6 Games That Teach Toddlers Colors

These color activities pack a powerful learning punch and are just plain fun too.

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!

Play with your food.

Generally, the brighter a food is, the healthier it is, so 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.

Paint by hand.

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 two 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.

Stroll in the shades.

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

Race for a ribbon.

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 beribboned spoons in a small pail placed at least ten 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).

Primary toss.

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.

Dress up.

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'.