make your own "muffin tin bead sorter" (and then come up with a better name ;) hehe) by simply cutting out different color circles out of construction paper and taping them to the bottom of each section of the tin. i then found about 5 beads of each color for her to sort. after she watched me a couple of times, she got the hang of it and even thought it was FUN!
bead sorting is great for several different areas:
1. learning colors
2. counting
3. honing fine motor skills
and as she gets a little older:
4. making patterns
5. comparing size, shape, etc. of each bead.
i only had very small beads on hand but next time i'd like to try stringing with her using larger beads and a thick thread, maybe a shoelace. stringing is another great fine motor exercise and is more helpful in teaching patterns. plus, wearable art! :)
have fun!
That's a fantastic idea! We already have the beads, but now we string them onto pipe cleaners and make necklaces for all the stuffed animals. ;) I like the sorting, though. Something else to do with things we already have. And heaven knows I"m too tired to think of them myself.
ReplyDeletehahaha so true. i take ideas from around the internet (cough cough pinterest cough cough) and just make them my own! i'm going to try the stringing on pipe cleaners too!
Deleteanother great sorting idea i saw was painting clothespins each a different color, and pinning the matching clothespins to paper of the same color. i feel like paper is too flimsy though so i've been trying to think of what else i can use. so far i've got paint chips, a color wheel, or just a long strip of plastic or wood that has rainbow stripes painted on.
This is such a great and simple idea! Love it and will be trying it once my little one gets bigger! Thanks!
ReplyDeletexo, Benicia
thanks! it's been a hit in our house, hopefully your son likes it too :)
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