In many homes, since the tv is on and families are watching the Olympics, parents can take advantage of the fun for some kindergarten readiness learning. Part of appeal is all the bright colors of the athletes, special decorations and each country’s flag. Learning colors is an important skill for young children. Before children can accurately name colors, they need to make some complex brain connections.
Every color has many variations; for example some of the blue uniforms worn by the athletes are pretty electric and some are quite deep and dark. The reds vary from almost orange to almost purple. Also, the same objects can have different colors. Even something as ordinary as the running shoes are as colorful as the rainbow. No wonder it’s so hard for kids to learn colors.
One of the Olympic ads reminds us that colors also have meanings. The colors in each country’s flag have special significance. For instance, in the South African flag the green represents the land, gold is the mineral wealth and black symbolizes the people.
While the meaning of colors is not of interest to kids, children often have very definite favorites. A perfectly good item may be rejected because it is the wrong color. If possible today, perhaps you and your child can have some fun with colors?