In this post, I’ll walk you through this color sorting activity, and then at the end I’ll share my five tips for teaching colors to toddlers.
Color sorting is an activity my daughter has loved since she was two years old.
I think the very first color sort we did was with pom poms and colored bowls when she was 20 months old.
She has always loved doing colorful activities, and she’s come a really long way from those early days of pom pom sorting!
How I Set Up a Toy Color Sort Activity
You don’t have to do anything fancy or crazy to create a color sorting activity.
This activity was actually initially thought up by my 4-year-old. I helped out a bit by adding the construction paper.
I laid pink, red, purple, orange, yellow, blue, brown, green, and white construction paper out on a table beside our play kitchen.
We have colored plates in our kitchen, so Elena set those out on top of the construction paper.
Elena sorted each item from the kitchen by color (minus the ones Little Sis was playing with).
You can find most of our kitchen toys in this post.
See?
Hardly any set up involved!
Facing Challenges
Some of the items were difficult for her to sort.
Previously, we’d done color sorting with all single color items, such as pom poms, cereal, or plastic eggs.
Scroll down to see all the color sorting activities we’ve done linked below. 👇🏻
But some of the toys had multiple colors on them, and Elena was unsure of where to put them.
She wanted to make a new category of all the different color combinations at first, until I asked her this question:
What color do you see the most of?
This helped her decide where the multi-colored items belonged.
More Color Sorting Activities
- Color Sorting Sensory Bin
- Color Sorting with Cereal
- Zig Zag Pom Pom Rainbow
- Giant Color Sorting Box
- Floating Pom Poms
Teaching Colors to Toddlers
Colors can be tricky to teach toddlers.
For one thing, colors look slightly different to everybody.
Each basic color appears in a ton of different shades.
Here’s what I’ve learned about teaching colors to my 4-year-old and 23-month-old.
- Have patience and persevere. Some kids get it right away and some don’t. It’s OK! Just keep trying and keep doing color teaching activities.
- Start small and stick to true colors. Pick two to three contrasting colors to really focus on. Red, blue, and yellow (the primary colors) are great places to start and look different enough from each other that kids won’t get confused between the three. How would you describe burgundy to a toddler or explain the difference between red and pink? As kids get older, you can do a color of the day where clothes, food, and activities revolve around a single color.
- Compare like items. Eliminate confusion for young toddlers by comparing apples to apples, so to speak. It’ll be easier for them to pinpoint the characteristic you are describing (a.k.a color) if you remove the other variables. This toy color sort would be too advanced for teaching colors. Try pom poms, cereal, popsicle sticks, or a set of brightly colored blocks to teach colors.
- Increase exposure. We live in a colorful world. Point out colors in books, toys, food, and in nature. Say color names with object names (blue ball, red tomato, yellow sun, etc.) Do this over and over again without expecting a response from your child. They’ll surprise you one day by pointing out colors themselves.
- Make learning fun. Do colorful toddler activities where you can practice all of the above tips. Sing songs, color pictures, and keep learning light-hearted and fun!
Your Turn to Try a Toy Color Sort
I hope these tips and ideas will help you teach colors to your kids!
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think about teaching colors to a toddler!
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!
