I kind of love sorting. There’s just something about creating order out of a pile of chaos that’s just so appealing to me. My toddler loves to sort as well, so I try to come up with new ways for her to sort.

Before we get to making the kits, let’s talk briefly about sorting.

What Is Sorting?

Sorting is when we separate objects into groups based on their similarities. We use sorting for all kinds of purposes. Sorting helps us make sense of our world and put things in order.

Kids first start sorting as they begin noticing how things are alike and different.

Colors, shapes, and sizes are typically the first things they notice and among the first things we teach them about the world around us.

Then they might move up in complexity, such as recognizing that a lion and pet kitten are both types of cats, or that a lion and zebra belong in the same habitat.

Sorting is a way of thinking that your child will be using in math, science, and beyond.

Also, it’s fun! I definitely think it is 🙂

The New Activity Playbook!

Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?

I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.

Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!

Easy Sorting Kits for Home or on the Go

We made these five simple sorting kits in minutes, and then played with them all day. Because the kit packs up so nicely, it’s perfect for taking them for long car rides, waiting rooms, restaurants, or anywhere you want to keep a kid quiet and busy without a screen.

Supplies Needed To Make a Sorting Kit

Disclosure: We use sponsored, or affiliate, links, which means that we could earn a small commission that helps fund our blog (at no extra cost to you!). All opinions are our own and we only recommend products we love. Thank you for your support and happy shopping!

To make a sorting kit, I used:

Plastic bead/jewelry organizer
Mini tongs (exact ones we have in this Play-Doh kit)
Construction paper

If you don’t have an organizer like the one we used (see link above), an ice cube tray or muffin tin would work too. It’s just not as easy to take along unless you have a lid for it.

Items we used to sort were:

Colorful pom poms
Rocks
Seashells
Flowers, leaves, or grass (real or fake)
Buttons

You can use whatever small items or manipulatives you have for the sorting kit.

Here are a few ideas:

Dyed pasta (tutorial in this link)
Colorful cereal
Gems or table scatters
Pony beads
Foam shapes
Colorful peg dolls
Little animal toys

3 Easy Sorting Kits You can make Today

Color Sorting Kit

Cut colored construction paper into rectangles small enough to fit in the bottom of a compartment in the sorting box.

Put one colored rectangle in each compartment. I only filled six using rainbow colors.

Fill the empty compartments with whatever small manipulatives you have for sorting. I used pom poms.

Add a pair of tongs to the long rectangle compartment, and you’re done!

There are so many items you can use for color sorting besides pom poms. Take a look around the house and use what you have.

Shape Sorting Kit

On the paper rectangles, draw shapes. Add matching shapes to the empty compartments for your child to sort.

Nature Sorting Kit

Fill a few compartments with different types of natural materials (fake flowers, leaves, and grass are perfectly fine, too). Sort the items by type.

I totally meant for Elena to sort the rocks, shells, and grass, but she ended up “decorating” the grass with the rocks and shells.

Not my intention, but she had a lot of fun doing it, so I just let her have fun.

That’s what I love about these sorting kits. Sure, the intention is to match or sort objects, but kids are still able to be as creative as they want with them.