Color boxes- Montessori

Montessori’s formal lessons on color discernment begin with the Color Tablets, a series of three boxes of increasing complication. The first box includes only six tablets, small, handheld pairs of red, blue and yellow tablets that the child can use to learn the names of the primary numbers and match them.
Box 1
6 tablets; a pair of each of the primary colors (red, yellow, blue). These are the most sharply contrasted colors.

Box 2
22 tablets; a pair of each of the primary colors, the secondary colors (green, orange, purple), and also pink, brown, black, white, and grey.

Box 3:
63 tablets; 7 shades of 9 colors: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, brown, pink, and grey.

In early exercises, the child matches pairs. As the child develops the ability to discern more nuanced distinction, the number of pairs increase. Finally, the child is able to create spectra of colors from darkest to lightest. Throughout, the child is introduced to the labeling language for each color, plus the superlative language comparing colors to each other.

Color is an accessible way for children to learn to discern differences in their environment, to understand their worlds with more specificity and to orient themselves. Indeed, while we may not think twice about the importance of learning about color, while we may think of it as a fun and engaging, but simple, skill, for children, discerning color is a key to orienting themselves to the world around them.