Sorting activities can lay a strong foundation for addition, counting and more advanced math skills. It can be taught using the most basic things around the house –

• Sorting forks and spoons,
• Sorting buttons and beads by colors,
• Sorting shoes by size,
• Sorting socks by pattern or color,

And so on.

If your child is up for newer challenges, teach her that things can be sorted into more than one category.

Giver her four lunch bags, shoe boxes or cartons. This game is easiest when you use building blocks.

Ask her to sort the blocks based on color and size. For instance - one bag for big red blocks, one for smaller red blocks, one for big blue blocks, another for small blue blocks.

This teaches her that that things can be both one thing and another.

Here’s how you can use these complex sorting games to boost math abilities. Ask her to count the sides of each block, and then sort into blocks with four sides and blocks without four sides.

You can also use buttons - let her sort them into round, square, with 4 holes and without four holes. So, she’ll end up with 4 categories of buttons -

round with four holes

round without four holes

square with four holes

squares without four holes

This preschool activity combines sorting with counting, and helps lay a foundation for finer math skills.