DIY Color Matching Pegs for Toddlers

I have noticed lately that Nora has been super into sorting by color. This makes total sense, of course, because she is still in the sensitive period for order and seeks opportunities to make her world as orderly as possible. She has also been very interested posting/pegging work for sometime. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I could easily make her something to fulfill both of these needs. 

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To make this simple color matching activity, you need: 

And, that's it! I happened to have each of these items around my house already and they were each purchased at a thrift sale for under $5 total. But, they can also be found online or pretty much in any craft store. 

The first thing I did was paint each piece -- two of each color. I choose to try to do a couple shades of each color but it doesn't really matter what shades you pick. For me it was just what looked pleasing together and would offer clear self-correction for Nora. 

I only chose to paint the tips of the pins/holders just to keep it simple. I liked the contrast between the natural wood and the bright colors. I also liked that the color matching had a bit of distance between the correct way to place the pin and the match, I felt like that added an interesting challenge. But, you could paint any way you like. 

Once the colors were dry, I arranged the holders on the craft wood. I'm obsessed with rainbow order so I loosely followed that as much as possible. Really I just wanted something beautiful and orderly, otherwise the exact order of the colors wasn't important to me.

After they were arranged, I placed a small amount of super glue around the bottom of each of the pin holders. I made sure to make a complete ring around each but not so much that it leaked all over the inside of the holders. I pressed firmly down and waited for it to dry. 

I waited for the glue to dry and placed the tray on one of Nora's shelves to discover. She has been in love with the tray ever since. The pegs provide a great challenge for her even if the color matching was relatively simple. It's been a great way to work on a pincer grip, since the pegs go in most easily when held and squeezed on the bottom. Plus, you can't been the simplicity or the price! 

This work could easily be adapted to a younger child, I would just skip the color matching in that case and have fewer pegs. Older children could have more pegs and more similar colors. The possibilities are really endless! 

Don't miss our Colors Page for lots of information on teaching colors and ideas for color matching!