Teaching Colors...NOT

I haven't been a fan of teaching color for years now. Here's why. I don't think knowing them (or not knowing them) measures proficiency in the language. Nor do I think they are important for beginning language learners. There are many more important words I'd rather my students learn and be able to use. Also, it actually takes a lot to learn ten different color words.

Recently, a teacher in my building was doing a L2 assessment of her Kindergarten class. They are doing VERY well in Spanish and I suggested she "not bother" with the colors assessment. She decided to test them on the colors anyway. She was surprised that one of her higher kids actually missed a few. However, when asked, ¿Qué color es? Jonas responded,"No sé que color es esto". I would much rather a student be able to say "I don't know what color that is" then recall all 10 colors perfectly.