I saw a version of this color matching activity for preschoolers idea floating around online. I added it to my list of things to potentially do with Caroline (age 28 months) as I thought this might be something that would interest her. We had to make an unexpected trip to Home Depot last evening so it gave me the opportunity to pick up a few paint chip cards. (I already had clothespins.)

This matching colors using clothespins activity is easy to make from paint color samples found at any home improvement store. It’s a great way to practice both subtle differences in colors as well as motor skills.

Caroline likes to point out “matches” all around us, so I was pretty confident she would find it interesting. I also knew she would like the basket I found in my “keep it for something in the future” stash so I decided to present the activity to her in the basket. She loves anything that is a container in almost any format.

Matching Colors From Paint Sample Cards

This color activity is very easy to make. You need two matching cards for each set. Simply cut the strips of one card, making sure to remove all the white edges. Glue each strip to the top of a clothespin. Do this for all four colors on the card. Repeat for each color sample card. You can make as many sets as you wish. I purposely chose colors that were quite different so it wouldn’t be too challenging. I wanted it to be fun, not overwhelming.

I wasn’t sure if Caroline would be able to manipulate the clothespins since they are fairly sturdy. She wasn’t. She immediately set to the task of matching the colors, but couldn’t figure out how to squeeze the clothespins and clip them to the card. (She was only moderately interested in any instruction on how to do so. LOL!)

So we’ll see how this goes later in the day and tomorrow. I may just put it away for another month and get it out again later. In any case, I’ve learned that she matches colors quite well but we need to further develop her motor skills. This is what I probably would have expected before I handed her the basket but it’s always nice to see these things in action.