Color Sorting Beads

We've been doing color sorting activities for so long that this is very easy for my daughter, but it's still great for working the mind and for some quiet time and an activity she can do all on her own. She loves to sort! Her fine motor skills and color recognition skills have been great for a long time now because of activities just like this. I highly recommend this and my other fine motor activities for honing those fine motor skills.

For this color sorting activity we used beads of various colors and a mini muffin tin. All I had to say was "sort these" and she got right to work. When she was younger and first starting out with color sorting I would use fewer colors and put one of each in the spaces I wanted her to put them. You can try that if your child needs assistance. While they sort you could talk about which colors are which if they aren't sure yet.

We only had one green bead and one yellow bead in the mix. My daughter said "that pesky green bead" and it really made me laugh! Hopefully you and your kiddo have fun with this activity as well. It'd be great for a tot tray.

Water Bottle Cap Color Sorting

This is a fantastic activity for one year old toddlers. Sorting itself is so beneficial for development, and sorting colors helps your toddler learn to differentiate and learn their colors. It even works in some early literacy thanks for the labels.

You can purchase a 3 section tray like the one pictured above at Dollar Tree. They are GREAT for sorting activities for kids. All you'll need for this is that tray, and two different colors of water bottle caps. We had green and white. If you want to include the early literacy aspect with labels you'll need paper in colors of water bottle caps you're using, a Sharpie, and some scissors.

So, I made the labels. "Bottle Cap Sorting" for the title in the middle section. Then "green" for the green section, and "white" for the white section. Then I laid it out, as well as a bunch of white and green bottle caps (the reusing is very frugal and green). I demonstrated and talked about how the green ones went in one place and the white ones in the other.

My daughter got right to work and in no time she was sorting the water bottle caps perfectly. The odd few get to the wrong places at first when excited toddlers grab handfuls at once, don't worry about it! The learning is definitely taking place. You won't believe how excited your toddlers will be to sort water bottle caps.

Bottle Cap Color Sorting

Kids love to sort, plain and simple! Dollar Tree sells some wonderful 3 section trays that my daughter loves to use to sort. One of her favorite things to sort is bottle caps. I recycle lots of our bottle caps for this and other craft/learning purposes. 

As you can see we had green bottle caps and white bottle caps for this sorting activity. I made 3 labels for the 3 section tray. I just used a green post-it note for the "Green" label, and a white index card cut down to size for the "bottle cap sorting" and "white" labels. My daughter was to young to actually read the labels at this point, but it really benefits kids to get used to being in a print rich environment from a very young age. As adults we're always dealing with labels and signs so it doesn't hurt to get them in the habit.

My daughter grasped the concept very quickly and had lots of fun sorting all the bottle caps.

Valentine Heart Color Sorting

We are totally psyched for Valentine's Day over here! C and I have been doing all kinds of activities to get into the holiday spirit! If you're looking for some great ideas for incorporating Valentine's Day into your toddlers activities you're in the right place.

 First I would like to share Valentine Heart Color Sorting. You only need three things for this activity and both can be found at The Dollar Tree. It can be done over and over again, so it's frugal and fun! C loves to sort, so we picked up two packs of heart gems from the dollar store. We got a pink pack and a red pack. I set up this activity with a three section divided tray I already had from Dollar Tree, you could get one of these or just simply use two bowls instead. Just put out the hearts, all mixed together, and the tray or bowls.

 Your little one will probably automatically start the sorting process. I like to provide some instruction and begin the activity by putting one of each in each container and making a silly noise as I do. As C sorts we talk about the colors, heart shape, and love.