How to teach a child to distinguish colors? Techniques and useful tips. Memo "How to teach a child to distinguish between colors" for teachers and parents Sort by color

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

At 1 year old, the baby can distinguish 3 simple colors - red, yellow, blue and 1 complex - green. However, it is still difficult to check what exactly the one-year-old toddler sees. In each case, it all depends on the development of speech and thinking.

It is worth actively 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 techniques for teaching a child about flowers.

for kids 2 years old and younger, the lesson should be carried out unobtrusively, in a playful way, stopping at the first signs of fatigue, switching attention. It is worth using for training objects that have one or another required color;
at 3 years old, when interest in fairy tales wakes up, and vocabulary and spatial thinking grows, it is worth reading and telling stories, poems and works, stopping at the description, trying not to leave the main plot. For example: the princess's dress was pink, a green Christmas tree grew near the house, the wind dispersed 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 your child

Method number 1."Awakening creativity"

We learn to distinguish colors using paints, plasticine, markers and pencils. You can start training in 1 - 2 years. The paint must be non-toxic and washable well.

For 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 state what color you are drawing;
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, markers 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 marigolds and make attempts to shove them into their ears or nose.

Method number 2."Finishing the picture"

Color learning is passive. This method is used in children over 4 years old, since certain thinking 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 correct one to complete the drawing. As they grow older, the picture becomes more complex with a lot of details.

Method number 3.

A modern teaching method that allows parents not to bother too much. It will help you 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 child's attention.

Be sure to read the instructions carefully before use. Ask about the material from which the filter and the toy itself are made.

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

Method number 4."Sorting"

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

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

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

Method number 5."Color day"

Kids at 4 years old love to play on 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 in mind.

Take stock at the end of the day. You can come up with a reward system. The method is good because it develops attentiveness and allows you to keep the child busy.

Method number 6

The method is good for mothers using slings, ergonomic 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 links are formed in the child's memory, which make it possible to speed up the learning processes 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, therefore, such a developmental activity, how to teach a child to distinguish colors, will have to be left for a while.

Using Rabkin's 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 in the development of medicine. However, for children and adults, glasses have been proposed with specially manufactured lenses that act as a light filter.

The glasses are made specially, depending on the existing sensitivity disorder. The light filter can be red, blue, green, as well as a combination of both 2 and 3 shades.

Does your child get confused about naming colors? This means that he does not distinguish them well or simply does not know the correct name. Therefore, parents should pay attention to this and start teaching their child.

Many parents can easily note that by the age of three, most children can confidently name the main ones, but by the age of six, even many shades.

How to teach a child to distinguish colors? The sooner you start working with your baby, the faster he will comprehend all the subtleties of the color scheme and will be able to competently express his thoughts. And there and not far.

Learning is not difficult at all, you just have to devote enough time and patience to it. So that your classes are not spontaneous, you can advise using one of the following methods.

Method 1

This method involves the daily training of crumbs through direct communication. You can show your baby some color on a walk, and then invite him to count the objects of this color that are encountered. For example, cars. Let the theme of the day be, for example, red. And the child must indicate or count all the cars of red shades. It will turn into a pretty fun game, and it doesn't matter how many cars your kid counts. The main thing is that he will master what red looks like.

Method 2

This technique teaches a child to draw, it is intended for older children. To master it, you will need to purchase bright pencils or felt-tip pens. Choose one pencil from the pack and invite your kid to draw with this color only. For example, choosing orange, paint the sun, orange, chanterelle and other orange objects. This will help your child learn figurative thinking. Various coloring books help a lot. Let the child learn to color the pictures on his own, just show him how to do it.

Method 3

You can use special educational cubes, pyramids and other toys that can be purchased in children's departments. It would be a good idea to use special books equipped with funny rhymes and rhymes about colors, and even interactive applications. With their help, children learn the material very quickly.

Method 4

This technique involves the use of special educational games. You can spy on them in books or on the Internet, or you can invent them yourself. The main thing is that the topic matches the color recognition training. Even a simple picking up of scattered toys can be turned into an exciting activity by asking the child to first remove toys, for example, green, then blue, then red, etc. So you will immediately kill two birds with one stone: teach your baby to keep order and once again fix it knowledge of different colors.

Using all these techniques, remember that while children are very young, it is enough to teach them to distinguish between the primary colors: red, blue, green, yellow, white, black. Then you can add to their number orange, purple, blue, pink, gray, brown, etc. So gradually add different shades.

It is better to learn colors by associations. For example, gray mouse, blue sky, red watermelon, white bear, etc.

Dear parents, many have already passed this important stage with their children before you, so it's not a sin to take advice from "experienced" dads and mothers.

Regularly communicate with your child, even if he is not yet talking, but hears you perfectly, every day, talking with your still dumb baby, you already give him the knowledge necessary for life;
Use positive emotions, start teaching the child to recognize the colors of favorite objects - toys, cups, fruit, the baby will better remember exactly what he likes;
Reinforce new knowledge in practice, having learned the name of a new color with your child, repeat this all the time, for example, ask him to bring a red ball or green trousers;
Encourage the child to rejoice at the new "victory", let him tell about this to his friend or girlfriend, grandmother, grandfather, and better he himself demonstrate his knowledge in front of everyone;
Do not use diminutive names in conversation, for example, blue, yellow, better change the structure of phrases, once saying a green ball, slightly change the combination - the ball is green, this ball is green;
It is better to start the study of colors with red, for kids it seems the most beautiful, then you should not start learning a new color without learning the old one well, for the smallest it is better to leave all the semitones for later - pink, light green, etc.

Dear parents, studying the color palette will help in the future to teach your baby letters and numbers, so you should treat this with due attention and patience.

When is the best time to introduce a child to flowers? How to teach your toddler to distinguish one color from another? And can a child be too young for that? Our expert author, speech therapist, blogger and young mother Alevtina Korovkina recommends starting as early as possible and shares interesting techniques with the readers of Pervy Lipetsk.

In my work, I often had to deal with the amazing phenomenon that children at the age of 5 not only did not distinguish colors, but also did not know their names. It is sad that some parents adhere to the principle: "You are a specialist - it is your task to teach my child." Of course, there is nothing better for a kid than getting to know the world through joint games and activities with mom and dad. Personally, I started learning about colors when my daughter was 5 months old. The sooner you start this process, the more effective it is. No matter how much your baby is at the moment - 6 months, a year or a half - start right now! A child should learn to distinguish colors well, group them and name them up to 3 years old.

The study of colors should always start with the basic ones. These include red, blue, yellow, and green. Until the child learns to recognize these particular colors, it is better not to switch to others. Magic cubes and cards Since I started to learn colors with my daughter very early, and she hadn’t even sat down yet, the first thing I did was use my favorite BATAT cubes. I have no goal to advertise for them, I can only say one thing, that I have not yet met cubes more convenient. You can chew on them and swim with them in the bathroom, and they resemble our Soviet rubber cubes. We start the study with red. We take a red cube and show it to the kid with the words: “Look, what a lovely cube. He is red". We tell the rhyme and hold the cube in front of the baby, twisting it in our hands: “Red is very bright.
Tomato and sweet pepper,
Apple. Watermelon inside
Red, red - look! "

Then we give the cube to the kid, he examines it, tastes it. We take the crumbs on the handles, walk around the room and examine everything around, find red objects, feel them. Next, together we consider the cards where objects are drawn in red. Naturally, all this must be done not in one day, but gradually. Further, after a few days we show the child 2 cubes - one red, the other of any color. We ask the kid the question: "Show me where the red cube is?" We do this until the baby shows correctly. Then we move on to the next color. We begin to study the color blue. We do the same as with the red cube, only we tell another rhyme: "Blue sky, over the blue river,
Blue sea, beyond the blue mountain
The blue whale waves its tail at us.
Blue waves - his home! "

Pictures, respectively, also with blue objects. Just as with red, we study everything that is blue in the house. Then, after some time, we carry out the final experiment with a blue cube and a cube of a different color. If the kid shows correctly, then proceed to the next color. Next comes yellow. Everything according to the pattern with the colors studied above. Verse: “Yellow is the brightest color!
Like the sun, primrose,
Bright yellow water lily
And in the chamomile - the middle.
And the brooding hen
Like a baby's dandelion "(T. Krasyuk)

Green color. Verse:

“Everything is green around:
Here grows green onions,
Cucumbers turn green -
Long-necked fighters.
Maples rustle in green
And a grasshopper, all green.
Singing a song to us out loud
He, climbing on a burdock.
And with eyes on top of my head
All green frogs.
Curls up the fence into the garden
And green grapes.
And knees are all in brilliant green
At Alenka's Neighborhood "(S. Hals) When the child begins to distinguish one color from another, we move on to the next stage. Place four bricks in front of the child and ask them to name a particular color. Over time, the baby will learn not to confuse colors. Let's try the following method. Exploring color using associations In a child under 3 years old, associative thinking prevails. By associating any color with something, it is easier for him to remember it. This type of study is for older children. We take an album and colored pencils and begin to draw a picture with the child. Yellow is the sun, blue is the sky, red is a flower, green is grass. And it is not at all necessary to be an artist - the most important thing for a child is that it is understandable and memorable. Over time, the child will remember all the associations and will easily find the desired color. Draw more and more. And for even older children, I would recommend plasticine. It can be just as interesting to study colors with it. We take cardboard, colored paper. Cut off a piece from a piece of plasticine. We draw a tree or something else on colored paper or cardboard. We had a tree. And then we sculpt red apples from plasticine on it. This game not only helps to remember colors, but also develops fine motor skills. Another area of work with plasticine. We draw clouds, sun, grass, flower on white cardboard. Then we sculpt a corresponding piece of plasticine on each drawing and smear it with our fingers. At the same time, we will definitely help the baby.

Very helpful in learning the colors of the book. It doesn't matter if they are specialized or not. My daughter and I studied, including from books, in which you can click on a color and hear how its name is pronounced in a voice, color and what objects are of that color.

Many things that seem elementary to us are comprehended at a young age with some effort, be it the first hesitant step or the recognition of colors. Nobody remembers how they were trained in this "science". We always seem to have 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 child development in this problem, others are constantly thinking about how to teach a child to distinguish colors.

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

Having been born, the child sees the world around him in black and white, perceiving only contrasting lighting - dark or light in the room. Thus, the newborn unmistakably determines whether it is morning or deep evening.

By about three months old, the baby begins to perceive bright colors. And the palm tree 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.

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, there is a certain inaccuracy.

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

Why is it so important to develop color perception in children? The need to study these concepts is not to get ahead of the development of peers. Color, along with the shape and size of objects, are considered a kind of standards for a 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, you need 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. Do not think that a small child cannot remember something if he cannot yet speak. In order for the information to be reliably deposited in his head, communicate with the baby during the game, explaining and naming the color of his favorite rattle, train or ball.
"Humanize" the activity. If human perception is impartial, then memory is much better at remembering and retaining those images, ideas and facts that are generously "seasoned" with emotions. Why don't you use this memorization feature? Start exploring the shades with kids' favorite 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 pants. On the street, you can see yellow flowers or yellow leaves.
Share your knowledge with others. The kid needs to be encouraged to tell loved ones about the knowledge and new information received. Let's say you studied red. Invite the baby to call her grandmother and talk about her successes. Or in person, let the proud "student" bring her a red towel.
Delineate words. You don't have to say the same thing every time - "blue ball". For the kid, due to the specifics of thinking, these two words merge and become one "blue ball". His perception does not yet allow separating objects and their properties. Therefore, it would be better to say this: “This is a ball. It is blue in color. And this is a typewriter. She's also blue. "
Don't caress the word. The kid cannot yet correctly assess the correctness of phrases and concepts, so there is no need to mislead him by using diminutive-affectionate epithets in speech. For the study of colors, blue, yellow and green shades are absolutely not suitable.
Do not distort the names of the shades. Children's perception should not be confused, calling the blue tone blue, and burgundy or crimson red. A child over a year old can already distinguish colors in much the same way as adults. And he absolutely does not understand why mom applies the same word to different shades. And so that there is no confusion, at the beginning of the educational process, pick up play accessories, which without any hesitation 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 dispense with preaching and make learning a fun game.

5 basic techniques

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

Informality. This technique does not imply purposeful studies, that is, training can take place in the course of everyday communication. For example, after showing your kid what yellow looks like, ask him to count the number of yellow cars that will pass along the road.
Creation. Provide your baby with the 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 me more about this shade. Then draw together a green balloon, which, unfortunately, will not fly into the heavens without a string of the corresponding color. Let the kid finish drawing the green thread himself.
Play activities. Color perception can be trained using a variety of educational toys that help you remember colors, shapes and sizes. Purchase play accessories suitable for your baby in specialized children's departments - pyramids, mosaics, cubes, coloring books, construction sets.
A story-driven 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 playing the "Store", 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. Lessons in these tutorials help you quickly develop fine motor skills and explore the color palette. Zhukova offers to draw with her fingers directly on the pages of the book, and Tumanovskaya invites children to study color in parallel with understanding the shape and size (for example, M. P. Tumanovskaya, N. A. Tkachenko "Learning the count, color and shape").

You do not need to use only one of these techniques, they can and should be used in parallel to quickly teach the baby to recognize and name the 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 both at two years old and at five years old, so take advantage of his interest and feel free to start classes. We list only the main games:

Find the color. A big plus is that you don't need to purchase any gaming accessories. If the baby does not yet name the colors, offer to look for objects of a certain shade according to the sample.
Sort. Multi-colored buttons or beads will come in handy. Ask your child to put the large red buttons in one box and the small red buttons in the other. If the beads are of the same color, but in different shades, ask the baby to put it in a "tint" row. Just be around!
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 crumb will correct you.
« The fourth is superfluous. " Pick up 3 cards in red and 1 in green. Ask your baby to remove the item that seems superfluous to him.
"Beads". Cut circles of various colors out of colored cardboard and place them on a string that you can draw on a piece of paper. Then invite your child to make exactly the same beads according to your pattern.
"Boxes". You need to paste over two small boxes with colored paper, for example, green and blue. Ask your kid to put cars and balls of a suitable shade in boxes.
"Pyramid". Buy a plastic or wooden pyramid with bright rings and invite your child to assemble it according to size. If the baby is 3-4 years old, ask to pronounce the color of the ring, stringing it onto the rod.
"Constructor". Play a special game with your child - sorting parts by shades. For example, a house can be red, trees can be made 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 pronounce their names clearly. By the way, this game can be played already in infancy.
"Mosaic". You can buy a special soft mosaic with large details for your baby. Collecting certain patterns, the child not only distinguishes the colors of the details, but also develops precise motor skills in parallel.
"Butterflies". You will need colored cardboard again. Cut three or four flowers out of it and the same number of butterflies. Flowers must be laid out on the table (glade), and give the "insects" to the baby. Let him plant a blue butterfly on a blue flower, etc. Then you can complicate the task by placing the green butterfly on the red flower.
"Rainbow". Draw seven rainbow stripes on a Whatman paper. On the corresponding strip, the child will glue small objects of the corresponding color (paper leaves, buttons, fabric patches).

Educational standards state that a three-year-old must already distinguish 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, comment on his own actions and finish classes when the baby starts to get tired or lose interest. These tips will help you teach your toddler to navigate our colorful world.

Hello, I am Nadezhda Plotnikova. Having successfully completed her studies at SUSU as a special psychologist, she devoted several years to working with children with developmental problems and consulting parents on raising babies. I use the experience gained, including in the creation of articles of a psychological orientation. Of course, in no way do I pretend to be the ultimate truth, but I hope that my articles will help dear readers to deal with any difficulties.