Age/Grades

Young Toddlers, Toddlers, Preschool

 

Learning Domains

Language Development; Mathematics Knowledge and Skills

 

Materials Needed

Cardboard Tubes (use a paper towel or postal tubes)

Colored Pom Poms

Tape

Bowls

 Idea adapted from this source: http://www.learning4kids.net/2012/10/02/sorting-colours-with-cardboard-tubes/

 

Preparation

Start with three or four tubes. Find a way to mark each tube by color. Use colored contact paper, paint, or a color swatch.  Attach the tubes to a wall with Mavalus Tape or another tape that will not damage walls. Set a plastic or paper bowl under each tube. Provide matching colored pom poms to be “dropped” into each tube.

 

Activity

Adult supervision is required when using these materials. Invite the children to explore the Drop and Plop Color Game. Give children a chance to discover what happens when they put pom poms through the tubes. Then teach the game. You take one pom pom at a time and “drop” it in the top of the tube and as soon as it hits the bowl you say “plop.” Tell the children that in this game they put red pom poms in the red tube, green pom poms in the green tube, etc.

 

Variations

After children play this game a few times, add some challenges. Invite 2 children to work together. One child does the drop and another child puts their hands under the tube to catch the “plop.” Change the angle of the tubes. Do the poms come out slower? Use tubes of different lengths. What do they notice? What else can we send through the tubes?

Some variations might look like this:

 

     

 

Vocabulary Boosters

Drop

In/Out; top/bottom; fast/slow - Introduce opposites.  The pom pom goes in the top of the tub and comes out the bottom.

Color names

Match - Match the color of the pom pom to the colored tube.

Predict - Can you predict when the pom pom will come out?

Count - Can you count how many pom poms are in the bowl?