DIY Color Resemblance Sorting Cubes

We have a number of Montessori materials at home that we use, but their cost limits the number of items we have. Sometimes it's possible to use the basic idea and make your own substitute. Kid Advance (where I've gotten the bulk of our Montessori items) has a Color Resemblance Sorting Task that looked really cute but $50 for a task that could become boring quickly didn't seem like a good use of money. I thought that using cubes to do a similar task would be fun and also keep with the sensorial nature.

We frequently head to Michaels, 40% off coupon in hand, for art/craft supplies, so on one trip there I looked for and found 3/4" wooden cubes that I thought would work well. Here they are:

Materials Needed to create your own color cubes:

wooden cubes (or another shape you like)
craft paint; you will want white as well as a few colors
paint or foam brush
mixing palate/tray

You will have to paint the cubes twice since the first time you will only be able to paint 5 sides, so make sure you have time to let them dry enough that you can paint the last side while you still have all your colors mixed. You can use as many shades of a color as you'd like by mixing in different amounts of white paint. Don't worry if they aren't perfect; most kids will beam with pride over something they've created rather than dwell on slight imperfections. I suggest adding the paint colors yourself and then letting your child mix the paint together and paint the cubes one at a time. You will want to make sure the coat is fairly even and not too thick. If it's too thick you won't be able to do fun things like stack them:

You can also make silly mosaics or build towers or whatever else you'd like to do with these sweet little blocks.

Another great way to use these is for measuring. Ask your child to pick out different toys or books they would like to measure and then figure out how many blocks tall (or wide/long) the different items are. It's a great way to explore non-standard measurement, and then compare using a ruler or tape measure.

Pin this idea for later:

Create your own color resemblance sorting cubes with wooden blocks. | Meredith Anderson - Momgineer

3 comments:

UnknownFebruary 23, 2011 at 9:36 PM
Very cool! You told me about this, and I bought the blocks... a year ago... Yours came out so pretty! I need to do it too!
jtidwellFebruary 23, 2011 at 9:58 PM
I wonder if some similar color-related materials could be made with those paint strips you can get for free at paint stores and Home Depot? Hmmm... I like the blocks, though. Nice!
momgineerFebruary 24, 2011 at 5:47 AM
J, Karen had that same great idea! We made some color sorting tiles with paint chips as well awhile back. I need to find a way to increase their longevity and post them as well. Wood or ceramic tiles would be nice.