Whatever costume you wear, put on your ‘sorting hat’ after trick-or-treating to help children lay the foundation for higher-level mathematics. (Shutterstock) ...

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Sorting items by different properties and comparing them is a skill that you can observe the children learning to use with increasing sophistication, as Sheila Ebbutt and Carole Skinner demonstrate.

Counting and sorting Halloween treats — and other forms of household sorting that caregivers could lead, like sorting socks in the laundry — allows children to learn important skills that lay the ...