Toddlers are like sponges, soaking up knowledge and experiences as they explore the world around them. Introducing educational activities in their playtime not only engages their curious minds but also lays the foundation for essential cognitive skills. Create a color sorting box using a cardboard box, markers, and colored popsicle sticks to help your toddler practice learning colours. Get ready to embark on a learning journey that combines fun, creativity, and skill development for your little one!
WILL YOU SET UP THIS EASY COLOR SORTING BOX WITH YOUR CHILD? Pin it for later!
Learning Colors
Children learn colors through a fascinating journey of observation, exploration, and interaction with their surroundings. From a very young age, they begin to notice the vibrant hues of objects around them – from the blue sky to the red apples. Parents and caregivers play a vital role by consistently naming colors and pointing them out in everyday life, like saying “Look at the yellow banana!” or “That’s a green leaf.” Repetition helps solidify color recognition. Hands-on activities like sorting toys by color, using colored building blocks, or finger painting introduce them to the world of colors in a playful way. With time, children connect color names to their visual appearances, enhancing their cognitive skills and building a foundation for future learning.
Supplies You’ll Need
- Cardboard box (shoebox size or larger)
- Markers in various colors
- Ruler
- Colored popsicle sticks (in the same colors as the markers)
- Glue or adhesive putty
- Scissors
- Paper or cardstock (optional)
Instructions for Color Sorting Box
1. Cardboard Box Preparation:
- Choose a sturdy cardboard box that’s large enough to hold the colored popsicle sticks comfortably. This will be your color sorting box.
2. Color Labels:
- Use a ruler to draw a grid of boxes on the box. Use markers to color in each box with a different color.
3. Sorting Slots:
- Cut slits in the cardboard box, inside each colored label. These slits will serve as the sorting slots for the colored popsicle sticks.
4. Colored Popsicle Sticks:
- Use the markers to color the tops (or the entire popsicle stick) of the popsicle sticks in the same colors as the labels on the box. Each popsicle stick corresponds to a specific color.
5. Sorting Challenge:
- Show your toddler how to match the colored popsicle sticks to the correct sorting slots on the box. Encourage them to sort the sticks by color, sliding each stick into the appropriate slot.
6. Reinforce Learning:
- As your toddler engages in the sorting activity, talk about the colors. Say the color names out loud and ask them to repeat after you. This reinforces color recognition and language development.
7. Variation for Older Toddlers:
- If your toddler is a bit older, you can further enhance the activity by adding written color labels next to each sorting slot. This introduces early literacy skills as they begin associating color names with written words.
Tips for a Colorful Success
- Sensory Exploration: Let your toddler explore the popsicle sticks’ textures and the cardboard’s feel. Sensory engagement enhances their learning experience.
- Positive Reinforcement: Celebrate their achievements and efforts as they successfully match the popsicle sticks to the sorting slots.
- Customization: Adjust the activity based on your toddler’s age and skill level. You can start with a few colors and gradually introduce more as they become comfortable.
- Play Together: Participate alongside your child, demonstrating how the sorting works and creating a bonding experience.
Creating a color sorting box is a brilliant way to foster your toddler’s cognitive development while they have a blast. This activity promotes color recognition, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and critical thinking – all while they engage in play! So, grab your supplies, invite your little one to explore the world of colors, and watch as they learn, play, and grow through this hands-on educational adventure!
Age Suitability
This activity is good for toddlers aged children 18 months old and up with adult assistance.
Mess Level
The mess level for this activity is low.
Difficulty to Create
Low.
Skills Developed
Language development, shape recognition, color recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, imaginative play, creativity.
Toddler and Preschooler Curriculums, Books & TV Show!
Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers
There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!
But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.
Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.
Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!
These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!
Click here for more information: Play2Learn
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids
Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.
Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids
Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.
Find out more and grab your copy here.
Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.
Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids
Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.
- 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
- Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
- Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.
Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!
Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.
TV Show: Curious Crafting
I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.
Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!
Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.
In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.
Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.
This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.
WILL YOU SET UP THIS EASY COLOR SORTING BOX WITH YOUR CHILD? Pin it for later!
