Color Swap Preschool Game

By Charlene Haukom

The Color Swap Preschool Game teaches preschool colors to younger preschoolers while preparing older preschoolers for team activities. Give out prizes between rounds for added fun. Prizes can be as simple as stickers or bean bags.

What You Will Need

Construction Paper or Felt Sheets
Disc Cones in Assorted Colors (optional)

How to Play

1. Spread the discs several feet apart. Make sure there is enough room to run between and around them.

2. Have preschoolers stand next to the discs, one preschooler per disc.

3. One person (preschooler, parent, grandparent, teacher) stands in a spot that is easily seen by the preschoolers at the discs. This person is the swap-maker.

4. Give the swap-maker a colorful stack of construction paper or felt sheets. The colors should match the discs.

5. The swap-maker holds up two sheets – each a different color.

6. The preschoolers at the discs now swap colors. If the swap-maker holds up a blue sheet and a green sheet, then the preschoolers standing at the blue discs and green discs must trade places.

7. Cycle through the construction paper/felt sheets until all preschoolers have had a chance to participate.

Make Color Swap Preschool Game More Challenging

Instead of using disc cones and construction paper, only use felt sheets. Cut various shapes out of the felt sheets. For example, cut out 2 blue squares, triangles, circles, and rectangles. One set of blue shapes will remain with the swap-maker, the other shapes will be posted around the yard, gym, or basement as the discs would have been. Cut the same shapes out of different colored felt sheets (red, white, yellow, orange…)

The swap-maker holds up 2 colored sheets, but the preschoolers now have to match colors and shapes. For example, instead of all blues trading with all reds, blue squares would be trading with red circles.

Variations of Color Swap Preschool Game

Make Color Swap Preschool Game more interesting by keeping score or giving small prizes after each round. Use only one disc of each color, so only two preschoolers will be trading colors at any given time. These two preschoolers are racing during the swap. The first preschooler to get to the new color scores a point or earns a bean bag (piece of chalk, sticker, etc.)

For example, if the swap-maker holds up red and blue, the preschooler standing at the red disc runs toward the blue disc while the preschooler at the blue disc runs toward the red disc. If the “red” preschooler gets to the blue disc before the “blue” preschooler gets to the red disc, then the “red” preschooler wins the round.

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