Did you know that sorting is an important skill for toddlers to learn?
Sorting is something I do every single day–sorting lights and darks for laundry, putting away utensils and dishes–it comes naturally to me, and I can do it without thinking.
For toddlers, sorting is a bit more complicated.
They have to figure out which attributes of certain objects are the same or different.
Then they have to decide which attribute to sort by.
Will they sort something by color? By shape? By function?
Sorting is an important skill to have because it helps us make sense of the world around us.
We can put things in logical order, create rules and systems, understand patterns, compare things, and filter all the information we receive through our senses in a way that makes sense to us.
Sorting with Mini Erasers
While at the store, we picked up a pack of mini eraser shapes that were perfect for shape sorting and color sorting.
My youngest just turned two this summer and is working on learning her shapes and colors.
When I spotted these colorful mini erasers shapes at Target, I picked up a pack to use for sorting.
Creating a sorting activity doesn’t have to be too fancy or complicated.
All you need is:
- something to sort
- something to define the categories
Shape Sorting
Our pack of erasers had six different shapes in it, so I drew all six shapes on a sheet of paper.
I also labelled them, even though neither of my kids can read yet! I just think meaningful exposure to print like these written labels will help them connect the dots when they begin to learn to read.
Sidenote: What do you call that “kite” shape at home? Is it a diamond or a rhombus? I wrote rhombus here because that’s what they called it at Elena’s preschool, though I originally had taught her it was a diamond!
Elena (age 4) did this activity very easily.
She was working alongside Lia doing her own eraser math activity (which you can read about here) but paused every so often to “coach” her little sister.
“Lia, that’s a rectangle so you have to put it in the rectangle.”
*Lia places rectangle eraser in the square
“Ugh! No! That’s a square!”
We’re still working on coaching with kindness.
I know I’ve been working on being kind for a very long time! 🙂
Sorting all six shapes at once was very challenging for Lia.
Honestly, I drew out all six shapes just because that’s what was there and didn’t even consider Lia’s skill level and age.
She kept getting rectangle and square mixed up, and hexagon was a new shape for her.
Sorry, Lia! That was my mistake.
I should’ve picked just two or three shapes for you to start with and not thrown in a completely new shape into the mix!
By the end of the activity, she surprised me because she was really starting to get the hang of it.
It helped when I had her focus on finding one shape at a time.
We started by finding all the ones she knew best first–circles, then triangles, then squares, etc.–until all the shapes were sorted correctly.
She only took one short break to run around the living room, and then came back to finish!
At the end of the activity, we did a quick recap of all the shape names together.
I asked Lia what her favorite shape was.
“Ummm, triangle, circle, and a square!”
Color Sorting
After naptime, I set up a color sorting activity using those same erasers.
Lia knows her colors very well, so I thought this activity would be much easier for her than the shapes!
We have the colored plates pictured below which matched the colors of the erasers.
You can also use construction paper if you don’t have any colored containers like these.
I added a pair of tongs to make things more interesting. It’s always fun to have a special tool to manipulate objects with.
Lia is still figuring out how to use the tongs.
I think her hand muscles just need a little more time to develop.
Sorting Skills Milestones for Toddlers
These milestones will give you an idea of what your child can do and understand with sorting. Every kid is different, so they may be ahead or behind these milestones.
Ages 0-12 Months
- Begins to understand relative size (big and small)
- Plays with shape toys, but may not match correctly
- Starts to learn words to describe quantities (more, enough)
- Explores object characteristics in different ways (puts everything in her mouth)
Ages 1-2 Years
- Begins to match basic shapes
- Understands words of comparison (bigger, smaller, faster)
- Begins to learn numbers
- Has basic understanding of cause and effect
- Understands which objects are the same or different
Ages 3-4 Years
- Recognizes shapes in the real world (i.e. door is a rectangle, or a circle if you happen to be a hobbit)
- Can sort by color, shape, size, or purpose
- Can compare and contrast by attribute
Age 5
- Can sort and compare objects
- Can come up with own sorting categories
- Recognizes 3-D shapes
- Can draw shapes
Sources: http://va.gapitc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Milestones_Revised2014.pdf
understood.org
Helpful Stuff for Sorting
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!
Here are a few things my kids like to sort with. Maybe you’ve already got some of these things at home!
- pom poms (these are my favorite brand!)
- wooden shape sorter
- colored bowls and tongs
- wooden shape puzzle
- wooden pattern blocks
Your Turn to Try Shape Sorting
I hope this post will encourage you to help your toddler learn at home.
For me, I enjoy seeing what my kids can learn and do. I’m constantly surprised by how much they grow each week and how quickly they can pick up some skills.
Do you encourage your toddler to sort at home? What are some of your child’s favorite ways to sort?
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!
