Whose Sock Is That?

What you need

• a basket of clean washing

How to do it

1. Sit down with the clean washing and make a small pile for each person.
2. Hold something up and say whose it is: 'Daddy's sock'.
3. Hand it to your toddler to put on the right pile.
4. When they say a name, add the thing: they say 'Daddy', you say 'Daddy's sock'.

Why it matters

Sorting washing is a job a toddler can genuinely do, and every single item has an owner, so the same kind of phrase comes round item after item.

What they're learning

Two words together

Whose plus what is a pair that turns up constantly once it arrives.

That belongs to them

Knowing whose things are whose is a real piece of understanding the family.

Sorting

Putting things where they go is a useful job and good thinking at the same time.

What to look for

Watch for them putting something on the right pile before you've named it.

A tip

Their own things first. A toddler is far more interested in their own sock than in yours.

More like this

Put Toys in the Bin from 14 months · 5-10 min Where Does It Go? from 22 months · 10-15 min A Mat for Each Chair from 24 months · 5-10 min From Mash to Chunky from 18 months · 10-15 min