Button Sorting

Buttons are brilliant! They come in all different shapes, sizes and colours, they have holes for threading, they can be stuck down on collages, they are functional too in their original use, and they are great for sorting - which is what we did! 

We took all our craft buttons...

... and tipped them into an old chocolate box
 (perfect for sorting activities)

Then Jake began sorting them without me even

 suggesting it

And that was that - a really simple activity full of learning and fun for toddlers and pre-schoolers. The key points of this activity are developing pre-math skills - shape and colour recognition, understanding differences and likeness, recognising numeric quantities, as well as encouraging logical thought - organisation and grouping. You dont need any special teaching equipment for sorting activities; you can use anything you have at home - toys, fruit, craft material, magazine pictures, etc and any type of trays, pots, bowls work really well. For a great explanation on why sorting activities are important have a look at this article from Peaceful Parenting.