CC Image by Gedankensprudler
Playing with color is a wonderful way to speak Spanish with children. They learn or practice the Spanish color words, but they also learn lots of other language with hands-on activities. The key is to focus the input you provide. In addition to the color words, repeat one or two verbs and one or two key words.
Here are 6 no-mess color activities that lend themselves to speaking focused Spanish. Follow the links for excellent photos and instructions. I have suggested Spanish words and sentences to use with each activity.
1. Color-Number Tubes – To do this activity from Royal Baloo you need pompons, paper tubes and construction paper. In addition to the colors in Spanish, you can use the following vocabulary.
el pompón – pompon
el tubo – tube
poner – to put in
sacar – to take out
cuántos – how many (question)
contar – count
dentro – inside
¿Cuántos pompones tienes? – How many pompons do you have?
¿Cuántos pompones puedes poner en el tubo? – How many pompons can you put in the tube?
Pon los pompones rojos dentro del tubo rojo. – Put the red pompons inside the red tube.
Pusiste cuatro pompones. – You put in four pompons.
2. Paper Popsicles – You need construction paper, colored markers and craft sticks. You can see a great picture of this activity on The Bow Blog. Be sure to write the Spanish color words in the matching color and again in black if you have a beginning reader.
el palito – stick
la paleta (el polo in Spain) – popsicle
meter – put in
mismo – same
Busca el palito que va con la paleta roja. – Look for the stick that goes with the red popsicle.
¿Puedes hacer una paleta verde? – Can you make a green popsicle?
Mete el palito dentro de la paleta. – Put the stick in the popsicle.
Bien hecho. Son del mismo color. – Well done. They are the same color.
3. Painted Food – You need white food (popcorn, marshmallows, bread, etc.), milk and food color. There are great photos of this activity on Living Locurto. As you paint, and later eat the snack, use Spanish color words.
las palomitas – popcorn
la palomita – a piece of popcorn
el bombón – marshmallow
la pintura – paint
el pincel – brush
más – more
menos – less
otra/o (otra palomita, otro bombón) – another
Agarra tu pincel y escoge un color. – Take your brush and choose a color.
Pinta la palomita de color azul. – Paint the popcorn blue.
¿Necesitas más pintura? – Do you need more paint?
Pintaste el bombón de color rojo. – You painted the marshmallow red.
4. Sticky Paper Window Picture – You can use many different household items, such as bottle caps and cupcake liners, to do this activity from A Little Learning for Two. You do need contact paper. In the photos they are using colored match sticks, but if the kids are a little older, colored toothpicks work too. In addition to the color words in Spanish, use whatever vocabulary you need to describe your pictures. This is a great activity for position words.
el palillo – toothpick
poner – to put
pegar – to stick
quitar – to take off
arriba – above
abajo – under
al lado – beside
¿Ponemos un palillo azul al lado del palillo rojo? – Should we put a blue toothpick beside the red toothpick?
Pega la tapa para hacer la cabeza. – Stick on a bottle cap to make a head.
Quitaste el palillo verde. – You took off the green toothpick.
5. Bean Bag Match – No Time for Flash Cards played a simple matching game with bean bags and construction paper. There are other color matching games in the post, too.
la bolsita – bean bag
tirar – to toss
darle – to hit a target
casi – almost
Tira la bolsita. – Throw the bean bag.
¡Le diste! – You hit it!
Casi le diste al color verde. – You almost hit the green.
¿Puedes tirar la bolsita roja al color rojo? – Can you throw the bean bag at the red?
6. Color Swatch Match – This scavenger hunt from Sun Scholars is a wonderful way to teach claro (light) and oscuro (dark), and the comparatives más claro and más oscuro. In addition to the color words in Spanish, you can use the following language.
la muestra de colores/ el papelito de colores – color swatch
buscar – to look for
encontrar – to find
igual – the same
distinto – different
claro – light
oscuro – dark
más oscuro – darker
más claro – lighter
Busca algo verde. – Look for something green.
¿Es igual a cual verde? – Which green is it the same as?
Es un verde oscuro – It’s a dark green.
La hoja es más clara que tu camisa. – The leaf is lighter than your shirt.
You may also be interested in this post: Online Games to Practice Parts of the Body, Fruits, Colors and Shapes in Spanish