Summertime Sorting Activities: Fun Summer Activities for Toddlers

Sorting skills are great cognitive activities for toddlers. Toddler age children learn best working with things in their natural environment, using all of their senses: touch, sight, sound, smell, and taste. They also learn best with a trusted parent or caregiver, in a one on one situation. Summertime is a great time for toddlers who love to go outside and explore their world, so playing with and sorting the items they find is simply a natural extension of their curiosity.

Toddlers can sort items by characteristics like shape, size, color, and physical attributes. Stay with a fairly small number of items and don't expect a toddler under the age of 3 to sort by more than one characteristic at a time. Use items the child is familiar with for best results. Also, be aware of the attention span of children in this age group. Fifteen minute activities are the absolute maximum that most toddlers will engage in one activity. It's best to go on to something else when attention wanes, no matter how educational the activity might be. Many times toddlers will come back to the activity at a later time. Finally, always put safety first. Don't use items that could be poisonous, and watch your toddler at all times to make sure that sorting items don't find their way into your child's mouth. Here are some fun summer activities for teaching sorting skills to your young child.

A little nature walk in the stroller can be a real learning experience for a two year old. Use this time to bring nature up close and personal. Sorting fun from the stroller can include items you find along the way. Group items from nature into big and small or with like characteristics. Try sorting big and small rocks, leaves or twigs. Non-toxic wildflowers are great items to sort by like characteristics. Pick several types of flowers and then sort them by type. For example, pick 3 daisies and 2 buttercups. Point out the yellow flowered buttercups and the white petals of the daisies. Make two piles, one for daisies and the other for buttercups. Be sure and take the flowers home to put into water as a reminder of the fun you had together.

Your own backyard can also be a great place to find summertime sorting activities for toddlers. Think about outdoor toys like sand toys. They could be sorted by color. Sidewalk chalk is fun to draw with as well as to sort by size or color. Popsicles can be sorted by color. Collect all those Popsicle sticks when you're finished with them, too. Paint the Popsicle sticks two or three different bright colors and sort them together outside on the back deck or porch.

The beach is another great place for summer sorting activities for young kids. Think about all of those small sea shells you find along the beach. Go for a little walk with a sand bucket. Have your toddler place the shells in the bucket and then head back to the beach blanket for a little sorting activity. You might sort by type or size.

No matter where this summer might lead you, there are many interesting sorting activities for toddlers all around you. From the backyard to the beach, all you have to do is be creative and take a closer look at our natural world.