Here’s an easy way to teach your child to recognize different colors.

What You Need to Do Beforehand

Take a couple of dozen plain white sheets, and stack them up evenly one on top of another. Draw a simple tree shape with a thick trunk and a bushy top on the topmost sheet of paper. Use a sharp paper cutter to cut out the shape of the tree, so you have a couple of dozen cut out paper trees.

Take a single tree cutout. Pour different colors of paint - red, green yellow, and orange - in separate bowls. Cut up a piece of sponge into small 1/2 inch circles, and oval shapes. You can draw these shapes on the sponge, so you get the required shapes.

Tell your child to use a tweezer or clothespin to pick up a piece of sponge, dip in color and create apples on the tree, by dabbing in the appropriate bowl of color. Once she’s done with apples, give her another tree cutout and this time, tell her to add pineapples or oranges or melons to the tree. For each fruit, she’ll need to figure out which color is to be used, and dip the sponge in that color.

This will not only help her with color differentiation, but will also help her learn the names of fruits and vegetables. You don’t really have to supervise, and the only thing you need to help with is making stacks of paper tree cutouts. Easy!

I like this one, not just because it requires both you and your child to participate, but also because it’s a great way to preserve her artwork for life.

What You’ll Need

White tightly woven fabric (like a kitchen apron or a pillow cover). The tight weave helps hold the color better.

Non toxic fabric paints in red and green

What to Do

Wash and dry your child’s hand.

Use a paintbrush to paint his outstretched palm with the green fabric paint, and before it dries, quickly make an imprint on the white fabric, with the fingers slightly spread apart. Get the paint off before it has a chance to dry – the paint is easier to get off the hand when it’s wet. (Just soap and water will do. Because time is of the essence, I suggest you try this near a water source, like your kitchen sink. )

Once you have the green palm imprint, and have washed her hand clean, take your child’s finger, dip it in red fabric paint and create a flower shape at the tip of the ring finger, creating a circle of five petals. Dip another finger in yellow, and press on the fabric in the middle of the flower to create its center.

Repeat the procedure – create another flower on the tip of another finger imprint, until all fingers have a flower perched on top.

Use the tip of her thumb to dip in green paint, and create two or three leaves, randomly placed among the fingers.

Tip: For best results, try on waste cotton fabric first before using the apron or pillow cover.