Reusing Easter Eggs: Color Sticker Matching

This is another matching activity that focuses more on colors, shapes, and the different characteristics of the stickers. I love using stickers like these because they help foster conversations about things that are the same and different, since the stickers are similar to one another, but have distinct differences.

Materials Needed: half an egg carton, variety of stickers, and plastic eggs (variety of colors to match the stickers).

Directions:

1. Put a distinct sticker on each egg.

2. Place one matching sticker for each egg in the egg carton compartments.

3. Model for your child how to match the stickered egg to the corresponding stick compartment in the egg carton.

4. Then have your child try to finish matching the eggs independently (with prompting if needed).

5. Once they're done, have them dump them out and try again! I didn't even have to tell my son to try again, he dumped them out the second he was done and started over again- he liked this activity that much!

Language Building Activities:

- Talk about the colors of the eggs and how they match with the stickers.

- Talk about the characteristics of the stickers that are the same/different. For example, two of the stickers are both blue, but one is a circle and the other is a star. All of the stickers have smiley faces, but some of them have eyes that are looking different ways or are bigger or smaller. As you point out your observations, your child will become more aware of the similarities and differences, and might point some out on their own.

- Review shapes while you do this activity as well. There are several shapes- oval eyes, smiling stars, purple flowers, etc. Work on expanding sentences/phrases by having your child copy simple phrases you say, like, "It's a smiling, red, pointy star" ... the more words you can use to describe what you see, the more new vocabulary words your child will learn during this activity. Don't be afraid to whip out a thesaurus and learn some new words yourself (if you feel like you are always repeating the same few descriptive words).