Sorting Bears and Cups- Using Toys to Teach

In my previous article about educational toys, I outlined some qualities to keep in mind when purchasing or making toys for your child. One of my favorite learning toys is a set of sorting bears and cups. This is a set of small plastic bears and cups in 5 different colors. You can get the set at Wal-Mart for about $5, or spend a little more at a teaching supply store and get a set that includes different sizes of bears. This is a great educational toy that can be used through many stages of development. Just to get you started, here are some ways to use a set of sorting bears and cups. I've grouped them by skill and listed them from least to most difficult, so you can choose what will best suit your child.

To work on fine motor skills, try these activities:

Stack the cups inside of or on top of each other. This is a great fine motor activity for a child who is developmentally about 10-12 months old. Have your child practice using both hands together to grasp and stack the cups.

Practice pouring the bears from one cup to another. Use two hands to pour at first, then have your child pour from one hand to the other and back again. I've personally seen children stay engrossed in this seemingly simple activity for 20-30 minutes at a time, with no idea that they're improving their fine motor skills.
Practice sharing by having your child pour the bears into a cup that you are holding, then pour them back into his cup.

Use the cup as a scoop and practice scooping up the bears. This will be easier on carpet than on a table or hard floor.

Have your child put the bears into cups one at a time. This is a great way to practice using a pincer grasp, which is the thumb and pointer finger grasp that is used to pick up small objects. For an added challenge, use a pair of large toy tweezers to put bears into the cups one at a time.

Turn the cups over and see how many bears will fit on top of an overturned cup.

To practice color identification, try these activities:

Ask your child to tell you the color of a bear that you are holding. Give it to him once he has identified, or repeated, the color.

Sort the bears by color. If five colors is too difficult start with only two colors of bears and cups. Add in one color at a time until your child can do all five.

To work on counting, try these activities:

Listen to the sound the bears make when they drop into the cup. Have your child close his eyes and count the bears as he listens to you drop them in the cup.

Count how many bears are in each cup when you finish sorting. Is there more of one color than another? How many bears are there all together?

These are just a few ideas to get you and your child started. You can be as creative as you'd like when using educational toys. The most important thing is to make the learning fun.