Take a minute to think about the multitude of toys available for children. There seems to be a toy version of everything adults have, toys for every learning concept, and toys for every character your child could ever love. While these toys are fun, they are not necessary. I'm not saying I'm anti-toy. I enjoy toy shopping for all the holidays and other occasions, however I also enjoy getting creative and finding new ways to play with the toys we already have. This morning my son chose his shape sorter off the shelf. Shape sorters come in many different forms but their main purpose is for the child to match the shape into it's corresponding hole. From an early childhood educator perspective, shape sorters have so many possibilities for learning! Below are some ideas for different ways to facilitate a child's learning with a shape sorter.
-Sort the shapes by color (you can use a piece of red construction paper for your child to place all the red shapes on and so on).
-Name the shapes and discuss how many sides they have.
-Stack the shapes as high as you can before they fall over.
-Count the shapes as you stack them or put them into the shape sorter.
-Make a pattern with the colors or shapes if you have multiples of the same shape.
-Trace the shapes onto a piece of paper and then have the child match the shapes to the tracings like a puzzle.
-Shape Hunt: choose a shape and then look around the room, house or yard to find something that is the same shape.
If you have any other ideas feel free to share them with us. Thank you for reading!