Get ready to sort!
This activity can be done with things you have hanging around your home or childcare center. Simply grab some painter’s tape to make some nets, a broom and some pom poms for pucks and have your child sorting while working a variety of skills. From hand-eye coordination to sorting, this activity challenges them physically and cognitively!
📚 Books to explore: Just One Goal! by Robert Munsch; Z is for Zamboni by Matt Napier; and The Day My Fart Followed Me to Hockey by Ben Jackson and Sam Lawrence.
🏒 Pro Tip: If you have short hockey sticks you can have your child use those instead of a broom so it feels more authentic.
🥅 Extend this activity: After sorting the pom poms, use one for an actual game of hockey!
Materials
For this activity you will need:
Broom OR mini Hockey sticks
Painter’s tape
Pom poms
Learning Outcomes
Domain
Cognition
Skills
Sorting
Indicators:
Sorting and labeling objects by characteristics such as hard or soft or big and small.
Instructions
Step 1:
Tape four medium-sized squares down on the floor.
Step 2:
Pour the pom poms into one of the squares.
Step 3:
Have your child use the broom to sort the pom poms into the other squares by size or color.
⬆️ For older preschoolers: Have your older children make their own hockey sticks from paper towel tubes and cardboard or have them use straws to blow them around.
⬇️ For younger toddlers: Put a limited amount of pom poms out to make it a little easier to so
Playful Questions
What colors are the pom poms?
Are they big or small?
Can you move the pom poms without touching them?
What's your favorite color? Why?
What other objects are that color?