Muffin Tray and Balls - Colour Pattern Matching Actvity

The Mini has been quite fascinated by colours, just like any other two year old. Colour matching activities interest him a lot and I have been putting together a lot of simple little games using our bunch of colourful plastic balls, play-dough, Popsicle sticks, his toy cars or whatever else that I can find around the house. 

Being a baker Mumma, I have a fair bunch of baking material stocked with me at home. So this particular activity needs a 6 cavity muffin pan. However, if you do not have a muffin tray but do find an equivalent item, maybe six paper cups, six steel cups or whatever you feel will suit the requirement, feel free to use it. Early learning is all about simple fun stuff for me, using simple items and nothing expensive or specially bought material. 

My son was 25 months when I introduced this activity to him. He couldn't get the hang of it at the first go. He just had fun with grasping the balls and placing them randomly in the muffin tray :) Its fine. If an activity engages a toddler for a good amount of time, it is time well spent. Eventually after a couple of attempts, he got it and enjoyed doing it over and over. Try it with your little one!

Things Needed

Muffin Tray - 1 (6 slotted)

Colourful Balls - 6 (1 of each colour)

White Paper - a few, to make different combinations of colour patterns.

Water Colours

Paint - 6 shades (the same colours as the plastic balls.)

Pencil

A round object  - approximately the size of the coloured balls to trace circles on the paper. I used a plastic container.

Procedure:

• Using a pencil, trace 6 circles on a white paper, 2 rows and 3 columns.
• Fill each circle with a different colour of paint.
• Similarly, make more worksheets as required with different combinations of colours in the 6 slots. Allow them all to dry. 

• Place all the 6 plastic balls in a little bowl. And place one sheet of worksheet along with the empty muffin tray beside the bowl. 
• Invite your mini to play and demonstrate how to recreate the colour pattern on the worksheet, on the muffin tray using the coloured balls.

My little boy matched the balls to the coloured circles on the paper at first :) Eventually he understood that the balls are to be placed in the muffin tray.

The next day, my little fellow found a spoon nearby and converted the same activity into a transfer activity, all by himself! Kept him busy while his little fingers worked on some motor skills. 

So that can be another variation of this activity... provide a spoon to your mini and ask them to scoop out the balls onto the muffin tray! :)