Color classes or how to develop your child’s sense of color?

As a child grows up, a sense of color develops. This process can be accelerated using various methods. One of them is introducing the child to drawing. In this playful form, children quickly develop aesthetic color perception, as well as an understanding of what “color” is.

How does a child perceive color?

Interestingly, children, especially toddlers, perceive colors more clearly and literally than adults. They build their attitude towards a specific color on the basis of personal feelings, that is, they start from “liked or disliked”. It is also known that children prefer bright, colorful, cheerful colors. Therefore, they are happy to draw with pencils or paints in green, orange, and red shades. Over time, the love for catchy colors extends to clothes, to the choice of toys - literally to everything.

Depending on their age, children are able to perceive colors differently. For example:

• In the first weeks after birth, the child distinguishes colors. That’s why they gravitate toward brighter rattles. Saturated shades evoke positive emotions in children and always make them smile. Already at 4 months, children distinguish blue, red, yellow and green colors quite well;
• At two years old, children develop a new skill. They are able to separate objects based on color. During this period, sensitivity to tones and shades increases;
• At about three years old, children understand and distinguish the entire color spectrum, and they try to name shades. Thus, through color and design, speaking skills can be developed;
• In late preschool age, a child is able to combine simple colors with each other, understanding which combinations are suitable and which are not.

How to develop a child’s sense of color?

Of course, a child’s color perception will develop if he is introduced to drawings. This should be done gradually, but at the very beginning of life - literally from the 1st year. First, parents can bring colorful toys, naming their colors, then start drawing in front of the child. Children’s curiosity is limitless - they will immediately become interested in jars, paints, pencils and brushes. Then, they will notice that the actions of adults with a pencil or brush leave marks on the paper.

When a child first gets acquainted with a drawing, it is important to organize the process correctly. The best place for creativity will be the floor on which the oilcloth will be spread. You can already put a large-format sheet on it and create together. At the first lessons, it is better to offer the child finger paints. They have rich colors and a special application technique, in which the child is included in the process as much as possible.

At this stage, it is not necessary to force the baby to know colors. His understanding of tones and shades will form, as if involuntarily. It is enough, for example, to take a yellow pencil and immediately voice the name of the color, repeating it several times. When drawing, it is better to immediately use the primary colors: red, blue, yellow and green. They are the easiest to remember and are the most basic.

In the process of drawing, for example, a red apple, the child should be asked additional questions. It could be: “what else is red in this room?” This way the child will understand that objects can be distinguished by shades by collecting them into groups. Today, there are a lot of drawing techniques that speed up the process of color perception in a child. The best of them are considered to be painting with watercolors, dry or oil pastels, and gouache.

How can you notice that a child is developing a sense of color?

Determining that a child understands and distinguishes colors is quite simple. You should focus on:

• The ability to name colors (first simple and then complex - shades of blue, pink, grass, etc.);
• The ability to see colors. The following method allows you to test this skill. For example, a blue toy is placed in front of a child, and then asked to name other blue objects that he sees around him;
• Ability to mix colors. This skill does not appear immediately, but its development can be accelerated first by drawings with dry pastels, then with watercolor paint. For example, a red-yellow apple is placed in front of the child and asked to draw it. In the best case, he should repeat the palette. Next, he is verbally asked to draw a yellow-green car. The child must independently select the desired colors from the possible pencils and reproduce them. Over time, he will begin to understand which shades are combined and which are not, meeting them in objects;
• Ability to distinguish between warm and cool shades. This skill is not formed immediately, but approximately by late preschool age. To develop this skill, you should always show clear examples during the drawing process.

Of course, an aesthetic sense of color is a very important skill. It promotes the development of creativity and aesthetic perception of objects. Children who have developed color perception have their own individual style, which is reflected in clothing, interests, and self-expression.

The article was prepared based on materials from the artist and designer Anda Bars: individual drawing and color lessons for children - andabars.com