Sorting Activities

My 3 year-old has really been into sorting lately. Being a kindergarten teacher, I love it too! Here are some of the fun sorting activities we've done this summer.

We made a cute and colorful button sorter out of a cardboard egg carton. I put a squirt of paint in each section and gave him a different brush for each color. I let him swirl the paint around. After it dried I gave him the bucket of buttons and let him sort by color. We could also sort other things, like colored noodles or pom poms. I will probably make a few more and take them to school for my new kindergartners. Instead of them all being color though, I could make one with dots (number of button holes perhaps), or shapes. I love the Frog and Toad book where Frog helps Toad find his lost button.

My Hunny Bunny loves playing with his animals. I gave him a container of water to play with. He asked "Does the ___ live in the water?" about each animal. Only the ocean creatures would go in the water. He was very curious about where the other animals live, so we created a few other habitats.

I gave him some sand for a desert. The farm was purchased last summer at Goodwill because of it's mechanisms. I took it apart and showed my Robotics class the gears. It's perfect for the cow, duck, chickens, and his favorite-the pig. We made the jungle/forest out of a shoe box, toilet paper roll, construction paper, yarn, and a rock from our yard. He likes acting out the animals in their homes. It was pretty funny when I looked over to see the shark on the farm. "Ah, what is the shark doing on the farm?"
"He is eating the sheep!"


We also have some sorting apps. Of course the tech teacher has her son play educational apps on a tablet! Tiny Hands Sorting 2 and 3 are some of his favorite apps on "the game". That's what he calls the tablet. We downloaded the 2 apps and I upgraded one for $2.99, which in my opinion, is worth it for this very well made app. You sort by shape and size (see picture on bottom right), color (picture on bottom left) animal groups, number of dots, color combinations, instruments, professions, and so much more. Click here to get Tiny Hands Sorting 2 and here for Tiny Hands Sorting 3. 

When it's time to clean up, we sort some more! He has a bucket for blocks, characters, trains, tracks, letters, shoes, and 2 buckets for cars (one is just for the Disney Cars, like Lightning McQueen). This shelf is really essential so the toys don't take over the house! And if something doesn't "go" somewhere, it disappears...don't tell the kid.

There's room in our ottoman for some toys, like instruments and dinosaurs. I am working on a play refrigerator for all his play food, so stay tuned for that blog! Until then, sort on!

-Me and my Hunny Bunny