Bead Sorting Tubes — Colour Patterns (Frog)

A wooden board with clear tubes standing in it and a set of coloured beads. Your child drops beads into the tubes — all one colour to a tube, or a repeating pattern down each one. Because the tubes are clear, the pattern is visible the whole way and a mistake shows immediately.

How you play

1. Stand the clear tubes into the board.
2. Spread the coloured beads out where your child can reach them.
3. Decide the rule — one colour per tube, or a repeating pattern.
4. Drop the beads in one at a time to fill each tube.
5. Check the tubes from the side and fix any bead out of order.

What it builds

• Sorting by colour, then sequencing by pattern
• Fine motor control dropping a small bead into a narrow tube
• Self-checking, since a clear tube shows every mistake
• Working to a rule they set themselves

Three ways to play it

• Start with one colour per tube before attempting patterns
• Set a pattern and let your child repeat it in every tube
• Empty one tube and ask them to rebuild it from memory

The details

• Ages: 3–5 years