Sorting and collecting games for kids

Safety first

Stay close, especially with children under three. For them, use only large items, and test each one: if it fits through the opening of a toilet-roll tube, it is too small, so put it away. Never use buttons, beads, coins, pasta or other small parts. For found items, a grown-up checks every piece first, and anything sharp, cracked, damp, mouldy, from an animal, or made of glass is left where it lies. Do not take protected or growing plants, and ask before taking anything from a garden, shop or friend's home. Wash hands well after collecting, and never put nature finds in the mouth, because some plants can be toxic. Age hints are only a guide, so you know your child best.

1. Sock-sorting basket

Age hint: 2 and up.

Bring: a basket of clean, unmatched socks and two or three bowls or boxes.

1. Tip the socks out and let your child look and feel for a while.
2. Say, "Can you put the socks that go together in a bowl?" Let them choose what together means.
3. Ask them to tell you about each bowl.
4. Try a new rule, such as long and short, or soft and rough.

Notice: Which socks were hard to place, and why?

2. Sort-the-shapes tray

Age hint: 3 and up.

Bring: a baking tray or box lid, large pan lids, wooden spoons, big plastic cups and clean plastic tubs.

1. Lay out the kitchen items and let your child touch each one.
2. Draw two or three circles on paper and set them beside the tray as homes for the groups.
3. Invite your child to move items into the homes, using any rule they like.
4. Ask them to explain a group, then swap the rule and start again.

Notice: What do the things in one group have in common?

3. Nature egg-box collection

Age hint: 4 and up, with a grown-up checking every item.

Bring: a clean cardboard egg-box, and a paper bag for the walk.

1. Collect only things already on the ground, such as smooth pebbles and dry fallen leaves, and add clean bottle tops from home.
2. Ask your grown-up to check each piece before you touch it. Leave anything sharp, damp or crumbly. Never put any finds in your mouth, as some plants can be toxic.
3. At home, put one kind in each egg cup, or one colour in each cup.
4. Wash hands. When you finish, return the pieces outdoors.

Notice: Which cup holds the most interesting piece?

4. Big tube sort

Age hint: 2 and up.

Bring: three or four large cardboard tubes, a box lid, tape, crayons, and big soft items such as scrunched paper balls, cloth napkins and plastic cups.

1. Tape the tubes upright in the lid so they stand firmly.
2. Draw a mark on each tube, such as a circle, a wavy line or a dot.
3. Let your child post each item into a tube, in any way they choose.
4. Tip them out and start again with new marks.

Notice: Which tube did you choose first, and why?

5. Treasure box

Age hint: 3 and up.

Bring: a shoebox, paper, crayons and a few favourite large objects, such as a soft toy, a spoon or a scarf.

1. Decorate the box together and call it the treasure box.
2. Ask your child to pick a few favourite objects that are safe to hold.
3. Draw a small picture label for each treasure and tuck it in beside it.
4. Open the box on a quiet day and tell the story of each one.

Notice: Why did you pick this one as a treasure?

6. Little museum on a shelf

Age hint: 4 and up.

Bring: a low, steady shelf, paper cards and crayons. Choose items that cannot break and have no sharp edges.

1. Clear one shelf and call it the museum.
2. Choose favourite things together, and give each a place.
3. Draw a name card for each item, with a grown-up writing the words.
4. Invite the family for a tour, with your child as the guide.

Notice: What would you tell a visitor about this one?

How this page is different

Our other pages cover nearby ground. This one is about open sorting and keeping, where children invent the rules. If you would rather name shapes and colours, try shape and colour games. For repeating sequences, see pattern games. To put pieces together, make homemade puzzles, and for number play, try counting games.

More to do on Rangooo

Head outside with nature walk activities, keep your favourites in a memory book, reuse boxes and tubes in recycled crafts, share tidy-up time with helping at home jobs, browse more stories and activities, or see resources for teachers.

Questions

What age are sorting and collecting games for?

Most of these ideas suit ages two to seven with a grown-up close by. Sock basket and tube sort work well for the youngest children, while the shape tray, egg-box and museum suit older ones. Children under three need large items only.

How do we keep collecting safe?

Keep every item bigger than a toilet-roll tube opening for children under three. Skip anything sharp, glass, damp or from an animal. A grown-up checks each found item, and everyone washes hands afterwards. Never put nature finds in the mouth, as some plants can be toxic.

My child sorts in a way I did not expect. Is that wrong?

No. A child may sort by colour, by size, by feel or by a rule only they know. Ask them to tell you about their groups and listen. There is no single correct answer in these games.

Can we collect things without cluttering the house?

Yes. Give each collection one box or one shelf, and agree that when it is full, you choose favourites together. Found items can be returned outdoors, and drawings can stand in for things you cannot keep.