Broad Bean Colour Sort

As part of the A-Z Play At Home series, we are looking back at some simple learning activities we have created over the years. Last week we showcased A is for Animal Balloon Herding. Today, for the letter B, it is all about broad beans. Our Broad Bean Colour Sort activity was easy to set up and helped two year old Adam learn his colours.

After a plentiful crop of broad beans, Nana was keen on finding another use for the dried up beans. As Adam loves naming colours (usually the colour of cars) and transferring objects from one container to another we decided on making a Broad Bean Colour Sort activity.

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Resources needed for Broad Bean Colour Sort

* Dried broad bean pods

* Ziploc Bags

* Green, yellow and blue acrylic paint

* Baking Paper (optional)

* Recycled Terracotta Pots

How to set up Broad Bean Colour Sort

Adam helped to pick the dried pods from the plant and shell them. We placed the broad beans into three zip-loc bags and added acrylic paint to each one. Adam had great fun covering the beans in the paint without getting his hands dirty. We emptied the painted beans onto baking paper and allowed them to dry. This process was fairly quick as it was a hot day.

In a short time we had 6o coloured beans.

We needed some coloured pots for Adam to sort the coloured beans into. We recycled the terracotta pots that were used for Adam’s second birthday party cakes and painted them using the same acrylic paints.

How to play Broad Bean Colour Sort

We placed the coloured broad beans and the three coloured pots onto a table and demonstrated how to sort the beans. After a lot of demonstrating Adam slowly got the hang of sorting the coloured broad beans into the correct coloured pots.  As soon as he had sorted all of the beans Adam tipped them out of the pots and started again. It was a great activity for practising colours whilst recycling natural materials. It could also be used as a Busy Box activity.

The activity could be adapted to use a variety of different natural materials. Why not colour chickpeas, pasta or even pumpkin seeds. The possibilities are endless!

We have teamed up with our favourite bloggers to create an A-Z Play At Home Seriesfollow. We are starting the series with the letter B:

Buttons and Beads Stacking // Teach Me Mommy

Bug Hunt // Play and Learn Every Day

Bottle Top Stamps // The Gingerbread House

Beach Party // Bambini Travel

Body Butterfly Life Cycle // Line Upon Line Learning

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