How it Plays

To make a shape sorter, find a shoe box and draw two shapes on the lid: a circle big enough to accommodate small balls or empty film canisters, and a square the size of a wood block. Use an X-acto knife to cut the shapes out. Then produce several round and square objects for your toddler to look at and handle while you name and describe them. "This is a ball. Balls are round. Which hole do you think the ball will fit in?...Look at the shape you're holding now. It's not round like a ball. It has corners that are pointy. It's called a square. Which hole do you think the square will fit in?" After the two of you have dropped in some balls and blocks, show your toddler how to lift off the lid of the shoe box to see where all those objects have gone. They're right there, ready for your toddler to play with all over again. Add different shapes later on to make the game more challenging.

Learning and Growing

As your toddler tries to match each geometric shape to its corresponding hole, he is learning how to plan, predict, and problem solve.