6 Games That Teach Toddlers Colors

Want a great way to brighten your little one’s day and stimulate that busy little brain? These low-key color activities won’t teach your cutie how to name each and every hue — she’ll gain that skill when she’s in preschool — but they will teach her the basic concepts of color, which will give her a richer vocabulary and make it easier for her to communicate and be creative. Even better, these games get a gold star for being fun and easy to work into your tot’s routine.

Turn your toddler’s plate into a double-duty lesson in colors and nutrition. Name the color as you serve up the food — brown bread, yellow cheese, red pepper strips, green broccoli trees, white hummus.

Or let her create her own palette by adding brightly hued stir-ins, like a spoonful of strawberry jam or a handful of blueberries, to plain yogurt. Mix it in, and now her snack looks pretty in pink or purple.

Give your pint-sized Picasso homemade finger paint, which is less expensive than the store-bought kind. Plus, part of the fun is whipping up a batch together.

To make it, mix 1/2 cup cornstarch and 2 cups water into a saucepan and boil the mixture until it gets thick. Divvy the cooled concoction into a few plastic bowls and add as much food coloring as you want.

Then let her smear it on a large piece of butcher paper or poster board until she’s produced a color-saturated masterpiece. Stay-clean hint: Drape a vinyl cloth on the table, so you can rinse the paint off once she’s done.

Before you head outside with your toddler, have your cutie choose a piece of construction paper that she can hold onto. During your walk together, help her spot objects that match the color of the paper: leaves, pumpkins and someone’s apricot-colored jacket to go along with an orange piece; the sky, a pair of jeans and the neighbor’s car to match a blue piece.

Once you’re back home, let your tot draw pictures of some of the items you saw as a reminder that so many things can share the same shade.

This color activity combines learning with an energy-burning race, so try it the next time the weather’s got you stuck indoors. Tie a different colored ribbon to the tops of three long-handled wooden spoons, then put the spoons in a small pail placed at least 10 feet away from your tot. Call out the color of one of the ribbons, and tell your darling to make a dash for the spoons — and earn a victory hug for her effort (whether she grabs the right one or not).

Got an older preschooler? Add an extra challenge by leaving out the name of the shade and telling her to pick the ribbon that’s the same color as her coat, say, or her favorite cup. Then let her have a turn giving you color hints as you dash for the spoons (and cash them in for your victory hugs!).

Got socks? Place two laundry baskets on the floor, and tape a piece of white paper to one. Grab a bunch of socks and hand your sweetie a sock ball of any color, telling tell her to throw it in the basket she thinks it belongs in. Be sure to help her — you want color activities to be fun, not frustrating.

Sock alternatives: Try stuffed animals (with a blue or multi-colored piece of paper on one basket) or other small toys for a game that’s challenging for her mind and her motor skills.

Even second-year toddlers can be creative about their clothing choices (pink tutu with a green top and purple-striped leggings, anyone?), but you can still try to teach the concept of matching colors.

To start, pull out a T-shirt and three pairs of pants. Can your little one figure out which pair matches the top? Help her see how, for instance, the green flowers on the shirt are the same shade as the green bottoms, then let her pick her own matching set.

Just remember, though: Even when your sweetie understands the concept, she’s bound to have her own definition of what’s stylin’.