I need to admit, we have a sock problem— gray, unmatched, full of holes. So, what are we going to do… Play with them! We are here with three preschool activities using socks.

Let’s face it, when we are busy at home with preschoolers we don’t want to be popping out to a store to get fancy activity supplies. No way!

We are going to learn and play with socks, my friend.

If you are loving this 3 Ways to Play and Learn series you are going to adore Play into Kindergarten Readiness! It includes your Day-by-Day preschool plan with a simple, play-based activity every day that covers all preschool core skills. AND you also get more 3 Ways to Play and Learn ideas!

Preschool Activities Using Socks

1. Sort the Socks

First, let’s get organized. We dumped out a pile of socks and sorted the socks: by color, by size, and by child. We moved the sock from all different piles as we thought about ways that the socks were similar and different. We took the unmatched socks and practiced patterns (some of them were extra silly—Stinky, clean, Stinky, clean). You could practice counting, or even graph the socks. Each variation is a great way to develop math skills.

2. Play A Sock Game

Then, we bunched up our matches into balls and grabbed a laundry basket for a game of “Sock-Ball”. We started off with the basket close by, but each round we pushed the basket further away. My son even came up with the idea of keeping track of how many socks we each scored so he grabbed a piece of paper and made his own score card.

If these 3 Ways to Play and Learn activities are working well for your family, you will LOVE Play into Kindergarten Readiness! This program for 2-3 year olds includes these activities as bonuses! The program itself covers ALL core skills for preschoolers in only ONE twenty minute activity per day. Find out more right here!

3. “Hide-and-Sock”

Finally, our third preschool activity using socks was to play a game of “Guess what’s in the sock”. As I pitched this idea to my kids, I thought it sounded ridiculous, but it turned out to be hilarious. We grabbed a mismatched sock and took turns hiding something in the sock—a coin, a gem, another sock. Again, my son practiced some writing by making a list of the items and checking off each one that we guessed right.

Sometimes the best learning happens when you can improvise with the items you have around your house… or under the couch, or behind the dryer ? We had a blast with these easy preschool activities using socks and I’m sure you will too!

Jessie is a mom of two amazingly creative children–ages 4 and 2. She loves having her home full of sensory play and process art. Jessie also runs her own account, Hands In Handmade where you can find more inspiration for play or check out her sensory kits.

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