Let’s combine colors and shapes for the ultimate toddler math activity!
My almost-three-year-old loves to color sort. My toddler also loves to play with our magnetic tiles. I knew that I could make a pretty great toddler math activity allowing these two things to collide!
Turns out, I was right. His color and shape matching was ON.
RELATED: Simple ideas are at your fingertips with our activity cards. Quick and easy activities to promote learning through play.
What I wanted to add to the math activity were triangles.
So here we go.- a combined color and shape math activity for my toddler to begin some chatter about what a triangle looks like and how many sides it has.
RELATED: Want an entire collection of two-year-old activities? Of course, you do! – which is why I put these ideas together.
How do you teach toddler math?
Toddlers need hands-on activities that get them moving and thinking within their limits.
We certainly aren’t going to set up a toddler activity with a worksheet or expect our two-year-old to sit for an extended amount of time doing seatwork. Learning math can also begin by exploring colors like these color activities listed here!
We teach our toddler math by:
- Using hands-on math toys to inspire creativity
- Expanding on ideas already practiced, such as colors and shapes
- Simple setup that inspires math play
- Allows movement
Setting up this toddler math matching activity is simple.
I taped the white paper to the bottom of my refrigerator. We also have a magnetic board that I can also use. – if this is something you want to add, I have a full how-to DIY your magnet board here.
Next, I gathered a collection of magnetic triangle tiles and added the same amount of Xs to the white paper.
PRO TIP: I wanted to keep all of the shapes the same to engage in a QUICK chat with my toddler about how many sides a triangle has.
Remember, my two-year-old needs his math hands-on. I’ll mention that a triangle has three sides, and we will use his finger to count.
Wow! You have many triangles here. A triangle has three side. Let’s touch them as we count. One, two, three! That is three sides.
That’s all. Hands-on exposure and carry on.
RELATED: Activities for kids at home don’t have to take hours to set up! You will love how fun these ideas are.
Materials:
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Please note that magnetic tiles do have the chance of breaking and coming apart. For this activity, I am staying close and watching my almost-three-year-old at all times.
Just like the best toddler toys, this supply list is open-ended and timeless!
Once my toddler saw our math activity set up, he immediately began matching the colored triangles to the matching colored X on the paper.
My toddler loved this color and shape matching activity because:
- He could easily access it.
- It included supplies he already knew and loved.
- He has a strong understanding of color names. If we were just getting started with color identification, I would keep the number of colors to a minimum.
This math activity also works well on a magnetic wall. I have all the details on how to build a magnetic wall in your home, here!
When you are ready to paint with your toddler, you will also want to try out this genius idea!
When will you set this math activity up for your toddler?
