years.

informality. This technique does not involve purposeful classes, that is, training can take place in the course of everyday communication. For example, after showing your child what yellow looks like, ask him to count the number of yellow cars that will pass on the road.
Creation. Provide for the baby necessary materials for creative activity - paints, felt-tip pens, pencils, colored paper or plasticine. After asking the child to choose the color he likes, tell us more about this shade. Then draw green together balloon, which, unfortunately, will not fly into the sky without a rope of the corresponding color. Let the kid himself finish the green thread.
Game activity. Color perception can be trained with the help of various educational toys that help to remember the shade, shapes and sizes. Purchase in specialized children's departments game accessories suitable for your baby - pyramids, mosaics, cubes, coloring books, designers.
Story game. Offer to play in the garage, where the kid can become a truck driver who collects only green cubes and takes them to the “base”. Or try to play "Shop", in which case the child will have to sort vegetables and fruits by color.
Books. Special colorful pictures placed in children's books attract children's attention and develop color perception. The authors of popular books are Olesya Zhukova and Maria Tumanovskaya. Classes in such manuals help to quickly develop fine motor skills and explore the color palette. Zhukova offers to draw with fingers directly on the pages of the book, and Tumanovskaya invites children to study color in parallel with understanding shape and size (for example, M.P. Tumanovskaya, N.A. Tkachenko “Learn counting, color and shape”).

You do not have to use only one of these techniques, they can and should be used in parallel to quickly teach your baby to recognize and name shades. However, do not forget that each toddler is a bright personality that develops at its own pace.

Basic Color Recognition Games

How to teach a child to distinguish colors? Naturally, in the gameplay. The kid loves to play at the age of two and at the age of five, so take advantage of his interest and feel free to start classes. We list only the main games:

"Find a color." A big plus is that you do not need to purchase any gaming accessories. If the baby does not name colors yet, offer to look for objects of a certain shade according to the sample.
"Sort out." Multi-colored buttons or beads will come in handy. Have your child put the big red buttons in one box and the small red buttons in another. If the beads are the same color, but different shades, ask the baby to lay out in a “shade” row. Just stay close!
"Find the mistake." Remove the caps from the felt-tip pens and invite the child to return the “caps” to their place. At a certain point in the game, put the wrong cap on the felt-tip pen so that the baby corrects you.
« The fourth extra." Pick up 3 red cards and 1 green. Ask the child to remove the item that seems superfluous to him.
"Beads". Cut out circles of different colors from colored cardboard and lay them out on a "thread" that you can draw on a piece of paper. Then invite your child to make exactly the same beads according to your pattern.
"Boxes". It is necessary to paste over two small boxes with colored paper, for example, green and blue. Ask your child to put cars and balls of the right color into boxes.
"Pyramid". Get a plastic or wooden pyramid with bright rings and invite your child to assemble it according to the size. If the baby is 3-4 years old, ask to pronounce the color of the ring, stringing it on the rod.
"Constructor". Play a special game with your child - sorting parts by shade. For example, a house can be red, trees can be made up of green and brown parts, yellow ones are suitable for building a road.
"Cards". This method resembles the Doman development system. Prepare several cards from colored cardboard. Demonstrate certain colors to the baby and clearly pronounce their names. By the way, this game can be played already in infancy.
"Mosaic". For the baby, you can purchase a special soft mosaic with large details. The child, collecting certain patterns, not only distinguishes the colors of the parts, but also develops fine motor skills at the same time.
"Butterflies". You will again need colored cardboard. Cut out three or four flowers and the same number of butterflies. The flowers must be laid out on the table (clearing), and give the “insects” to the baby. Let him plant a blue butterfly on a blue flower, etc. Then you can make the task more difficult by landing a green butterfly on a red flower.
"Rainbow". Draw seven rainbow stripes on paper. On the appropriate strip, the child will stick small objects of the appropriate color (paper leaves, buttons, fabric flaps).

Educational standards say that a three-year-old child should already recognize and name six primary colors. It is necessary to strive for these norms, but without much fanaticism.

It is important to teach the child during the game, while commenting on their own actions and finish the lesson when the baby starts to get tired or lose interest. These tips will help you teach your baby to navigate our colorful world.

Hello, I'm Nadezhda Plotnikova. Having successfully studied at SUSU as a special psychologist, she devoted several years to working with children with developmental problems and advising parents on the upbringing of children. I apply the experience gained, among other things, in the creation of psychological articles. Of course, in no case do I pretend to be the ultimate truth, but I hope that my articles will help dear readers deal with any difficulties.

2013-06-12 Andrey Dobrodeev

Hello! Today's article is devoted to how to teach a child to distinguish colors?

Most children begin to distinguish colors by the age of three, but what if the child has not learned how to teach a child to distinguish colors, after reading the article you will learn about 10 useful tips.

A child at this age (3 years old) remembers only the basic colors (red, black, white, green, blue, yellow), while he cannot remember the rest. What to do?

For the youngest, parents acquire pyramids, they are made of several colored rings, and from a very early age, the child begins to memorize colors.

Purchase colored paper and glue, you will also need cardboard. Cut out identical rectangular cards from cardboard. Next, cut out exactly the same cards from colored paper and stick them on cardboard. With the help of colored cards, you can teach your child colors from the age of two. You just show him one at a time and name its color.

You can train your child's skill on cars. First you name their color, then the child repeats it. If you have a boy, then he probably has a house a large number of machines, you can start with them. When you go to the street, train already on the cars that will pass you. You went with your child to the city (it doesn’t matter in your car or on a bus, minibus), the child sits and looks out the window watching passing cars. Tell the child the colors of the cars, and you can also name the brand of cars (then the child will remember both the color and the brand 🙂).

Tell me, is everyone familiar with such a situation when toys are scattered all over the room? So, out of this whole situation, you can benefit from teaching a child colors! Since you have already started to work with the child, he already distinguishes colors a little, ask him to choose from the toys, for example, all the green toys while helping him, then another color, etc. If you have a LEGO constructor, usually for children of three years old, it is large and colorful - you can also ask the child and say: What color is this part, and what is this one?

Buy books for your child. When reading a fairy tale to a child, show and ask who is depicted on the book and what color, for example: The sun, what color is it? - correctly yellow, well done. If the child does not get the correct answer, correct it.

When you go outside with a child, you can name the colors of any objects (the color of the house, the color of the sky, the color of the grass, the color of the earth, etc.).

Another great way to teach a child colors is a mosaic floor. Very comfortable floor mosaics are now on sale, their details are made to fit the child's hand, and besides, they are of different colors. Advantages of the floor mosaic: in addition to learning colors, the child develops fine motor skills.

Buy colored markers for your child. With the help of colored felt-tip pens, the child remembers colors, plus learn to draw. When the child draws, ask him to find the cap of the right color for each felt-tip pen. This is a good workout.

Many use computer game called "Balls" where you have to shoot at colorful balls, this game also helps in learning colors.

Work with your child for several hours a day and you will soon notice the result.

Don't forget to praise your child!!! The child will be pleased to hear when you say that he is well done, clever, while he will try to answer correctly and learn faster.

This is where I will end this article. Health to you and your children!