Colour x colour - bottom half x top half (4x4): Balloon festival

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Colour x colour - bottom half x top half (4x4): Balloon Festival

Welcome to the colourful balloon festival! In this interactive preschool activity, children discover how to sort hot-air balloons according to two different attributes. Each balloon consists of two coloured parts: a colour on the bottom and a colour on the top. The task is to drag each balloon to the correct position in the double-entry table.

This 4x4 matrix activity challenges preschoolers to look at two attributes at the same time and combine them. The colour of the bottom part of the balloon determines the correct row, while the colour of the top part determines which column the balloon belongs in. By correctly combining both attributes, children discover step by step how a matrix or double-entry table works.

Preschoolers practise their logical thinking, visual perception and classification skills. They learn to compare colours accurately, recognise similarities and differences, and organise information according to two criteria. This stimulates analytical thinking and provides an important foundation for later mathematical skills.

Language development also plays an important role in this free app. The activity includes plenty of clear spoken support, allowing children to repeatedly hear colour concepts, positional terms and instructions. By looking, listening and acting at the same time, new vocabulary is reinforced in a natural and playful way.

The combination of rows and columns helps preschoolers understand spatial concepts more effectively. They learn to search purposefully for the correct position in a grid and discover that one image must meet two conditions at the same time. In this way, they develop an understanding of ordering, sorting, comparing and categorising.

Thanks to the simple drag-and-drop controls, children also practise their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and digital skills. The colourful hot-air balloons and balloon festival theme make the activity attractive and motivating for young children.

This educational matrix activity is ideal for preschool teachers, support teachers, parents and caregivers looking for a playful way to work on double-entry tables, matrix thinking, colour recognition, sorting by two attributes, logical reasoning, visual discrimination, vocabulary development and digital literacy.

Let children find the correct position for each colourful hot-air balloon and discover through play how two different attributes together determine where an image belongs in a 4x4 matrix.

In the online activity log, parents and teachers can easily review afterwards which apps were used and which results were achieved.

Learning goals

  • Logical and mathematical thinking
    • Compare objects and images based on observable properties.
    • Recognize and distinguish properties such as color, shape, size, pattern, object, character, emotion, orientation and direction of movement.
    • Classify and organize images based on one or more characteristics.
    • Recognize and use similarities and differences between images to make a choice.
    • Take two criteria into account simultaneously: a row criterion and a column criterion.
    • Determine which image matches the combination of two given properties.
    • Establish logical relationships between row criteria, column criteria and the corresponding cells of a table.
    • Systematically examine and complete a double-entry table.
    • Solve a simple mathematical problem by comparing, combining and applying information.
    • Check a chosen solution based on the given properties.
    • Handle increasing complexity in 2 × 2, 3 × 3 and 4 × 4 tables.
  • Classifying and organizing
    • Group images based on a common characteristic.
    • Take more than one property into account when organizing images.
    • Select an image that belongs to both a specific row and a specific column.
    • Recognize that one image can have multiple properties at the same time.
    • Distinguish relevant characteristics from characteristics that are not important for the task.
    • Adjust a classification when a different criterion is used.
  • Spatial orientation and structuring
    • Navigate within a grid with rows, columns and individual cells.
    • Understand the relationship between a row, a column and their intersection.
    • Place an image in the correct position within a two-dimensional structure.
    • Purposefully compare and distinguish positions within a grid.
    • Functionally use and understand concepts such as above, below, left, right, row, column and cell.
    • Navigate a visual structure clearly and systematically.
  • Number sense
    • Recognize and distinguish concrete quantities.
    • Match quantities with appropriate number representations or numerals when these are used as a criterion.
    • Relate different representations of the same quantity to one another.
    • Compare and classify number representations, numerals and concrete quantities.
    • Use numerical properties as a criterion within a double-entry table.
  • Visual perception and pattern recognition
    • Focus on characteristics of images and distinguish details from one another.
    • Visually recognize and compare shapes, colors, sizes, patterns and orientations.
    • Recognize regularity and recurring characteristics within rows and columns.
    • Analyze visual information to determine which image belongs in a particular position.
    • Focus attention on multiple visual characteristics simultaneously.
  • Language development
    • Expand vocabulary related to properties such as color, shape, size, pattern, direction, quantity and position.
    • Understand concepts used to describe similarities and differences.
    • Understand simple oral instructions related to classifying, comparing and placing.
    • Name and describe properties of objects and images.
    • Explain why an image belongs to a particular combination of characteristics.
    • Functionally use mathematical concepts such as row, column, cell, same, different, larger, smaller, above, below, left and right.
  • Problem-solving and independent thinking
    • Approach a task step by step and use an appropriate problem-solving strategy.
    • Examine the characteristics before placing an image.
    • Check a choice based on both criteria.
    • Recognize an error and adjust a solution when an image does not meet both conditions.
    • Analyze and solve a double-entry table with increasing independence.
    • Maintain attention and concentration during a multi-step task.
  • Digital literacy
    • Use a digital application purposefully.
    • Perform drag-and-drop actions to place images in the correct cell of a grid.
    • Use digital feedback to check a solution and adjust it if necessary.
    • Work independently or with guidance on an interactive mathematical exercise.
  • Motor development
    • Practice fine motor skills by purposefully dragging and dropping images.
    • Strengthen hand-eye coordination when using a mouse, touchscreen or interactive whiteboard.
    • Accurately place an image within a defined cell of a grid.
    • Act purposefully and with control within a digital environment.

QR code

You can use the downloadable QR code below to navigate directly to this app.