Sort It Out

Explain to your child that a collection is a group of items that typically have some common attributes or qualities. Help your child gather a collection such as one of those suggested above. Look at the objects together and ask questions to help your child describe each thing:

• What color is it?
• What shape is it?
• Is it bumpy or smooth?
• Is it light or heavy?

Help your child sort the collection. For example, if you have a large collection of crayons, you might do a simple sort by color. Ask, “Do we have any reds? Let's put those over here. This one is green, so let's start a green pile over here.” You could then sort each color pile again by shade: light reds and dark reds, light greens and dark greens.

Try other sorting rules based on the characteristics of the items. For crayons, you might sort by tip (sharp or worn), paper covering (intact, ripped, or missing), or crayon condition (whole or broken). Encourage your child to suggest new rules. Ask, “If we were to sort by all these rules at once, would any of these things belong in more than one group?”

Play "Guess My Rule." Organize some of the objects into groups. Let your child guess the rule you used and help you finish the sorting. Then switch, having your child sort the objects using a rule that you have to guess.