Learn with Play at Home: Simple Toddler Colour Matching Activity

It's so important to provide children with as many opportunities for learning as we can give them and encouraging them to always have a go.

Here is a simple matching activity that you might like to set up and try with your own children. It involves them focusing on colours of objects and matching them together. Adding one LEGO brick to one coloured sponge also demonstrates one-to-one correspondence.

Now I know what it's like to be a parent and sometimes things need to be ridiculously simple to ever make them happen. I hear you completely! What I love about this activity is that you hardly need any materials!

New (and washed) coloured sponges x4
LEGO pieces to match x4

Here is an example of my little girl 'Possum' completing this activity.

I have been doing lots of talking about colours with her and I notice she is now starting to make comparisons and recognising how objects and colours differ. I'm also constantly pointing to colours and teaching her the colour name that goes with it.

What if my child can't do that?
That is completely okay!!! Children are all so unique and that is a wonderful thing. Remember they all learn at different speeds and vary in their interests so you might like to consider altering your expectations a little and simplifying the activity (or extending it) as described below.

TO SIMPLIFY

Display fewer sponges and see if they can add the coloured LEGO brick
Provide one coloured sponge and add a variety of coloured items from their own environment, placing them on the sponge making the colour obvious
Allow the child to simply play with the objects and use it as an opportunity for simple conversation about colours

TO EXTEND

Place the LEGO bricks on the sponges but on the wrong coloured mat. See if they can fix the errors made
Ask them to follow instructions by telling them which colour to collect and match
Encourage them to sort a large pile of LEGO bricks and add them to the sponge colour

As I said earlier, it's so important to give our children as many opportunities as we can to learn new things. Don't expect they can't do something. This activity would be a great idea to try with your toddler. Be sure to keep it enjoyable and fun.

So tell me, how has your child surprised you with what they know???

Here is another simple toddler activity that also uses LEGO!