Combining sensory play and math activity we came up with this super simple Lego color graphing sensory play idea. You can download printable chart we used in this activity and let your toddlers try this easy math activity.
Don’t know about your kids, but my are crazy about LEGO®! Lately, it’s been all about LEGO® Elves although they often play with classic bricks too.
Several days ago, we picked up a copy of Learning with Lego® book and decided to try some of the ideas.
Today, we’re sharing a combo of 2 ideas found in this book – LEGO® based sensory bin and color graphing!
What to prepare for Lego Color Graphing Activity?
We used:
- sensory bin
- LEGO® bricks in different colors (red, blue, yellow, green and black)
- uncooked rice
- color graphing chart (download on the bottom of this page)
- plastic tray
You will find enough of LEGO® bricks in needed colors in LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box. And even more than needed for this activity because this classic creative kit of LEGO bricks comes with 33 different colored bricks, 8 different types of toy windows and toy doors, 2 green baseplates and 6 toy tires and toy wheel rims. Find the toy here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
How to setup Lego Sensory Bin for Color Graphing Activity
Setup for this learning activity is really simple:
- Place LEGO® bricks in selected colors (red, blue, yellow, green and black) on the bottom of the sensory bin. We used mini sensory bin for this actvity. Number of LEGO® bricks in each color shouldn’t go over 5 because maximum number in the chart is 5.
- Pour rice over LEGO® bricks to cover them completely.
- Place sensory bin on the tray.
- Download and print color graphing chart and place next to the sensory bin with rice.
How to play Lego color grahing activity?
My daughter loves to play with rice and using sensory play for learning is always welcome around here!
Invite child to explore sensory bin with rice. When they go with their fingers through rice, they will uncover bricks on the bottom.
My toddler loved going through the rice and finding bricks! I explained the color chart to her and how to use it. She was required to place every brick in the corresponding column depending on their color. Once I explained what to do, she completed the activity all on her own.
End the color graphing activity with counting bricks in each color and comparing numbers. Ask questions like:
- How many red bricks you have found? Replace red with blue, yellow, green, black and let the child count each color.
- Which color bricks you have in the largest number?
- Which color bricks you have the least (the smallest number)?
- Are there colors where numbers are identical?
Good thing about this activity is that you can change the number of LEGO® bricks in every color and do the activity all over again with different results.
Learning opportunities with Lego Color Graphing
As child plays, they experience and learn:
- sensory play – visual tracking and tactile play
- math – counting and comparing numbers
- learning about colors
- expanding vocabulary and connecting word for color with an actual color of the brick
Get inspired for other Lego activities!
Since you already have LEGO® bricks, it is best to use them for play daily! We have several suggestions for LEGO® building books to put those little bricks to full use for the money invested in them!
As mentioned before, activity we presented here is inspired by The Unofficial Guide to Learning with Lego® book. There are several other activities we would like to try from this book: My younger would like to try Lego® Ring Toss (page 6) and Bowling (page 28) and my older would like to give a go with Balancing Scale (page 20) and Paint Machine (page 48). Find the book here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Featuring imaginative play and building ideas—from LEGO games that take just a few minutes and require a handful of bricks, to inspirational build ideas and activities to keep you occupied for hours: Go on a LEGO treasure hunt. Create and perform LEGO magic tricks. Make a LEGO stop-motion movie. Build your own LEGO pet. Challenge your family to build the tallest LEGO tower—and much, much more! Find the book here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Try our other building block activities for play and learning
Other color sorting / recognition activities to try
- Color Matching Gross Motor Game
- 5-in-1 Rainbow Busy Bag
- Shaving Cream Color Mixing Sensory Bag
- Little Bo Peep Color Match
- 5 Easy Bottle Cap Busy Bags for Toddlers
Combining these two activities was so creative and the result is still really simple. The printable is a great resource.