Doesn’t it seem like toys come out of the woodworks to find their way into your playroom and toy chests?
I am assuming every household has an assigned place for random toys, or maybe you make frequent trips to your local donation drop-off.
But, I have found that there are definitely uses for your toy bin (full of happy meal toys, childhood toys, birthday presents, and more.)
Here are a few ideas….all sorting activities:
(Remind yourself that I am NOT a photographer and I am NOT fancy)
1
. Write down the beginning letters that the majority of the items in the box start with on project paper or a sketch pad. Before you ask your little one to help you sort the beginning sounds TALK about the items and name each one first. For example, “here’s a /d/ /d/ duck and a /s/ /s/ swing, what is this (picking up a new item)?” Then, TALK about each letter: “This is the letter “S” it stands for the /s/ sound….are there any toys in our bin that start with that sound?”
2. Write as many color names as you want on a sheet of paper and name each color or ask your little one to help you sound out the color names that are listed. Then ask your little one to sort/group the items by their color. Ask questions about the “data” afterwards: “How many orange toys are there? How many more red toys than yellow?”
3. Write one digit numbers and their number word in a clear and organized chart. Ask your little one to find something (a person, a car, an animal) that has more than one of it’s kind in the toy bin. Give an example first like “There are only 2 cars in this toy bin so I will take them out and place them in my “two” square to show that there are two of the same kind of toy in my bin. Can you find something else in our toy bin that has a match that would make a pair?”
4. Write down size words in an organized chart, choosing whichever words you want to focus on such as “big/little,” “small/medium/large,” “tall/short,” etc. Then 1) demonstrate an example, 2) have your little one “help you” find another example, and 3) have your little one come up with an example on their own.
Have fun creating your own sorting charts and ALWAYS feel free to share photos of your mommy teacher “style” of doing things with The Mommy Teacher Fan Page 🙂
