Cut a bunch of holes in a cardboard box, and what do you have? A giant sorting box!

This giant color sorting box is a great way to recycle a big cardboard box and turn it into something your kids can play with and learn from.

Elena asked me if I could build her an ice cream machine.

To clarify, we made pretend ice cream balls out of tissue paper long ago (most have survived a long year of play! Those that didn’t were tossed out simply because Mommy got tired of seeing them lurking in corners).

She wanted to use these for some kind of sort of ice cream machine.

I like to encourage her imaginative play whenever I can, and of course extend the life of the toys or activities the kids already have and enjoy.

It didn’t take long to come up with this idea for an ice cream machine.

This sort of looks like a giant die, doesn’t it?

Elena didn’t want to sort the colors right away. After all, she’d asked me to make an ice cream machine, not a color sorting box.

So first, she put her ingredients (the tissue paper balls) into the holes.

And then shook the box.

When the ice cream was ready, Elena shook them out of the big hole on the other side.

The ice cream machine eventually evolved into a color sorting box.

HOw to Make a Giant COlor Sorting Box

To make this sorting box, I used

• sturdy cardboard box
• colored permanent markers
• sharp knife or razor blade
• kraft paper (optional)

First I covered the box with brown kraft paper to make it look pretty.

Next I traced circles with different colors of permanent marker.

I cut each circle out with a sharp knife.

What to Sort

We used crumpled up tissue paper balls from our ice cream dramatic play.

Crumpling up tissue paper is a great workout for fine motor muscles.

So is grabbing and squeezing these balls like Lia is doing in the picture.

You could also use pom poms, colored blocks…

Basically anything colored that will fit inside the holes.

We used the crumpled tissue paper because we already had it made from a previous activity.

The best part about this activity is that both girls (ages 18 months and 3 years) were able to play with the sorting box together.

My 18-month-old just enjoyed stuffing the box and handing the ice cream balls to her sister to sort.

My 3-year-old loved being in charge and sorting all the colors.

Your Turn to Make a Giant Color Sorting Box

I highly recommend setting up this activity along with our ice cream parlor dramatic play activity. They go together so well.

Do you have a cardboard box at home or in your recycling bin that you could use?

The New Activity Playbook!

Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?

I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.

Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!

CHECK IT OUT!