Pom Pom Color Sorting

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There’s this jar full of colorful pom poms in my supply drawer. Imagine brightly colored fuzzyness all cozied together in a pretty mason jar. Gah, I love it.

A few weeks ago, those pom poms just begged to be used as paintbrushes in this super fun toddler painting activity. But pom poms are so versatile, I whipped them out again recently for a hands-on early learning activity!

Check out this easy pom pom color sorting activity to teach your toddler about colors!

This is a pretty simple activity, but it really packs in a lot of critical thinking skills.

• Your little one will learn to sort and categorize, set goals, and develop fine motor skills as well.
• I would recommend setting a goal for 3-5 minutes for this activity, depending on the age and ability of your child.

My little guy is working really hard on color recognition. There’s something I’m learning though, as we tackle this concept… repetition is key! I think it has something to do with the abstract nature of color, but sometimes we struggle quite a bit keeping those colors straight. One week, he’ll have them down. The next week, we need a bit more support.

I’m learning that it’s a process.

I want to support my son’s learning in any way I can, but most importantly, I want him to engage with learning in a fun way. One of my main goals as I teach my little guy at home is to create an atmosphere that supports a love of learning! Want to know just how I do it? Find out more details in my eBook right here.

But today we’ll tackle one fun learning activity at a time, so…on to our pom pom color sort!

Materials

• assorted colors of pom poms
• assorted felt shapes (match the felt colors to your pom pom colors)
• felt board (make your own DIY style felt board!)

Tips and Tricks for Color Sorting

• Give lots of support in the beginning. Model how to place the correct color pom pom on the matching color felt shape.
• Begin small. Hand your child one pom pom at a time. Once he’s got the hang of it, give him a pile of assorted colored pom poms mixed together.
• Start simple. Try placing only two or three different colored felt shapes out to begin with. Work your way up to more complex matching skills with lots of different colors available.
• Try teaching a critical thinking skill called error analysis: place a pom pom on the wrong color, then ask your child to find the mistake and fix it! (This skill is a building block to learning math and advanced problem solving. It’s never too early to add a little challenge, mama!)
• Make it fun! Are your pom poms little fish trying to find their families? Or maybe each pom pom is a flower and you’re creating flower bouquets. Add a story or imaginative element to your color sorting game to engage your child and keep him focused.

Try this simple color sorting activity a few times this week. I think you’ll be surprised how quickly your child catches on!

I can’t wait to hear how you put your own twist on this game. Let me know how your little one did in the comments below!

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