# 08 · Sort it your way

**Draft:** Local Queensland early childhood educator review pending.

**Rights:** © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026. CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (original work; note changes if adapted).

**About 10–20 minutes.** **Planning link:** QKLG 2024 Active learning; EYLF
V2.0 Outcome 4. The child invents a way to organise and can change the rule.
[Framework sources](../SOURCE_NOTES.md).

**Gather:** Six to ten large, safe objects: for example, socks, blocks,
spoons, fabric squares and toy vehicles. Avoid small loose parts when younger
children are nearby. Put out two paper circles or two tea towels as spaces.

**Invite:** “These things need homes. How would you put them together?” The
child chooses what goes where. There may be an “other” pile or no piles at
all. Ask if they want to try a new rule after the first sort.

**Say:** “Tell me about these ones.” “Could this object belong in more than
one place?” “What changed when you tried a new way?” Do not announce the
“correct” sort; colour, use, shape, story role and texture can all be ideas.

**Notice, without scoring:** What feature or story did the child use? Did
they test a rule, notice an exception or change their mind? Record their
own explanation or action, not a score for the number of piles.

**Change the route:** For a vehicle lover, sort by where vehicles travel; for
someone who likes clothes, sort fabrics by feel or purpose. Use tactile
objects instead of a picture-only sort. If moving pieces is difficult, the
child can direct an adult by gaze, gesture, speech, signing or AAC. Invite
names in home languages without assuming a direct translation for every
category. Use only three objects if the table is too busy.

**Screen:** None needed. Optional: photograph one arrangement locally, then
compare it with the child's second arrangement on the same device.