
One of the things I love about Mess for Less is how budget friendly the activities are! I am always trying to create meaningful learning experiences for my 20-month-old son using materials we already have on hand and using the things I purchase to their full potential.
I bought wooden circles to create a color sorting activity (also using recycled egg cartons – one of my favorite craft materials!) and even though I only needed the medium size rounds for that, I wanted to find a way to use the small and large pieces as well. We found a fun art project for the small rounds, using them as “fish eyes” based off the book with the same title by Lois Ehlert. The project I am sharing at Mess for Less today is how we utilized the large wooden rounds!
![]() |
Great sorting, baby boy! |
I could tell that my little one enjoyed this sorting play invitation because he had a huge smile on his face as he walked around the table and would let out a happy squeak every time he put one of the wooden rounds in the correct spot. He has gone back to play with this often!The second way we are sorting our colorful shapes is with this one-to-one correspondence activity. I taped extra shape cut outs from the paint samples onto the holes of an ice cube tray. There are not as many holes on the tray as there are rounds, so we have one extra triangle (Skyler usually adds the extra shapes into a corresponding hole that already has a round!)
We haven’t done a lot of one-to-one correspondence, but Skyler does love to play with puzzles and some of the fine motor activities I have made for him require him to put one material into one hole (like a feather or pipe cleaner). I wasn’t sure if he would grasp the idea of putting a red heart into one hole and then when he grabbed a different red heart putting it in a different hole, but he actually did put one in each space until the extras! He had a blast with this activity and was so proud when he made a correct match!
![]() |
This was serious work, he took his fedora off after wearing it all day! |
Thank you so much Hayley! I love both of these activities and it’s clear they were a hit with Skyler as well. For more great activities from Hayley, visit her at Minne Mama.
If you liked this shape sorting for toddler activity, you’ll love:
Shape Paintings with Mega Bloks
SAGO MINI BOX FOR PRESCHOOLERS
SAGO Mini Box is a monthly make-and-play subscription box for creative kids ages 3-5. Each preschool box includes a Sago Mini collectible figurine and a set of kid-friendly activities that explore fun themes from road trips and oceans to pets and tools. You’ll find amazing play-based learning opportunities in each box, plus, the shipping box even transforms into a toy! Learn more here.
[…] to the dollar store and grab an ice tray and some foam shape stickers to create this super simple shape sorting activity for toddlers. Mess for […]