Colours Help Learning in an Educational Environment
27 July, 2017
Colours not only influence your mood, but also affect your ability to learn in an educational environment. The colours you select for your classrooms have a huge impact on the mood and behaviour of both children and adults and how they take in information.
Improve your children’s attention
There are many ways you can use colour as a tool to improve your children’s attention and behaviour, while evaluating what each colour means for them:
Preschool Children
- Wear yellow or white when giving children information to help them focus on you and what you are saying.
- In areas where children need to be attentive, place a yellow placemat, vase, picture, folder, or pencil case to help them maintain attention.
- Use calming colours, such as blue or green, in the story area to help them remain calm and relaxed.
School-age Children
- You can teach children how colour impacts behaviour and discuss whether they agree or disagree with research.
- Discuss colour-related phrases (e.g., feeling blue, seeing red, true blue, having a green thumb) in your lesson plans. Ask children if the phrases and their meanings match their own experiences with colour.
- Display art in the classroom, whether this be by professional artists or the children’s own artwork. This can lead to many discussions about why specific colours and shapes are used and how it makes them feel.
Small or Large Groups
- Hang crepe paper streamers to influence moods in certain areas. For example, dark-coloured streamers in a reading area will help children relax and focus on what they are reading.
- Use reds and yellows in areas where you wish to encourage creativity (e.g., art learning centre, dramatic play learning centre, writing area/learning centre).
- Consider the effects of colour when planning family engagement events or other classroom activities.
- Bright colours may overstimulate children if they are already excited.
These are just a few ways to introduce colour into your classroom. At Springfield, we offer a comprehensive design and planning service to help you and your children get the most out of your learning environment. For advice, recommendations and a free no obligation quote, give us a call on 0117 972 9320.
