Let’s do some shoes and socks sorting

What you need 

• Shoes or socks (or both) 

What to do 

1. Sort the family’s shoes or socks into pairs with your toddler. 
2. Encourage them to look for similarities in colour or size. Talk about why you or they matched a pair, “Oh yes, these are both purple.” 
3. Try holding one sock and pretending you can’t find the other; toddlers love to help out! 
4. Use mathematical language to support your toddler’s understanding of shape and size. You might say, “I have a small sock and a big sock, I wonder if we can find another small sock?” 

Good to know 

Things that naturally go together make for good sorting activities as your toddler can see the logic involved in making groups.  

By including your toddler in daily activities at home, and using simple mathematical language, like ‘big’ and ‘small’ to talk about what you’re doing, you help your toddler build an understanding of the maths around us.