Chapter I
Classifying Objects
Why is it worth teaching children to classify?
The ability to classify, that is, to sort objects according to specific features, is one of the basic cognitive skills developed in the preschool years. It is a foundation of logical thinking and also prepares children for learning mathematics, language, and understanding the world around them.
While classifying, children learn to:
- notice differences and similarities,
- create sets and compare them with one another,
- understand relations: bigger-smaller, longer-shorter, the same-different,
- observe carefully and make decisions based on the features they notice.
Regular classification practice develops:
- observation skills,
- attention and concentration,
- the ability to explain and describe,
- cause-and-effect thinking.
Games with blocks are an excellent tool for developing these skills. Blocks are attractive, easy to get, and varied - they let children learn through action, handling materials, and discovery.
The game ideas in this set are simple to run, do not require complicated preparation, and at the same time effectively support children's cognitive development. They can be freely adapted, matching the level of difficulty to a particular group.
We encourage you to introduce classification in a natural way, through play, conversation, and shared discovery. This is the first step toward building children's logical thinking and their understanding of the world around them.
Colorful Islands
Learning goal
Children classify objects by color.
Needed elements
- Blocks in different colors
- Colored sheets of paper (as "islands") - red, green, blue, purple, yellow, orange
How it goes
- Spread several colored sheets on the carpet (red, green, blue, purple, yellow, orange) - each sheet is an island of one color.
- Pour all the gears from box no. 1 onto the carpet.
- The children's task is to sort the blocks and assign them to the matching color "island".
Variants
In a follow-up game, instead of gears you can use cylinders (they are in box no. 2).
After sorting, divide the children into 6 groups by color. In each group, ask the children to divide the blocks of that color into smaller groups - for example, 10 gears in each group - and count how many such groups (e.g. blue ones) they managed to arrange around the blue island.
Construction Block Families
Learning goal
Children classify objects by size and shape.
Needed elements
- Blocks of different shapes (cylinders, gears, platforms, straight connectors, cross connectors)
How it goes
- Explain to the children that the blocks form "families", e.g. the gear family, the cylinder family, the platform family. Families may have different colors, but the shapes in each family look the same.
- Divide the children into groups and name them as families (e.g. the gear family).
- Ask the children to sort the prepared blocks into their own families.
- Ask the children to count the shapes of different colors in each family (e.g. ask how many blue gears are in the gear family).
Variants
Ask the children to count.
The Block Shop
Learning goal
Children classify objects by function/use.
Needed elements
- Various pieces: gears, cylinders, straight connectors, cross connectors
- Small baskets, boxes, or "shelves" for display
How it goes
- Set up the space as a "shop" with blocks.
- The children's task (as customers or shopkeepers) is to sort the available pieces into categories - e.g. cylinders, gears, connectors.
- Children place the blocks on the matching shop shelves.
Variants
Ask the children to prepare labels (e.g. drawings) for the different sections of the shop.
Mystery Groups
Learning goal
Children recognize and name the shared features of a group of objects.
Needed elements
- A mixed set of different blocks: gears, cylinders, straight connectors, cross connectors
How it goes
- Prepare several groups of blocks that share a feature (e.g. all red, all gears in different colors, all connectors - straight and cross).
- The children's task is to guess why these blocks were grouped together - what connects them?
- After guessing, children may create their own "mystery group", and the rest try to guess the sorting rule.
Variants
Introduce the ideas of "shared feature" and "difference" as a word game.
Block Sorting Race
Learning goal
Children classify objects under time pressure and practice concentration and cooperation.
Needed elements
- Containers with mixed blocks
- Bowls or boxes for sorting
- A clock, hourglass, or stopwatch
How it goes
- Divide the children into small teams (2-3 people).
- Each team receives a container of mixed blocks.
- On the signal "start!" children begin sorting the blocks according to a criterion agreed in advance (e.g. color, shape).
- When the set time is up, check together how each team did.
Variants
In later rounds, change the classification criterion.
The Block Train
Learning goal
Children order objects by a chosen feature and arrange them in a set sequence.
Needed elements
- Blocks with different features (e.g. colors, shapes)
How it goes
1. Tell the children they will build a "block train" in which each car (that is, each block) must match the previous one in color or shape.
Example: red gear ? red cylinder ? blue cylinder ? blue gear.
2. Each child explains what shared feature the next block has with the previous one (the same color / the same shape).
3. Children arrange the train on the carpet or table, keeping to the agreed ordering feature.
Variants
Each child may build their own train and present the rules they followed.
Find the Missing Block
Learning goal
Children recognize the features of pieces and can say which one does not belong or which one is missing from a set.
Needed elements
- Groups of 3-4 blocks (e.g. 3 red and 1 blue; 3 gears and 1 cylinder, etc.)
How it goes
- Prepare sets of blocks in which one block "does not belong" with the others.
- Children are to point out the block that stands out from the rest and explain their decision.
- In a second version, children find the missing block that "completes" a pattern or group.
Variants
Older children may create puzzles for their classmates.
Block Sets
Learning goal
Children understand the idea of a set and can assign pieces to more than one category.
Needed elements
- Various blocks
- Hula hoops, sashes, or hoops for making sets
How it goes
- Place two hoops on the carpet - each stands for a set with a given feature (e.g. red color / cylinder).
- Children match blocks to the sets - some will fit one, others both (the hoops may overlap partly, as in a diagram).
- Children pick up blocks and, from a greater distance, toss them so they land in the matching set.
- Discuss with the children why a given block went into a particular set and which blocks are shared.
Variants
It is worth counting the blocks in each set and comparing the amounts.
Build According to a Pattern
Learning goal
Children analyze a pattern and choose blocks according to a set rule.
Needed elements
- Patterns built earlier from blocks. The blocks may be laid one after another on the carpet or in a rhythm on connected platforms (e.g. 3 red, 1 blue, 3 red...)
- Containers of loose blocks
How it goes
- Show the children a pattern built from blocks (e.g. a rhythm of colors or shapes).
- The children's task is to find the right blocks and recreate the pattern on their own.
- Children may also continue the pattern - by recognizing the repeating sequence.
Variants
Older children may create their own patterns and swap them with one another.
Block Bingo
Learning goal
The child identifies and classifies objects by name and feature.
Needed elements
- Bingo cards (e.g. with drawings of blocks of different colors and shapes)
- Blocks - cylinders and connectors
- Markers - straight connectors
How it goes
- Each child receives a bingo card with 6 pictures showing different blocks.
- The teacher draws blocks from a container and shows them to the children.
- Children who have a matching block on their card place a "marker" on it - a connector block.
- The winner is the child who marks all the spaces first.
Variants
Instead of cards, children may first arrange blocks on platforms (each child joins two platforms horizontally and places 8 blocks on them in a bingo layout, and only then does the teacher draw blocks).
The worksheets also include blank cards - the child first colors the circles and cylinders on their own.
Find Your Set
Learning goal
The child recognizes patterns by name and feature.
Needed elements
- Blocks - cylinders or gears
How it goes
- Each child draws one block - a gear or a cylinder.
- The teacher asks the children to raise the block high up.
- Then the teacher asks the children to form groups - sets by shape (cylinders / gears).
- Next the teacher asks the children to join into sets in which the blocks are the same color.
Variants
After each round, children may swap blocks. Sometimes they can look for their sets in the usual way, another time walking on tiptoe, another time on all fours, and so on.