Animal Sort

Animal Sort is an engaging and educational activity where children can sort their animal toys based on different characteristics. This activity will teach them about different animal species, their habitats, their sizes and more. It encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and understanding of the natural world.
Animal Sort - Kids activities

Summary

Appropriate kid’s energy level

Calm

Skill(s) developed

Memory & Attention, Problem-solving

Prep time

3 minutes

Type of activity

Math, Science

Appropriate setting(s)

Both indoors and outdoors

Material(s) needed

Animal Toys, Categorization Labels

Easy mode

In the easy mode, children are required to sort their animal toys based on a single characteristic – either size or habitat. For example, they could separate toys into big animals and small ones, or into farm animals and jungle animals.

Hard mode

In the hard mode, children have to sort their animal toys based on two characteristics. They could categorize them into big jungle animals, small jungle animals, big farm animals, and small farm animals.

Challenge mode

In the challenge mode, children have to create distinct zones for each habitat – jungle, farm, ocean, and then sort their animal toys based on habitat and size. They also have to explain their sorting logic.

Some prompts to encourage the kid

  • Let’s become zookeepers for the day!
  • Wow! You’re like a real-life explorer, navigating through the jungle, farm, and ocean!
  • I wonder what happens if we put the elephant in the ocean — should we test it?
  • Captain, your animal kingdom is ready for organization!

Important things to keep in mind

  • This activity can be easily modified based on the number and type of animal toys available
  • Be sure to ask probing questions to encourage the children to think critically about why they’re sorting the animals the way they are.

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