Inside: Sorting activities for kids that focus on sorting by color, shape, size and kind. All these sorting activities for kids are engaging and easy to prepare and complete.
I want you to take a moment and think about all the times you sorted already today. Did you unload the dishwasher? You sorted the silverware, plates, cups and pans before putting them away in the appropriate drawer or cupboard.
Have you taken a load of clean laundry out of the dryer? Socks, underwear, shirts and pants all have to be sorted and folded before tucking them away neatly in the place they live.
Maybe you unloaded groceries and had to sort out the canned food, frozen food and refrigerated food. The reason you had to sort these items is because these items don’t all go in the same place. Some go in the pantry, others in the freezer and the remaining items go in the refrigerator.
Sorting is a daily part of our lives. We sort to help us organize items and information. We do it so much, it becomes automatic and we don’t even realize we are sorting.
Sorting is a skill that is learned early in childhood. Young children can sort basic items such as shapes and colors. As they grow older, they can start sorting items with more attributes.
Here are some fun sorting activities for kids that you can do at home to help them practice and develop this important essential skill.
Sorting by Size
Sorting objects according to whether they are big or little is the best way to introduce sorting to young children. Use everyday objects around the house to help your children practice sorting by size.
Size Sort Activity
Materials needed:
- Two pieces of paper
- Markers
- Big items such as pillows, pots and pans, books, containers, clothing, large toys, blocks or balls…
- Small items such as pens, crayons, toy cars, small blocks or balls…
Directions:
- Use the marker to label one piece of paper with the word “Big.” Draw a big circle or item next to the word.
- Use the marker to label the second piece of paper with the word “Little.” Draw a small circle or item next to the word.
- Place the piece of paper on a table or the floor.
- Gather big and little objects and place them in a pile on the table or floor. Or place the items in a box.
- Invite your child to pull out one item at a time from the pile of objects.
- Tell your child to place the item next to either the paper labeled “Big” or the paper labeled “Little.”
- If your child has difficulty determining if an object is big or little, discuss with him what the meaning of big and little is.
Variation: Cut out big and little circles and have your child sort the circles according to size.
Sorting by Color
Color is all around us! Sorting items according to color is another way to categorize and organize items in our world. Try these fun color sorting activities for kids.
Primary Color Sort Activity
Materials needed:
- Three pieces of paper
- Blue, red and yellow crayons or markers
- Blue items
- Red items
- Yellow items
Directions:
- Use a blue crayon or marker to label one piece of paper with the word “Blue.”
- Use a red crayon or marker to label the second piece of paper with the word “Red.”
- Use a yellow crayon or marker to label the third piece of paper with the word “Yellow.”
- Or use one piece of blue construction paper, one piece of red construction paper and one piece of yellow construction paper.
- Place the pieces of paper on the table or floor.
- Gather 3-4 items of each primary color and put them in a pile near the pieces of paper.
- Invite your child to take one item at a time from the pile and place it next to the paper that matches the color of the item they picked.
Variation: Add more colors to this activity as your child shows success and capability.
Magazine Color Sort Activity
Materials needed:
- Several magazines
- Different pieces of colored construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
Directions:
- Help your child cut out 2-3 pictures of different colored items from magazines.
- Invite your child to sort the pictures by color by putting all the blue items on top of the blue piece of construction paper, all the red items on top of the red piece of construction paper and so on.
- After your child has successfully sorted by color, invite her to glue the pictures on each piece of construction paper.
- Assemble the pages together and staple to make a book if desired.
Variation: Print off and cut out pictures from the internet if you don’t have access to magazines.
Sorting by Shape
The next attribute you can use in sorting activities for kids is shape. Just like color, shapes are all around us in our world.
Basic Shapes Sorting Activity
Materials needed:
- Napkin
- Paper plate
- Pennant (or other triangular shaped object)
- Rectangular tissue box
- Square objects such as books, post-it notes, pillows…
- Circular objects such as round lids, coasters, Frisbees, yo-yos…
- Triangular objects such as a toy pizza and pie slice, toy pennant…
- Rectangular objects such as tissues, books, paper, pillows…
Directions:
- Place the napkin, paper plate, pennant and tissue box on the table or floor.
- Gather items of different shapes and place them in a pile or box next to the napkin, paper plate, pennant and tissue box.
- Invite your child to take one item at a time from the pile and place it next to the napkin if it is shaped like a square, next to the paper plate if it is shaped like a circle, next to the pennant if it is shaped like a triangle and next to the tissue box if it is shaped like a rectangle.
Variation: Cut out a square, circle, triangle and rectangle from construction paper and use them instead of the napkin, paper plate, pennant and tissue box.
Sorting By Kind
The sorting activities for kids that you do will become more difficult as your children grow and develop. Once your child has mastered sorting by size, color and shape, you are ready to introduce sorting by kind or object.
Toy Sorting Activity
Materials Needed:
- Four pieces of paper
- Markers
- 4-5 toy blocks (See this post on how to make your own wooden blocks)
- 4-5 toy cars
- 4-5 toy balls
- 4-5 stuffed animals
Directions:
- Use a marker to label one piece of paper “Blocks.” Draw a block next to the word if you think it will help your child know what the word says.
- Use a marker to label the second piece of paper with the word “Cars.” Draw a car next to the word if desired.
- Use a marker to label the third piece of paper with the word “Balls.” Draw a ball next to the word if you would like.
- Use a maker to label the fourth piece of paper with the word “Stuffed Animals.” Draw a picture of a stuffed animal next to the word if you want to.
- Place the pieces of paper in a row on a large table or floor.
- Gather 4-5 items each of toy blocks, toy cars, toy balls and stuffed animals.
- Place the toy items in a pile or box next to the labeled pieces of paper.
- Invite your child to take one toy item at a time and place it next to the piece of paper with the label that describes what type of item it is.
Variation: Use other items such as clothing instead of toys. Sort the items according to whether they are pants, shirts, socks, shoes….
Sorting by More Than One Attribute
Once your child has mastered sorting by size, color, shape and kind, he is ready to sort items by more than one attribute. This skill requires a higher level of thinking because it requires children to discriminate objects by two or three attributes instead of just one.
Size, color and shape sorting activity
Materials needed:
- Blue, red and yellow construction paper
- Scissors
Directions:
- Cut out three big squares, three big circles, three big triangles and three big rectangles from the blue construction paper.
- Then cut out three small squares, three small circles, three small triangles and three small rectangles from the blue construction paper.
- Next cut out three big squares, three big circles, three big triangles and three big rectangles from the red construction paper.
- Then cut out three small squares, three small circles, three small triangles and three small rectangles from the red construction paper.
- Next cut out three big squares, three big circles, three big triangles and three big rectangles from the yellow construction paper.
- Finally cut out three small squares, three small circles, three small triangles and three small rectangles from the yellow construction paper.
- Mix all the shapes in a pile together.
- Invite your child to sort the shapes by size, color and shape.
- If your child has difficulty getting started, ask him to find all the small blue squares and put them in a pile. Then ask him to find all the big blue squares and put them in a different pile and so on.
Variation: Sort by fewer attributes such as just size and color or color and shape.
Sort It Inside and Out
Sorting is something we all do every day and it is something we will do for the rest of our lives. For this reason, it is important that your child has the opportunity to experiment with and practice this basic skill.
There are many items inside and outside your house that your child can practice sorting. Here are just a few ideas.
Cereal
Canned goods
Plastic cups
Buttons
Plastic bottle caps
Old keys
Toys
Stuffed Animals
Blocks
Legos
Playing cards
Crayons
Stickers
Paper
Books
Clothes
Rocks
Leaves
Sticks
Pinecones
What have sorting activities for kids have you done recently?
Share them in the comments below.
Have a good time sorting it out!!
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