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Goal CD-1: Children use their sense to construct knowledge about the world around them. 

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Goal CD-1: Children use their sense to construct knowledge about the world around them. 

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Explore different ways to use their sense with materials given to investigate their surroundings.

Examine ways in how to manipulate art tools to connect them to the outside world.

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Goal APL-4: Children demonstrate creativity, imagination, and inventiveness

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Goal APL-4: Children demonstrate creativity, imagination, and inventiveness

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Children chose to formulate shapes and pictures with the materials around them or provided.

Engage and demonstrate different ways to transform art materials (clay, blocks, shapes) into something more using their creativity.

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- senses
- creativity
- awareness
- perception
- observation
- structure
- design
- curiosity
- originality

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-What different ways can you explore your five senses? Which is the easiest to explore?
-How can you create a story with your hands and these materials?
-How can you hear a drawing?
- What can you do if all you have is paper but no utensils to draw with?
-What senses can you use together when playing?

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Sand can be used in a variety of ways to explore patterns in the sand and explore different ways to express touch and feeling.

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These can be used for different ways to explore sizes and organization skills based on color or dimension.

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Water paint brings a new texture into paint as it allows children to investigate the different shades they can create while adding more or less water to the medium

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Stickers can be used for children to explore different ways to place them on surfaces and create patterns or lines of sorts.

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Play-Doh can be used for many things such as stretching, forming, rolling, and molding the clay into different shapes and sizes. This can help with math skills and creativity.

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Blocks can be used as building structures which can allow a child to explore the three dimensional figures they can create

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Cookie cutters can allow a child to cut out a variety of different shapes in Play-Doh or use them to trace figures onto paper.

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Bubbles can be used to teach students how to use their mouths and form unique bubble shapes in the air with the power of wind or their own breath

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Ice cubes allow a children to be able to feel and process the formation from solid to liquid using the heat of their own hands. It also allows children to trace with water on concrete other paper materials.

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Legos, like blocks, provide a way for children to construct figures, buildings, etc. that represent objects and places in the world around them. This can enhance problem solving skills and evoke creativity with color

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Smell markers not only allow a child to explore coloring and drawing figures to create a story, but it uniquely involves their sense of smell when drawing.

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Glow sticks emphasize the sense of sight with their glowing appearance and allows a child to explore the motion of light in their own hands, in light or dark areas.

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In this article by the Busy Toddler, children are encouraged to sort the pom poms in their separate colors, teaching them the complex skill of organization that can be used throughout their life. Sorting can be based on color, size and texture. This engages children to work together or individually.

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My kids and pom pom balls and MFEO (you know, made for each other). They can't help but sit down and play whenever these little balls of fluffy heaven come out. That's part of what made pom pom color sorting such a hit.
RELATED: Curious how my kids are learning at home? Check out "Playing Preschool".
You need more sorting in your life

To an adult, sorting seems like a ho-hum basic skill and one that we greatly take for granted.

For a child, sorting is an incredibly complex skill that is used in multiple subject areas in school and throughout their lives.

When a child is sorting, here's what's happening:

Decision making

Categorizing attributes

Organizing information

Interpreting data

All that happens in sorting. RELATED: Looking for more quick and easy activities? Check out this whole page of them!
The simple set up for pom pom color sorting

Busy Toddler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.

To start this activity. I cut out circles to go in the bottom of each plastic cup. Each color matched the pom pom balls I had.
Materials:
PS: I've had these pom pom balls for YEARS. I know it's a semi-random supply, but it's an activity supply I can't recommend enough!

The goal for this activity

Obviously, this is a sorting activity.

But beyond that, it's also a fantastic activity for developing fine motor skills.

Using the little plastic tongs to transfer the balls to the sorting cups ups the ante of this activity ever so much.

Don't underestimate how challenging tongs are...

At age 2.5, my kids started being able to navigate this tool. Before that, and it was tough.
RELATED: Need more ideas for pom pom balls? I've got them here!
Promise me you won't automatically assume your toddler is ready for tongs without testing them on it first.

We want activities to be successful so if frustrating tongs are out, let them be out. We can do just fine without them.

What all is my son learning here?

He's learning so much and doing so much in this activity:

Sorting

Visual discrimination

Fine motor skills

Hand-eye coordination

Independent play skills

Concentration

It might be pom pom balls, plastic cups, and tongs but trust me - this activity has meat on its bones.

Setting up the pom pom color sorting is so easy

I can't recommend this activity enough for our toddlers.

What a great way to let them play and learn; to do a quiet activity; to be successful.

Pom pom balls are always fantastic - little gems from activity heaven.

When will you try a pom pom color sorting activity?

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Pom Pom Color Sorting Toddler Activity - Busy Toddler

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My kids and pom pom balls and MFEO (you know, made for each other). They can't help but sit down and play whenever these little balls of fluffy heaven come out. That's part of what made pom pom color sorting such a hit. RELATED: Curious how my kids are learning at home?

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The ice painting activity is great for toddlers to explore their senses and an aspect of science. This activity brings the options to children of mixing colors, painting abstractly, and watching things freeze and melt at the same time!

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I'm all about a good summer activity AND a good pun which is why ice painting is the best. It's different, it's fun, it's an unexpectedly cool experience for kids.

And it takes about 3 minutes to set up.

Now that's a win.
RELATED: Looking for more outdoor activities for the summer? I've got a whole list!
Ice painting is the simplest - but also fantastic

Remember - activities for kids no not need to be complicated.

Complicated does not = better (at least not with a kids activity). We can do so much for our kids and get them learning / playing with nothing more than ice and paint.

For me, I use this kind of activity anytime with jam the ice maker. Which happens often enough.

Here's a list of other uses for ice cubes, in case you also jam your ice maker... al lot...

Ice is a fun gimmick in the summer - so why not try painting ON IT. Insert shocked emoji face. I know. I can just picture it too.

Here's what you'll need for this outdoor activity:

Busy Toddler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.

It's a complicated list so buckle up.

Ice

Paint (this is my favorite kind - washable tempera paint)

I put this all into a clear storage bin from Target - it's my pride and joy for anything sensory related or for messy play that needs to be "contained."

Why is ice painting so awesome?

It's unexpected.

It's different.

It's probably not something your kids have done before.

The combination of mixing colors, painting ice, watching things freeze (yes the paint freezes a little, and melt makes this a "science-y art" activity.

There's a lot going on here.

I open this activity up to free play and just let the kids go wild. They can paint and explore however they like... and they love it. They're 3, 5, and 7 now but the first time we did this, the big kids were just 2 and 3.5. And even at that age, this was a big success.

(We did that activity INSIDE in the winter and you can see painting ice cubes with toddlers here).

Once this melts... turn it into a pouring station

Don't forget to extend this activity into a colored water pouring station once the ice cubes melt.

No sense in getting rid of the colored water just yet!

Add in some cups, scoops, pitchers, bowl, and spoons - turn this ice painting activity into a life skills pouring station.

A two for one activity - now that is cool.

This summer activity is one for the ages...

Don't miss out on this super fun activity. It's a good wow factor for the kids and a fun way to pass some summer time (or inside in the winter).

Give it a go... it's the cool thing to do.

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Ice Painting: An Easy Summer Activity - Busy Toddler

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I'm all about a good summer activity AND a good pun which is why ice painting is the best. It's different, it's fun, it's an unexpectedly cool experience for kids. And it takes about 3 minutes to set up. Now that's a win. RELATED: Looking for more outdoor activities for the summer?

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With the activity of Play-Doh Creations, children will get to use their imagination to build three dimensional figures, objects, etc. to represent the outside world. In this photo, you can see a child creating food, this allows children to explore the way they can mold dough into realistic shapes. With the materials, children can use cookie cutters to cut out specific shapes or this activity gives them the ability to mold and create textures on their own.

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Glow Stick bath provides a unique experience for toddlers. Although, this gives the parents the freedom without an exact lesson plan, it allows children to explore while also getting clean! Glow sticks will allow the children to experience a new form of light in the dark while also allow the children to use the glow sticks to form shapes with connectors or other sticks in the bathtub. This gives children the ability to use their imagination and stimulate their brains in a different setting other than a classroom.

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Sand Box discovery activity provides a unique learning experience that allows children to sort for objects beneath the sand. It is hands on, requiring the children to use different objects or their own hands to dig beneath the sand to find buried treasure. Now, the objects that are buried under the sand need to be a specific category so that the child understands what they are looking for. For example, plastic food can be hidden underneath the sand and the children are able to use their memory and understand a common goal or theme within this activity.