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Sorting bricks

Have fun together sorting bricks in different ways!

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"Really enjoyed sorting particularly favourite colours and shapes"

You will need

  • 10-20 bricks of different colours, shapes and sizes

Skills you will be engaging

  • Emotional - having fun, taking turns

  • Social - listening, taking turns

  • Cognitive - sorting bricks

  • Physical - picking up pieces, understanding space

  • Creative - finding new ways of sorting

How to play

Place your bricks on a tray or flat surface. Ask your child to sort them into different colours. Let your child start sorting. When you've finished, encouraged your child to build something with the bricks.

Talk while you play

Take a few moments to watch what your child is doing. Notice and comment on what is happening, e.g. "Well done, you've sorted all the yellow bricks."

You might like to ask your child some questions, e.g. "Which colour do you like best?" or "Can you find something else in the room that is blue?"

Adapt the activity

Feel free to adapt the activity to meet your child's individual needs. The important thing is that everyone is relaxed and having fun, don't worry if you don't follow the instructions perfectly.

Make it easier

  • Use less bricks.

  • Limit the sort. Choose bricks to sort into 2 groups, e.g. green and red.

  • Show your child how to sort by doing the first few bricks.

  • Start with 1 brick in each category and practice saying the colours together.

Let's do a challenge

  • Switch the sort. Sort by colours and then see if you can change to sort by shape.

  • Switch back again. Can you switch back to sorting by colours?

  • Let your child create their own categories.

  • Make the categories more specific. Can you sort into different shades of colours, e.g. light and dark?

  • Speed challenge. How quickly can you sort the bricks against the clock?

  • Use 'pinch fingers', tweezers, tongs or similar to pick up the bricks.

  • Try picking up the bricks with your dominant hand behind your back.

Include friends and siblings

  • Children can take turns to choose a category.

  • The children sort the bricks, and the adult guesses what the category is.