Color Code Shorts: A Fun Summer Coloring Worksheet!
This worksheet has children ages 3-5 use a color-by-number code to color a pair of summer shorts, matching each numbered section to the correct color listed in a key at the bottom of the page. This activity strengthens number recognition, since children must match numerals to their position in a code, while also reinforcing color names and fine motor control as they color within smaller, numbered sections. Following a color code is also an early introduction to reading and applying a visual key, a skill used again in maps and charts later on.
Curriculum
How to use this worksheet
Look at the color code at the bottom of the page with your child and read through it together, pointing out which number corresponds to which color. Have your child find a numbered section on the shorts, identify its matching color using the code, and color it in. Repeat this process section by section until the whole pair of shorts is colored according to the code, checking the key together whenever your child is unsure.
Materials needed
- Crayons or colored pencils
- Pencil
Extension activities
- •Create your own color code for a different simple picture, like a t-shirt or a hat.
- •Draw your own pair of shorts and create a new color code for it.
- •Sort crayons or colored blocks to match the colors used in the code.
- •Play a matching game pairing number cards to color swatches cut from paper.
Tips for parents and teachers
Encourage children to identify each color by name before they start coloring a section, since naming builds vocabulary alongside the matching task itself. If your child colors a section the wrong color, it's usually because they matched the wrong number, so help them recheck the code rather than simply correcting the color. This activity reinforces both number recognition and color recognition at once, so give equal encouragement to both skills.
Written by
Hemsweta Jain · Teacher Cheena
MBA and Early Childhood Educator, teaching since 2014 · Founder of RaisoActive, Mumbai
Every RaisoActive worksheet is designed and checked by the founder before publishing.
Published · Last reviewed
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