30 min
Origami Jumping Frog
Fold it in five minutes, then race it across the table for half an hour.
🫙
Match the Lids
A cupboard of containers and lids that do not match. Sort it out.
A real problem in every kitchen, solved by a four year old who finds it genuinely satisfying.
What you need
- plastic food containers and their lids
How to do it
- Empty the container cupboard onto the floor.
- Separate lids from boxes into two piles.
- Match each lid to its box and click it on.
- Stack the matched sets by size.
- Put the orphan lids in a bag and decide together whether to keep them.
Why this is good for them
Matching by shape and diameter, then nesting by size, involves comparing several attributes at once. Children stay with this longer than an equivalent toy because the cupboard is genuinely improved at the end and they can see it.
Adapting by age
2 to 3 yearsSix containers with obviously different sizes.
7 to 9 yearsTime it, then reorganise the whole cupboard by how often things get used.
Keep it safe
Clean containers only. No glass.
Cleanup tip
The activity is the cleanup.
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