Try These Fun Activities to Teach Colors to Preschoolers
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Color the Rainbow

Buy a large picture of a rainbow that includes the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Alternatively, you can draw the outline of a rainbow and help your child color it in or paint it appropriately. Then have your child leaf through old magazines to find objects that are a single color. Help your child cut the pictures out and paste them on the appropriate strip of the rainbow. When your child finishes, go through each strip to point out the different objects that are each color. For example, you might say, “Wow, look at all the things that are red! There’s an apple, a car, a shirt, a flower, and a raincoat. That’s a lot of red!”

Block Tower Contest

Do you have blocks in several different colors? Use them to teach colors to your preschooler. To do this, pick up a blue block and say, “I’m going to build a blue tower, and I’m only going to use blue blocks!” Model this process by picking up all the blue blocks, putting them in a pile, and building a tower with them. Then pick up a green block and say, “This block is green. Can you build a green tower? Let’s use only green blocks in this tower.” If your child catches on, repeat with the other colors in the block set.

Color Scavenger Hunt

Cut out small squares from several pieces of construction paper (different colors). Hand one of the squares to your child and ask, “Can you find anything else in the house that’s this color? This color is ____.” Encourage your child to use the square to find other objects that are the matching color. This activity is perfect to do in a playroom, where there are usually many materials in primary colors.

These are several techniques for how to teach colors to preschoolers. The most important technique you can use, of course, is simply using the color words over and over again in everyday conversation. Then encourage your child to do the same!