Teach children songs and chants with actions, such as with "When I See":
"When I see red, I put my hand on my head
When I see blue, I touch my shoe
When I see green, I wash my face so clean
When I see yellow, I wave to the fellows
When orange is found, I put my hand on the ground
When I see pink, I think, think, think."
"If You're Wearing Red" (sing to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb")
"If you're wearing red today,
Red today, red today,
If you're wearing red today,
Please stand up."
Insert other colors to create additional verses.
Help the children make colorful shirts to wear. Mix various colors of paint with water and pour each mixture into a spray bottle. Provide each child with a white T-shirt. Have them spray their shirts with colors of their choice. Let the shirts dry before wearing them. Alternatively, set out red, yellow and blue paint for the children to use. Have them mix two colors at a time and discover the new colors they can make. Let them try mixing all three colors. Have them experiment by adding black or white paint to their mixtures. Use the paint to make pictures.
Lead a color scavenger hunt. Name a color and ask the children to find an object of that color. Set a timer and have everyone bring their objects back to the head of the class to share what they found. Or, stage a color dance. Play some music and ask the children to start dancing. Call out a color. Children wearing that color should sit down. Continue calling out colors until everyone is seated. Begin calling out colors again, but this time, the children wearing the color you call should stand up.
Create a colorful lunch. Choose foods of various colors to serve. For example, have orange carrots, green salad, yellow spaghetti noodles, red pasta sauce and white milk. For dessert, bake cupcakes together. Have the children decorate the cupcakes with various colors of icing and sprinkles. Provide the children with colored candies. Have them sort the candies by color. Enjoy the colorful cupcakes for a snack.