One-to-One Correspondence Activities for Toddlers

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Do your toddlers want to draw with markers, but the mess is just too risky for you to take on? Learning to keep markers on paper is part of a collection of one-to-one correspondence activities for toddlers. (Plus a lesson in self-control and eye-hand coordination.)

It requires so much repetition to learn how to use new art supplies, but when we teach our children the productive ways to use these learning tools, their enjoyment of activity time increases.

My twins light up when I say they can use their markers. I learned that I could only give them these fun art supplies with some precautionary measures and my full attention. What I noticed is that when they have this creative outlet they really soak up so much learning. My presence teaches them so much-even when all we are doing is coloring.

I gathered a few favorite activities that I use to teach my toddlers the skill of one-to-one correspondence.

6 One-to-One Correspondence Activities for Toddlers

The fact that toddlers are willing to push the exploration limits to try to learn beyond the boundaries we often have to impose, shows that their minds are constantly working.

Give your toddlers some one-to-one correspondence activities that will teach them how to use markers, keep them engaged and strengthen their fine motor skills.

Dabber Dot Markers and Activity Book

All four kids (ages 8, 5 and 2 year old twins) were ready to try out our Dabber Dot markers and activity book. The activities in the book were best suited for a preschooler or older toddler.

I was amazed how even my oldest two were interested in coloring and using the markers! This shows how well the activity pad can keep the attention of children in a variety of ages.

This is a tool for teaching one-to-one correspondence to toddlers, because the Dabber Dot markers can be used by children who have not yet developed the pincer grasp for coloring and writing. This covers most toddlers and even some younger preschoolers.

The Dabber Dot activity book has tear out pages. Each page gives toddlers the opportunity to explore a number or letter.

I did have to remind my toddlers that they can make the letters or numbers by dabbing onto each circle in a row. My older kids were ready to just trace along the circles to form the letters.

Toddlers can dab onto the workbook pages, preschoolers can begin to trace. This just shows their developmental understanding and differences in ability. The workbook was so helpful for meeting toddlers at their developmental level with the dabbing to learn the letter shapes.

Quick tip: What I do with any painting activity is use an old cookie sheet. That is a nice tray for kids to use while painting. It limits the spills of paint or water getting on the counter or floor, and is a real boundary to use as a reminder about where to keep the wet paint brushes or art supplies. It has made all the difference with clean up after painting activities.

Counting with Stickers

I shared this activity that uses stickers on a piece of paper for toddlers and preschoolers to learn to identify shapes and numbers. Using stickers to teach one-to-one correspondence activities for toddlers is so inexpensive.

You could easily change this counting with stickers activity to use stamps or Dabber Dot markers to add more fun:

Place stickers on a piece of construction paper. Your child uses their finger to point to each sticker while counting. Or, he can use a stamp or Dabber Dot marker to stamp a circle of paint onto each sticker while counting.

This way, your child can see exactly which stickers they still need to count. It is a mental reminder to not double count the stickers.

Egg carton one to one correspondence activity for toddlers

This activity is so simple, but my twin girl kept trying it over and over again. It was a great addition to our one to one correspondence activities for toddlers.

You can read the egg carton learning activity details here.

Homemade ABC Poster

Make this DIY ABC poster and use it while singing the ABC song to encourage one-to-one correspondence as you point along with the letters.

Finger painting with printables

Print out these playdough mats and have your child finger paint the numbers. Using the fingers to explore the shape of each number in a tactile way helps to teach toddlers. Talking with your child while they paint, telling them the numbers, helps toddlers learn the number names.

Printable Paint Dauber Pages

Explore the collection of printables over at Fiddle and Doodle on Pinterest. Print out the worksheets. Your child can use paint daubers like the Dabber Dot markers to paint and stamp-more one-to-one correspondence activities for toddlers! There are some fun printables in their collection.