Teaching colours doesn't have to be boring. Make a project out of it and spend a few weeks really making the most out of the subject.Here are some activity ideas :
* Get some coloured cloths or paper. Place them in different parts of the room/gym and let the kids run around. When you blow a whistle and shout a colour they all have to run to that colour. The last one to get there is out. Play again and keep playing until one child is left, the winner.
* Ask the children to collect coloured items from around the classroom. Have each child go off on the hunt for an item that is a certain colour. Collect them in the center of your morning circle. When you are finished you can let the children put the items away by saying their name and then a colour. They then have to pick up an item you have in the center of that colour and tidy it away.
Make this game more difficult by telling the children that their item must be original. Example : If a child has already brought a blue piece of lego/colouring pencil/book etc then no-one else is allowed to bring a piece of lego/colouring pencil/book etc.
* Make a colour laboratory! You may be able to find a set to buy but you can also make your own using glasses or jars. You will need food colouring and some kind of pipette or plastic syringe. If you just use the primary colours the kids can mix some more interesting colours ;)
You can also make a worksheet for the kids to fill out while they experiement. Just like real researchers! Let them make notes on what colours are made when mixing other colours them. The kids don't even have to be able to read or write. Make your own with shapes to colour or find a Mouse Paint Worksheet using google.com
* There are so many games you can play that involve colours. You may already have some of them or you can adapt ones you have. Memory can be played using colours. Have you every played Uno or Mau Mau? Both games not only use colours but also use numbers. You can even make your own games if you have some time to invest in the project but if you have some money to spend then the games at Orchard Toys are amazing.
* When you are finished with an activity and let the children go off to play or get dressed to go outside don't let them all leave at once. Instead say all the children wearing pink are allowed to leave and tidy up/get dressed/wash their hands before lunch etc. Make it harder by adding a specific item of clothing. All children wearing orange socks etc. This is a great way to stop all the kids rushing off to the next activity and being all wild.
* If you have access to items like balls and hula hoops you can make up some puzzles for the kids that also involve them getting some exercise. For example tell the kids only five children are allowed in each red hula hoop. Give them instructions like place a yellow ball inside a green hula hoop. You can also make an obstacle course using coloured items (or mark items using coloured paper or cloths) and call out instructions. Crawl under the green bank, walk around the yellow chair, stand on a purple cushion etc.
* Depending on how much time you have you can pick a new colour each week and pair it up to another subject. For example : Yellow is light for Lanternfest, Green is for Christmas trees, Blue is for the sea, Red is for fire or volcanos, and so on....* Don't forget to make the colour project special and have a rainbow party at the end. Also make sure you have something the kids can take home and keep. One year we tie-dyed t-shirts to wear to our Betty Blue Party and those shirts kept being worn to Kindergarten until they were too small!
Enough ideas from me for now. Feel free to add some of your own in the comments section.
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