Why You Need a Stacking and Sorting Toy In Your Toybox

Why You Need a Stacking and Sorting Toy In Your Toybox

Did you know that one of the best toys you can buy your child is a set of stacking cups or a sorting toy?
Yes, it might seem like a really simple toy, but they will get hours of amusement out of playing with them. Even better than the amusement factor, they will be developing so many vital skills.

Here is why you need a stacking and sorting toy in your toybox.

You will probably be surprised by the number of ways in which stacking and sorting toys can benefit your child. Would you have considered it could help them with their language, or with their balance?

This simple toy packs a punch on learning opportunities…

Fine Motor Skills

One of the first skills your child will learn, is how to control their own limbs. And once they have that basic control, they need to perfect intentionally grasping something and letting it go. They will not have the dexterity to use their fingers to begin with, so will use their whole hand to grab. The larger pieces of a stacking toy are ideal to start with. As they become more dexterous, they will be able to grasp the smaller pieces.

Balance and Gross Motor Skills

From around the age of 6 months, children have developed their posture enough to sit up by themselves. When they play with a stacking toy while they are sitting they are in fact working on their balance. By simply trying to stack while they are sitting, they have focus on moving about and using their hands, while not toppling over. They work on their core strength and learn how to make adjustments in their balance to keep upright.

Language Skills

Any objects can be used at work on language, but a stacking and sorting toy is particularly useful due to its multiple pieces and bright colours.

• Big and Small: Work on the concepts of size and what the words mean by placing the smallest piece next to the largest. Then work in the other varying sized pieces to master big, bigger, and biggest
• Sequencing: Line the pieces of the toy up from biggest to smallest, this will form a pattern. Take it a step further by stacking the pieces on top of each other with the biggest at the bottom, and the smallest at the top. When your child is ready, you can skip some pieces in the stack to break the sequence. Have them insert those missing pieces back into the pattern.
• Concepts: Use the toy for discussions on colours, shapes, matching, counting, things like top and bottom.

Spatial Recognition

When your little one is stacking or sorting, they are working on several different spatial skills. They work on their depth perception, their hand eye coordination, and also how their body exists in their surroundings.

In order to stack one item on top of another, your child will need to visually gauge where to place each piece in relation to themselves, and also in relation to the other pieces of the toy. This is great groundwork for other coordinated tasks.

Creativity

Due to their simple nature, stacking and sorting toys can be used for lots of other things. Let your child be inventive with them.

• Stack them upside down
• Sort little toys
• Roll the pieces around like wheels
• Use them as hats, glasses, moustaches, or noses
• Scoop things with them – water and sand

Who would have thought a little stacking and sorting toy would have so many benefits for your child’s learning?
Have you decided that you need a stacking and sorting toy in your toybox?

We love the Alphabet ABC Nesting Cubes Jack Discoveroo Wooden Windmill Stackeroo and Fat BrainToys SpinAgain their versatility, but we have heaps of other stacking and sorting toys available here