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Enjoy a colour themed day with your little one.
Pick the colour of the day together then dress in the colour of the day, eat foods that are the colour of the day and encourage them to notice things, outdoors that are the colour of the day.
Once children understand and can name colours they are able to build longer sentences that are more descriptive e.g. 鈥榠t鈥檚 a red ball'. Once they master this you could add extra descriptive words like 'light' and 'dark' or 'big' and 'small'.
Watch the video below to see how easy this activity is to slot into your everyday routine and find out all the amazing benefits for your little one.
What are the benefits of focussing on one colour per day?
- A colour-themed day is a fun way to learn and reinforce colours and new words.
- Encouraging your child to spot the same colour and talk about it helps them recognise the difference between colours.
- Asking your child to think about what else is the same colour encourages problem-solving skills and builds vocabulary.
- It's a great opportunity to introduce new descriptive words too, like lighter and darker.
- It's a fun, free and easy way to have lots of fun and add a new dimension to your routine.
How to help children learn colours
For children, learning colours is an involved process that takes time. Every child is different, but typically children can recognise some colours at around 18 months-2 years. But it might take them a while to associate specific colours with specific colour words.
Children learn colours best through hands-on exploration, play, and everyday conversation. Like with expanding vocabulary, one of the best ways you can help your child is through repetition.
You can make learning colours fun and part of their daily routine. Point out objects that you see throughout your day and see whether your child can identify them.
If they can identify them, can they match them with other objects? Sometimes children will associate the colour with a specific object and not the colour itself.
So it's really important to point out and talk about lots of items that are the same colour. That's why this game is so great for helping your child to build their understanding of colour.
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More activities to help learn colours
1. Build a rainbow
Collect different coloured objects from around the house and build your very own rainbow.
2. I spy
Why not play a classic game of I spy but focus on colours instead of starting letter sounds?
3. Finger painting
If you're in the mood to get messy, why not get out the paints and chat about different colours as your child gets creative.