Star Sorting

What you need

• about ten paper stars, big and little, in two colours, some cut from shiny wrapping paper
• two paper plates
• scissors, for you

How to do it

1. Spread the stars out on the floor and hold up a big one and a little one: "Big star, little star!"
2. Put a big star on one plate and a little star on the other.
3. Let your toddler pick up each star and put it on the right plate, saying "big" or "little".
4. Mix them up and sort them again, this time by colour, or into shiny and not shiny.

Why it matters

Sorting stars by size and then by colour shows them that the same things can go together in more than one way.

What they're learning

Sorting

Deciding which plate a star goes on is early maths thinking.

Big and little

Holding a big and a little star side by side makes size easy to see.

Changing the rule

Sorting by size, then by colour, asks them to look in a new way.

What to look for

Watch for them holding two stars side by side to check which is bigger.

A tip

Thin card stars last longer than paper ones. Put your scissors away as soon as the stars are cut.

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