How to Teach the Secondary Colors to Young Kids

Now that the kids already know the three primary colors; you can now teach the secondary colors too.

I’m sure the kids will have fun with the colors.

Start by introducing the orange color to the kids. Show an orange object and tell them that it is orange. Tell the kids to repeat the word.

Do not forget that teaching young kids is a repeat process. Keep repeating the words so that they will retain it in their mind.

Here are some orange things that you can show the kids.

• orange fruit
• pumpkin
• Halloween basket
• orange ball
• orange shirt
• orange bag
• orange cap
• orange Lego
• orange book

Rhyme

Kids love to read rhymes. They love to play with the words in their tongue. Emphasize on the word orange so that they can easily register the color in their mind.

Show and Tell

Pick an orange object and show it to the kids. Let them name the objects and make sure you ask what color the object is so that the kids will memorize the color.

Riddle

Riddle is a fun activity because the kids are taught to think. This activity helps in developing the mental skills of the children. Remember that you are handling little kids and your riddle should be easy to guess. Once the kids cannot guess, give them some clue and more hints but if they cannot still guess the object, it’s time to show the object and let them tell what the object is.

Activity Sheets

Here are some activity sheets directions for teaching the orange color to young kids.

1. Color all the objects orange.
2. Color only the objects that should be orange.
3. Match the colors to the correct object. (yellow, blue, red, orange)
4. Color the object that matches the color at the left. (red, yellow, blue, orange)
5. Color two objects that have the same color. (red, yellow, blue, orange)
6. Match the objects with the same color. (yellow, blue, red, orange)

The next secondary color is green. If there is a kid who has anything green, like shirt, dress, bag, ribbon, etc; that is the best example to give. Kids relate more and connect to them better if they are looking at the real object especially if it is something they are wearing or holding.

So, start by saying, “Children, our color today is green. Look at the bag of Jennifer. The bag of Jennifer is green. We have a lot of things inside the room that are green in color.”

Now, you can get an idea from what you just said and have a game with the kids. But that will be next because I have to list down the objects or things that are green.

Here are things that can be green:

• leaves
• sweater
• coat
• ribbon
• bag
• unripe mango
• guava
• cap
• box

Game

The good thing about being a teacher is that as you are teaching and dealing with the young kids; you are able to draw some ideas from the things that you see around. A while ago, an idea was just formed when I introduced the green color to the kids. So, I am now going to have a game using the green color.

Make sure that you have provided many green things inside the classroom to make the activity more interesting.

Tell the kids to go and find all the green things around the room. Let the kids put them in the box. After the kids have found the green things, give each of them a star. This can be in the form of a sticker or a small star cut-out or a star stamp on their hand.

When all are already settled in their seats that’s the time you can proceed to the next activity.

Show and Tell

Show the objects or things that the kids have found and let each of them name the objects. This activity will further enhance learning. The kids will learn about the color easier.

Coloring

Children love to color pictures. This activity will help them connect more to the lesson and understand the lesson better.

Work Sheets

You can use these directions for the paper works.

1. Color all the objects green.
2. Color only the objects that should be green.
3. Match the object to the correct color on the left. (Ordinary colors, orange and green).
4. Draw a line from the object to the correct color. (ordinary colors, orange and green)
5. Color the object that go with the color on the left. (ordinary colors, orange and green).
6. Color the pictures correctly. (ordinary colors, orange and green).

You can now introduce violet after orange and green. Choose an object to show the kids and say; “Look at this thing I am holding. Do you know the color of this?”

Some children maybe color literate and they may say yes, but most kids especially the very young ones will just look at you because they don’t know the color. So let them know that the object you are showing is violet.

You can use violet flowers and crayons to introduce the color.

Here are things that can be violet.

• orchid
• shirt
• bag
• box
• eggplant
• book
• crayon
• ball
• ribbon
• paper

Game

Before the class starts make sure that you have scattered objects and things that are green, orange and violet. Do not let the children see these objects so that they will have fun finding them.

Put 3 boxes on the table. Label them green, orange and violet.

After your other activities, tell the kids that you are going to have a game. Group the kids into 3. Each group will be assigned a color to find.

At the end of the game, the group that has the most things in the box will be the winner. The winner will have a price but make sure that the other kids will get prices too.

Art

Secondary colors are combination of two primary colors:

Green is a combination of yellow and blue.

Orange is a combination of red and yellow.

Violet is a combination of red and blue.

To let the children know how the secondary colors are formed let them watch you combine the colors together. You can use watercolor to make the activity simpler.

I’m sure the kids will have fun watching as the colors slowly form.

Work Sheets

1. Color all the objects violet.
2. Color only the objects that are violet.
3. Match the color to the object. (primary and secondary colors)
4. Color the object that go with the given color on the left. (primary and secondary colors)
5. Color the object that has different color.
6. Color the objects that have the same color.