Like many toddlers, Nora loves to place small objects inside another object. Whether its sticks into a shaker, or balls into a jar or even toys into their basket, Nora loves this kind of work. In order to give her a little more variety, and to challenge her a bit, I created this DIY size discrimination work for toddlers.
This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.
Here, the goal is to match the width of the object (the wooden dowel) to the correct plastic slot. Only when all the pieces are in the correct slots will they all fit!
To make this material, you'll need:
4 different widths of PVC pipes
4 corresponding sizes of wooden dowel
A small box -- I used an old box from Ikea
After purchasing the PVC pipe and dowels, I had Morgan cut them with a saw. We cut the PVC to 5 inches and the wood to 6 inches. Then, I took the plastic pieces and arranged them in the box. It took a few attempts to figure out the configuration that would work best and include the most pieces without a lot of empty space.
Once I found the perfect configuration, I slowly removed each piece and added a layer of super glue to the bottom. I quickly placed it back in the box to dry. Once all the pieces were set, I placed on a tray with a corresponding number of wooden dowels.
Nora has loved this work. At 16 months, she has not mastered placing all the pegs into the right holes, but she loves to try. She has spent long periods of time using this work. It's also a bit heavy which appeals to her need to exert maximum effort.
However, I was also surprised that Henry has also been drawn to this work. I've found him doing and redoing the work many times over! Which, I call a total win!
If you enjoyed this post, check out -- Gross Motor for Young Toddlers; Montessori Toys 13 to 16 Months
