Even young children can play Twister, although game instructions recommend a minimum age of six. The game directs children to put their right or left hand or foot on different colors, spaced varied distances on a plastic mat. Adults can call out colors and show children how to move the correct body part to the right color. They will enjoy the interactive challenge of the game as they twist to move their hands and feet to the right colors. For children as young as two, they can play a variation of the game by racing to jump on the color spot with their whole body.
Online games, often for free, offer interactive entertainment and education for children. In the Color Learning Game, they can listen to prompts, like "Which color is red?" and click on the correct circle. (References 3) At the Sesame Street website, they can use a paint brush on Print and Color sheets to paint directly on the computer with one of 10 colors. (See Resources) At the PBS website, they can follow directions by clicking on the correct color that "Toopy" tells them.
Candy Land, a board game for very young children, allows children to move through a sweet world of treats until they reach their final delectable destination. Kids don't need to be able to read or to know any numbers in this classic board game; they just flip cards which have colors on them and move their pieces accordingly. Parents can help little ones as young as two or three play this beginning board game by repeating the colors every time both the parent and the child takes a turn. Children will learn to associate the names of the colors with the squares both of the game cards and on the Candy Land board.
Parents can make their own color flash cards, either with or without words, by cutting two 3 inch by 5 inch rectangles from several colors of card stock and laminating them. Children can play several games with these. The youngest ones can begin by matching one card from the first group with the correct color in the second group. Repeat the color name. Another game involves picking a card and finding things in the house or in nature that are the same color as that card. They can match jelly beans, pom poms or other bright objects to their cards.