Color Songs for Toddlers
Find red, blue and yellow everywhere with Mimi. Colour games for home while The Color Song is on its way.
Toddlers usually point to a colour you name before they can say colour words on their own. The CDC lists "Shows he knows at least one color" as a milestone by 30 months and "Names a few colors of items" by 4 years, so mix-ups along the way are normal. On LumiLand, Mimi the shy bunny hosts colours, and the games below work with no screen at all.
Coming soon to LumiLand
The Color Song is the next LumiLand episode, and it is coming soon. When it arrives, you'll find it right here. Until then, everything on this page works without a screen. You can also sing along with Lumi in our ABC song for toddlers, which is full of colourful things to name together, from an apple to a zebra.
How to use a colour song together: sing, pause, point
Most color songs for kids follow a pattern: name a colour, show something that colour, repeat. You can do the same at home with any tune your child already knows.
Sing. Pick one colour and make up a line about it: "Red, red, what is red? An apple and a bed!" It doesn't need to rhyme well. Toddlers care about the rhythm and your voice.
Pause. Leave a gap before the colour word and wait. Your child may shout it, point, or just smile. All of those count as joining in.
Point. Point to something that colour, then ask your child to find another one. Moving and looking at the same time helps the word stick to the real thing.
Repeat the same colour for a few days before adding the next. Learning colours for toddlers is mostly about lots of small, happy repeats, not about getting it right the first time.
When do toddlers learn colours?
Children learn colours over a long stretch. Many toddlers can sort and match colours before they can say the names, and colour words often get mixed up for a while. The CDC's 4-year milestone quoted at the top of this page is a marker most children reach by then, not a deadline.
So if your two-year-old calls the banana blue, that's part of learning. Keep naming colours in everyday talk and let the words come. For a closer look at what is typical, and how to teach toddler colours without pressure, read our tips article on when toddlers learn their colours.
Why Mimi hosts colours
Mimi is our feelings friend. She is a little shy, and colours give her a gentle way to share how she feels: sunny yellow on a happy day, a soft blue when she is sleepy. That makes colour time a nice moment to ask your child how they feel, too. Some children who won't answer "How are you?" will happily tell you their day is "purple".
Games to play at home
No screen needed. Try one today.
Colour hunt
Pick one colour and walk around the house finding things that match. Line up everything you find on the floor.
Sock sort
Tip out the clean socks and sort them into colour piles together. Name each colour as it lands.
Snack rainbow
Put out a few colourful foods, like strawberries, blueberries and banana. Ask your child to hand you the red one, then the blue one.
I spy a colour
Say 'I spy something yellow' and let your child guess. Then swap, and let them choose the colour for you.
Mimi's feeling colours
Ask which colour feels happy, sleepy or cozy today. There are no wrong answers, and it gets little ones talking.
Car colour count
On a walk, look for cars of one colour and cheer when you see one. Switch colours halfway.
Questions parents ask
At what age should a child know their colors?
There is a wide range. The CDC lists "names a few colors of items" as something most children do by 4 years old. Many toddlers match or point to colours well before they can name them.
My toddler calls everything blue. Is that normal?
Very normal. Many children pick a favourite colour word and use it for everything for a while. Keep naming colours in everyday talk and the right words usually follow.
Which colours should we start with?
Start with two or three bright, easy ones, like red, blue and yellow. Add a new colour once your child points to those without help.
Does LumiLand have a colour song yet?
Not yet. The Color Song is the next LumiLand episode and it is coming soon. Until then, the games on this page work with no screen at all.
How can I teach colours without flashcards?
Name colours during things you already do: getting dressed, sorting laundry, choosing a cup or eating a snack. Short, playful moments work better than a sit-down lesson.
Mimi has new songs on the way
Subscribe free on YouTube to sing along with every new LumiLand episode.
