Most color worksheets ask a child to color a picture. That’s fun, but it only checks whether they can hold a crayon. These colors worksheets also ask them to read the color word, find things that are that color, sort and count them, and finish a pattern. So the child learns to see colors, read them and use them.
Where the color itself is the lesson (matching, circling, sorting), the pictures are printed in light pastel colors, and I kept the areas small and the lines thin so they use very little ink. The coloring pages stay black and white for your child to color in. Every page comes in US Letter and A4.
Free Colors Worksheets for Preschool and Kindergarten (PDF)
Learn the color words
Eight color words to trace, each with a colored circle above it so kids see the color while they write the word.
Read the color word, then color the picture that color: apple, sun, leaf, fish, pumpkin and grapes.
Six color words on the left, six pictures on the right. Draw a line to link each word to the picture in that color.
Find, color and code
Each row asks for one color, and the pictures are printed in light color. Kids circle the two that match.
A ten-by-ten grid. Each square has a letter: R red, B blue, Y yellow, G green. Colored in, it makes a surprise picture.
A rainbow with the color word written on every stripe, and a row of paint dots to color too.
Sort, count and pattern
Eighteen colored pictures scattered on the page. Kids sort them by color in their head, then count how many are red, yellow, green and blue.
Rows of colored circles marked R, B, Y and G. Kids copy the pattern into the empty circles with crayons.
Colors covered
Red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, pink and brown are on the name pages. The rainbow page uses red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, and the color-by-letter and pattern pages stay with the four basics (red, blue, yellow and green) so beginners are not overwhelmed.
Why use color words and not just colors?
A child who can name colors has done half the job. The other half is recognising the written word: “red” on a page is a first real reading success. That’s why most pages use the word and the picture together, and why the color-by-letter page uses a simple letter key (R, B, Y, G).
Which page first?
- Age 3: Color the Picture and Color the Rainbow. Say each color out loud.
- Age 4: Trace the Color Names, Circle the Color and Match the Color Words.
- Age 5 to 6: Color by Letter, Sort and Count by Color and Color Patterns.
Frequently asked questions
What age are these for?
Roughly ages 3 to 6. The coloring pages suit younger kids, the reading and pattern pages suit kindergarteners.
Do I need to print in color?
For four pages (Trace the Color Names, Match, Circle the Color and Sort and Count) yes, because the colors are the point. Use the printer’s draft or economy mode and they still look fine. The other pages work in black and white.
Which size should I download?
US Letter if you’re in the US or Canada, A4 almost everywhere else. Print at 100% / actual size.
Are they free?
Yes, for home and classroom use. Please don’t sell or re-host the PDFs.
