I’m always on a quest for activities that engage both my toddler and preschooler at the same time. This one was originally set up for my toddler to work on her color sorting and identification, and to prevent my preschooler from taking over, I made a few modifications to create a unique, more challenging activity for her: Sorting Sight Words!
Sorting Sight Words
I have found every age so far to be awe inspiring – from infancy, when they are learning gross motor skills and gaining control of their limbs and fingers, to toddlerhood when they learn to walk, run and talk. And now as a preschooler, I am fascinated by what a sponge Big M has become. This year, she is really on the cusp of reading – familiar with all her letters and the sounds they make, and beginning to string them together to form words.
This activity is a great way to encourage just that – using Valentine-themed sight words from SweetTart hearts!
Sorting Supplies for Toddlers and Preschoolers
To set up both activities, you need only a few basic supplies.
Supplies
Toddler:
Sorting tray
SweetTart Hearts
Learning Resources Fine Motor Tool Set
Assorted colored construction paperPreschool:
Small cup
SweetTart Hearts
Paper hearts
MarkerCost: Less than $5
Prep Time: Less than 5 minutes
Clean-Up Time: Less than 5 minutes
Sorting SweetTart Hearts by Color
For Lil’ M (age 2), we have been working on identifying and naming her colors.
With activities like these that she has already mastered, Big M (age 4) has a propensity to take over and not give her little sister a chance. To prevent this, I set her up at the same table with her own activity, using similar materials with a greater, more preschool-appropriate challenge.
Sorting SweetTarts by Sight Words
One of the things I love about Valentine’s Day is conversation hearts – they add a fun dimension to the candy you don’t get with other holidays. We have used different varieties for learning activities before, both for graphing and letter recognition. Now, it’s time to string those letters together to form words!
I cut out large white hearts, but let Big M do the actual labeling to create her sorting cards. I used the SweetTart hearts this time because they contain a smaller assortment of printed messages, and the words are more basic.
She would remove one heart from her cup, read the word on the heart, and add it to the appropriate sorting card. If she didn’t already have a card to match it to, she would label a new sorting card to put it on.
Affordable, simple materials, quick and easy set-up and clean-up! All my favorite things for kids’ activities.
How have you played with conversation hearts? If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out Learning with Conversation Hearts, featuring graphing and letter recognition activities, as well as Word Formation with Play Dough. You can find all of these on our Valentine’s Day and Preschool boards on Pinterest!
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