Colour matching is a great way to support younger children who are beginning to identify colours, as well as the development of categorisation skills.
You can start by collecting a selection of objects from around your house that consist of just one or two key colours. These could be toys, household objects, fruit or vegetables, as long as they’re safe for your children to handle. To make it easier, perhaps start with the three primary colours (red, yellow and blue), before adding secondary and tertiary colours.
Then, get a couple of plastic bowls or Tupperware for your children to group the objects by colour. Start your children off with tasks such as ‘let’s see how many red things we can find in the house like this’. Help them collect red items from around the house into the bowl and then move on to a different colour.
To extend this activity, look through the bowls together and ask them to sort the objects further by shape, size, texture and smell. Compare the items and use lots of descriptive words to categorise them.
You could also help your children create a rainbow or a colour wheel out of the objects you’ve collected, which will make a lovely photograph. We’d love to see your photos of your children’s learning journal.