Teaching Colors to Toddlers and Preschoolers

Last Updated on February 16, 2024 by Sheryl Cooper

Inside: Teaching colors to toddlers and preschoolers – while creating a color wheel!

When teaching colors to our toddlers and preschoolers, we use the same approach as teaching other skills. We offer plenty of exposure in a variety of ways. Hands-on exploration that they can tie into their everyday lives.

One of my favorite examples is our giant color wheel. While we are learning about the colors of the rainbow, we ask the children to contribute by bringing in items from home. We then create a colorful color wheel that everyone participates in.

I do not recall how I found out about this, or even when. I just know we’ve been doing it for years and the preschoolers always love it. Plus, it gives us a fun decoration for our classroom wall!

Teaching Colors to Toddlers and Preschoolers While Creating a Color Wheel

Collecting Items

A week before we plan to create our color wheel, I sent home a note to each child’s family inviting them to go on a color hunt in their home!

I give them a printable color sorting page so they can use it when finding each item.

This is a great way to include families in our school events!

Once they have found pieces from every color of the rainbow, they placed them in plastic bags and brought them to school.

Supplies Needed

Large sheet of white paper (we use ours from a roll)

Tempera paint – one of each color of the rainbow

Paintbrushes

Bowls for paint

Small items that are the colors of the rainbow (see below)

White glue

Before the Activity

Before we created our color wheel, I asked the children to bring their bag of rainbow colors to circle time.

I showed them a picture of a rainbow and read a rainbow book and told them we would be creating a color wheel using all the pieces we brought to school.

Rainbow Books

• Happy Rainbow
• The Rainbow Snail
• Peacock’s Rainbow Feathers
• A Rainbow of My Own
• Planting a Rainbow
• Hello, Rainbow

Preparing the Color Wheel

Use a large sheet of white paper.

Draw a circle using a pencil (so that you can erase if needed!) and then divide the circle like a pie so that you have sections for each color of the rainbow.

I like to then go over the pencil marks using a black Sharpie so that the lines are very visible.

Tape the paper to the table and provide containers of paint so that you have one for each color of the rainbow. (I like to place my colors in matching color sorting bowls.)

You can take this one step further and identify each section’s color by placing a bit of paint on them. For example, in the area you want painted blue, dab a small amount of blue paint on it. This lets the children know what areas will be what colors.

Start Painting!

Once the children know what colors to paint each section, invite them to paint!

We had groups of children painting different sections at the same time. This allowed them to work together, sharing space and materials, while also being exposed to all the colors of the rainbow.

Glue

Allow at least a day between painting the color wheel and glueing the pieces on so that the paint is completely dry.

Add glue to the table. We poured ours into squeeze bottles, but you could also pour glue into small containers and add paintbrushes.

Another option? Provide individual bottles of glue.

Add the Rainbow Pieces

Invite the children to add their bag of rainbow pieces to the color wheel.

I had just a few children working on this at a time so it wasn’t too crowded.

Noticing the Colors

The children loved walking around noticing all the colors, especially the objects they contributed to the activity!

Displaying the Color Wheel

Once everything is completely dry, display the color wheel on your wall!

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Preschool Color Activity Plans

I am so excited to be a co-author of these color theme activity plans.

24 preschool learning activities for your colors theme, including literacy, math, science, art, fine motor, and more! A great resource for teachers and homeschoolers.

CLICK HERE for more information!