Teaching Colours #2

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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Teaching Colours #1

Colours is one of the first subjects I teach a new bunch of kids.  It doesn't matter how young or old they are, it is always good to go back over the basics.   Making the subject interesting for the children will get them even more interested and there is more to teaching colours than just singing about a rainbow!

Kids pick up the names of the main colours pretty quickly but why not show them a little bit more?  Teach them some science!  Have some fun! Over the years I have done various colour projects and/or Morning Circles.  This post shows various activities and ideas you can use to be colourful and creative!

Meet Oliver Orange and his friends (you can use any names you want). They came along to Kindergarten and got to know the kids. Oliver asked the children where they have seen the colour orange before.  The other colourful friends also ask about their colours.  This can be a long conversation with the group if you have chatty kids so make sure you plan enough time.

This activity encouraged the children to think about items they see in everyday life.  It is interesting to see what they come up with!  I also used my flash cards in various ways.  For example the children had to match them to the correct Colourful Friend (make them repeat the colours, words, names out loud) and got a little exercise at the same time.  The activity will last longer if your kids get a bit of movement now and again.  Even if it is just getting up and placing a flashcard on the floor.

You can get all the Colourful Friends involved in the morning circle and depending on your activity for the Morning Circle they can even lend you a hand ;)  Let one of the colours tell a story/read a book.  Hide your coloured friends around the group and get the kids to look for them.  Also get the children to find items in the room with the same colour.  This is a great way to observe what the kids have really understood.

My Colourful Friends also had a rainbow house to live in.  Let the kids get involved by helping you make the house.  It's a simple craft project but the kids loved it.   We made the house out of a cardboard box and lots and lots of coloured paper squares but let your imagine run wild and come up with your own special house.   All the colours sleep in the house which made it easy to take the house with me to the other group that I was teaching.

One of the things you really need to show the kids when you are working with colours is how they mix to make other colours.  I usually make a colour wheel with them.  Just draw the circle (as big or small as you like) and divide it into six pieces.  Have the kids colour in a blue area, a red area and a yellow area.  Make sure they leave a space between each colour.

Then let them mix the colours together.  Red and Yellow is orange.  Talk to them about it.  Get them to repeat everything.  This is especially important for kids who are going to school soon.

There are some great books you can use to help teach colours and my go to book is Mouse Paint.  Three mice manage to get their paws on some paints.  What happens next is just fun and educational.  You can even look on the internet for some great activites to use with the book.

Mouse Paint is a great book and I have used it in many activities.  So expect to hear about it again!

Teaching English to non-native speaking children isn't just singing songs.  You can do arts & crafts and also experiments.  A great experiment to try while teaching about colours is this one below.  After mixing colours to make other colours it will interest the children to find out that many of the colours we use (eg. Felt tip pens) are actually two or more colours mixed to make one.  All you need are normal colouring pens and some white coffee filters.

First you need to pick your colours.  Three are usually enough.  Make three coloured dots on the bottom end of the coffee filter and then add water.  Either dip the filter into water or use something to drop water onto the bottom.

Within seconds the coloured dots will spread and the majority will split into different colours.  This is a trial and error process at times because some pens are better than others with some colours working better than others.

You can get some amazing results and can even fill the coffee filters completely and use them for some other arts & crafts.  The filters make great butterflies if you split them in half.

One of the important things to do when you have a project going on is to show off your work! Make a poster to hang up in the group or outside where the parents can see it or make something for the kids to take home.

There are more colour ideas to come!  Feel free to add your ideas to the comments!

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