Numbers & math
Big and small
- Builds: Comparing sizes
- 10 min
- Ages 1–3
- Calm
- No mess
From the house
- Kitchen things in two sizes: pots, bowls, plastic cups, lids
- A few shoes
How to play
- Put out pairs: a big bowl and a small bowl.
- They sort them into a big pile and a small pile.
- Line up three shoes from smallest to biggest.
- Stack the cups inside each other.
Fit it to your child
- Easier: Skip the piles and just nest the cups: the small one goes inside the big one.
- Harder: Line up five things from smallest to biggest, then swap two and see if they spot it.
Words to use
- big
- small
- bigger
- tiny
- inside
Why it helps
Comparing sizes is one of the very first math ideas, and putting things in order is where measuring starts.
Grown-up eyes: With a 1-year-old, use only things too big to fit through a toilet-paper roll.