Sorting and Preschool Math Graphing Activities
If you’re searching for a bright (literally) and fun sorting and preschool math graphing activities, you’re going to love this because it doesn’t get more fun than sorting and graphing O shaped cereal. That’s right, our preschool math activities just got even more colorful with this Rainbow Color Sorting and Graphing printable. It’s a simple but powerful way to teach early math skills like counting, sorting, matching, and graphing all in one!
Learning to graph in preschool is packed with fun when you use colorful, hands-on activities! And it’s even better when you end up with a tasty snack while you’re learning.
This free Rainbow Color Sorting and Graphing printable turns snack time into math time with a super fun sorting, counting, and graphing activity. Preschoolers sort o shaped cereal (or any other rainbow colored snack) onto a mat, then transfer their data to a graph, and then count and compare.
But that’s not all, preschoolers have to create a graphing worksheet to keep their data before they eat it up. This activity hits a lot of important preschool math skills—and it’s a great way to introduce graphing for preschoolers.
Read this: The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Graphing in Preschool
What Kids Learn with This Preschool Math Activity
This rainbow sorting and graphing activity strengthens several important early math skills, all while feeling like play.
SKILL #1: Color Sorting
Children sort objects by their color, building classification and critical thinking skills. Sorting is a huge pre-math skill and helps children notice similarities and differences. It also supports early science and problem-solving skills later on.
SKILL #2: One-to-One Correspondence
Kids practice matching one object to one space on the mat and later one space on the graph. This builds the essential foundation for accurate counting. (Read more about one to one correspondence here). Children learn that each item counts as one and only one. This is a key step before addition!
SKILL #3: Early Graphing Skills
Children transfer their sorted objects onto a simple graph. They begin to organize and display data visually, just like “real” graphs. They also start comparing quantities using words like more, less, and same.
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Color Sorting and Preschool Math Graphing Activity
This printable offers a bright, hands-on way to combine sorting, counting, and graphing in one playful activity.
What’s Included
- Rainbow Color Sorting Mat
- Rainbow Colors Graph (with numbered rows 1–10)
- Bright, simple layout for easy use
Additional Materials
- O shaped cereal
- Crayons or markers for graphing
- Dot stickers
- Laminator (optional for durability)
The Set Up
- Print the sorting mat and graph.
- Laminate if you want extra durability.
- Give each child a small bowl of rainbow colored snack, like o shaped cereal.
- Invite children to sort, count, and graph!
How to Teach Color Sorting, Counting, and Graphing with This Printable
Here’s a simple and fun step-by-step teaching guide to make the most of this activity that covers so many early math skills.
Step 1: Sort the Colors
Start by laying out the Rainbow Sorting Mat and a handful of colorful cereal pieces or small objects. Invite the children to pick up one object at a time and place it in the correct color circle on the mat. Encourage them to name each color as they sort. This builds color word vocabulary along with their sorting skills.
Step 2: Transfer to the Graph
Once all the cereal pieces (or objects) are sorted by color, show the children the Rainbow Graph. Demonstrate how to take one object and “graph it” by placing a matching sticker or coloring a space in the correct color column. Continue until all objects have been graphed.
Step 3: Compare the Groups
After the graph is filled in with the cereal, look at it together and ask simple comparison questions. “Which color has the most?” “Which color has the least?” “Are any colors the same?” Talking about these differences strengthens early math language and comparison skills.
Step 4: Replace the Cereal with Stickers
After sorting and graphing with objects, give kids one more round of practice by replacing the cereal with colorful dot stickers. Invite them to match the stickers to the data already on the sorting mat, replacing one for one. This extra step reinforces sorting, counting, and graphing skills one more time in a fresh, fun way.
Plus, preschoolers love peeling and placing stickers, which also strengthens fine motor skills. Best of all, they’ll be so proud to take their finished sticker graphs home to show their parents! Alternatively, your preschoolers could use dot markers or crayons to color in the data, too.
Read this: One to One Correspondence Counting Activity
One to One Correspondence Activities for Preschoolers
Get ready for some hands-on math fun! These one-to-one correspondence activities help preschoolers match objects to spaces, laying the groundwork for confident counting and early addition skills.
- Free One to One Correspondence Counting Cards
- Counting Cards for the Entire Year
- Apple Counting Cards for One to One Correspondence
- 12 Number Identification and Counting Activities
- 20+ Activities to Teach One to One Correspondence
- Marshmallow Snowballs Winter Counting Activities
- Transportation Counting Booklet
- Gumball One to One Correspondence Game
- Easy 1:1 Correspondence Activities for Preschoolers
Graphing Activities for Preschool Math
With these playful graphing activities, preschoolers learn to organize and compare information in a way that makes sense to them. It’s an easy and fun way to introduce charts, numbers, and early data skills!
- Color Sorting Mats for the Entire Year
- Graphing for Preschoolers Colors Mat
- Fall Graphing Activities for Preschool
- Graphing Games for Preschool and Kindergarten
- Shape Graph for Preschool
- Pom Pom Graphing for Kids
- Easy Graphing Activities for Kindergarten
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Frequently Asked Questions
This activity is ideal for preschoolers, usually ages 3 to 5. It’s great for younger children who are learning their colors and starting to count, but it’s also engaging enough for pre-k and kindergarten kids. Older preschoolers can handle larger quantities or more detailed graphing challenges. You can easily adapt it by adjusting how many objects you give them to sort!
This one simple activity covers several major preschool math skills: one-to-one correspondence, sorting by attributes, graphing, and comparing quantities. It even introduces early data analysis by talking about which groups have more, fewer, or the same number of items. Plus, kids practice counting every time they add to the graph!
Definitely! Laminating the sorting mat and graph makes them reusable with dry erase markers or stickers. You can also print multiple copies and create busy binders, math center tubs, or home learning packs. If you laminate and use dry erase markers, kids can graph, wipe, and repeat as many times as they want.
You can make the activity more challenging by adding more colors, increasing the number of objects, or asking kids to graph two objects at once. You can also ask them to write a simple number sentence based on their graph, like “I have 6 red + 3 blue = 9.” Challenge older kids to sort by different attributes like size or shape instead of color!
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
