Shape Sorter Box

Jaeyen chose this Shape Sorter Box on his own

At around 13 months, my hubby decided to take out the Shape Sorter Box we bought for J when he was turning 6 months old for him to explore.

A shape sorter box is a traditional educational game that I remembered playing a lot when I was younger and playing alongside my cousins then. Although it is a simple game of putting the correct shape through its cavity, we always challenge to see who can complete sorting all of the shapes in the shortest time.

It does not involve a lot of rocket science going through this activity, yet it brings a lot of learning opportunities for the little one. Some of which are as follow:

(1) Name of shapes - Basic ones [square, circle, triangle, etc], more complex ones like the one we bought [semi-circle, crescent, etc.]
(2) Cause and Effect - What happens when I put a shape into the cavity
(3) Colours - usually, the shapes come in different colours
(4) Promotes hand-eye coordination

Tried this with J quite a few times, but I think he is not ready yet. So far, he has only managed to sort 2 shapes (oval and circle) correctly but only did it once.

Although J doesn't play it correctly yet, he still gets a lot of thrill and fun from shaking the box. :)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are many shape sorter boxes available in the stores, a few types shown below:

5 shapes shape sorter

Wooden shape sorter

Cookie Jar shape-sorter

If you intend to get one for your LO, you might want to think about whether what you are buying is adequate for your LO's needs. For us, we wanted to go beyond just the basic shapes, hence we got one which had 9 shapes.

The wooden shape sorter box is good as it is durable and can last a long time. However, caution that when buying a similar product, you may want to check that the paints use are non-toxic. This to ensure that even when babies chew on the shapes, they are safe.

The cookie jar shape sorter is also interesting because it allows for independent play. There are various options for you choose. For eg, when it is switched to the shape function, it says the name of the shape when the correct one is put into the cavity. This one also teaches numbers (as you can see from the photo above; each shape is accompanied by a number).

Lastly, price is always a consideration when buying toys. Choose one that is within your own budget yet serves your purpose. I say this because there are way too many fun and educational toys out there and it's always tempting to want to buy them all for our LOs. :)