Pom-Pom Color Sorting Mat (Draw It in 5 Minutes)

Take a sheet of thick paper or the inside of a cereal box. Draw four big circles, each about the size of a mug base, and color them in red, blue, yellow and green. Press hard so the colors are bold.

That's your sorting mat. If your child can hold a marker, let them fill in one circle. Kids care more about a mat they helped make.

Tip: Slide the mat into a clear plastic sleeve so it wipes clean.

Craft stores and online shops sell bags of mixed pom-poms. Choose the largest size, and pick colors that match your circles. Then count out a small pile, maybe four of each color.

Write that number down. When the game ends, you'll count them back into the bag so none end up under the sofa or in a mouth.

Tip: Skip pom-poms with glitter or googly eyes, since those bits can come off.

Pick up a red pom-pom, say "red", and put it on the red circle. Do one more. Then hand the pile over and sit on your hands.

Mistakes are fine. If a blue one lands on green, ask, "Is that the same?" and let them look again. Color sorting isn't a test. You're playing.

Tip: Name the color every time they place one.

Once the mat is easy, swap it for cups. Put one cup on each circle and drop the pom-poms inside. It's the same pom-pom sorting game, but now there's a satisfying "in".

Silicone stacking cups come in several colors, so they can be the mat and the cups at once. The con: one buyer said a cup split at the bottom after a couple of days.

Tip: Turn a cup upside down to hide a pom-pom, then ask where it went.

For a three- or four-year-old, add kitchen tongs, a salad server or a big spoon. Picking up a soft pom-pom with tongs is harder than it looks, and kids love the challenge.

Children's plastic tweezers work too. Then race: who can finish the pom-pom sorting for yellow first?

Tip: Small hands do better with short tongs than long barbecue ones.

When everything is sorted, count each pile together. Which color has the most? Which has the fewest? Take one away and count again.

This turns color sorting into early counting with no worksheet. Keep it light, and stop while it's still fun.

Tip: Line the pom-poms up in rows to compare the piles side by side.

Older kids can make a pattern: red, blue, red, blue. Start it and ask what comes next. You can also mix sizes and sort big from small.

A chunky knob puzzle is another colors-and-shapes game for the same shelf. It's labeled 12 months to 2 years, so it suits a younger sibling who wants to join in. The con: some buyers say the picture stickers under the pieces peel off.

Tip: Let your child make a pattern for you to finish.

If your child still puts things in their mouth, pom-pom color sorting can wait. A bead maze gives the same "move this color over there" game, with the beads fixed on wires so nothing comes loose.

It's labeled 12 months to 2 years and has a suction base for the high chair tray. The con: the suction doesn't stick for long on some surfaces. Our list of toys for one-year-olds has more ideas at this age.

Tip: Slide one bead and name its color, then let them copy.