Some of the best activities are made completely from free materials that would otherwise be recycled or thrown away! Use a cardboard box and some markers to create an engaging activity for your little one.
Materials:
- Piece of cardboard (white preferred for more vibrant colors)
- Colored markers
- Box cutter or Exacto knife
Instructions:
- First, draw a number of rectangles on your cardboard.
- Fill in each of your rectangles with two colors (left half one color, right half another). Be sure not to duplicate any color combinations.Â
- Cut out one smaller rectangle within your larger colored rectangles.
- Set the pieces you cut out next to your large cardboard.
- Demonstrate to your child how to match the rectangles to their proper place. This will help with your child's color recognition and logical thinking skills!
- Have your child push the piece into place to fit it into the correct rectangle. Show them how to press down on the piece to fit it into the larger rectangle, strengthening their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination.
Skill areas addressed:
- Fine motor development
- Concentration
- Hand-eye coordination
- Color recognition
- Logical thinking
- Language
Extensions & Adjustments:
- If your child is just starting to learn their colors (around 18 months old), you can still do this activity! Instead of making the rectangles in two different colors, start off with one solid color for each rectangle. This will still start to establish your child's color recognition and fine motor skills.
- If your child is older than 3 years old or is finding this activity to be too easy, try using 3-4 colors for each rectangle. This will benefit your child’s logical thinking skills as they work with multiple colors on each piece.
Author: Chris Longo
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