Free Printable Size Order Rainbow Bear Cards: Big, Small, Medium

Why Teaching Size Concepts Matters in Early Learning

Understanding the difference between big, medium, and small might seem simple, but it’s actually a critical foundation for early math skills. Here’s why:

✅ Builds Visual Discrimination Skills – Recognizing size differences helps children develop the ability to observe details and make comparisons.

✅ Strengthens Vocabulary – Words like big, bigger, biggest (or small, medium, tiny) become part of their everyday language.

✅ Prepares for Measurement & Ordering – Later math skills like measurement, sequencing, and number comparisons build on these early concepts.

✅ Develops Classification & Sorting Skills – Sorting by size is an introduction to patterns, grouping, and organizing information logically.

And the best part? Learning all of this through PLAY makes it effortless and fun!

Hands-On Learning with Rainbow Bears

If you’ve been in the preschool world for more than five minutes, you probably know about rainbow bear counters. These adorable little bears come in different colors and sizes, making them the perfect hands-on tool for sorting activities!

Why Use Rainbow Bears?

🐻 They’re familiar & engaging – Kids love playing with them!
🐻 Easy to manipulate – Perfect for fine motor practice.
🐻 Versatile for many math concepts – Sorting, patterning, counting, and more!
🐻 Multi-sensory learning – Preschoolers learn best when they can touch and move objects.

With the free printable rainbow bear cards, kids can match and sort the bears by size order—an easy and effective way to reinforce size concepts.

Step 3: Let the Sorting Begin!

• Encourage your child or students to match each bear to its correct size on the printable rainbow bear cards.
• Use verbal prompts like:
  • Can you find a BIG bear?
  • Where does the small bear go?
  • Let’s put the bears in order from smallest to biggest!

We started by doing an example row. I showed Shiloh how to put the rainbow bear cards in order with large, medium and small. Then she tried it independently.

She is really great at self-correction when it comes to colors, so even though she tried putting the wrong color in her row, she quickly realized that it was wrong and placed it in another row.

Then we worked on matching the size order rainbow bear cards with the rainbow bear manipulatives.

We tried them horizontally. Then vertically.

1. Basic Size Sorting with Rainbow Bears 🐻

How to Play:

1. Place all the rainbow bear counters in a pile on a table or floor.
2. Introduce the three size categories: big, medium, and small (using the words multiple times to reinforce language).
3. Encourage children to pick up a bear, compare it to the others, and decide which group it belongs to.
4. Once all the bears are sorted, review by pointing to each group and having the child name the sizes again.

Ways to Extend Learning:

Use a Sorting Tray or Bowls – Label three bowls or sections on a tray with “Big,” “Medium,” and “Small” to add a visual cue.
Add a Story Component – Pretend the bears are a family and need to find their “matching-sized friends” to go on an adventure!

👉 Challenge: After sorting, mix up the bears and set a timer to see how quickly they can re-sort them correctly!

2. Rainbow Bear Size Order Challenge 📏

How to Play:

1. Start with one rainbow bear of each size or the rainbow bear cards and model how to order them from smallest to biggest.
2. Let children arrange their own bears in order, reinforcing vocabulary like smallest, bigger, biggest.
3. Once they master ordering three sizes, challenge them to create a full lineup with multiple bears of each size.

Ways to Extend Learning:

Introduce Real-World Comparisons – Line up different-sized objects alongside the bears (e.g., stacking cups, toy blocks, books).
Mix Up the Order – Lay out the rainbow bears in random order and ask kids to “fix” the sequence.

👉 Challenge: Have children close their eyes while you remove a bear. Can they figure out which size is missing?

3. Rainbow Bear “I Spy” Size Hunt 👀

How to Play:

1. Hide big, medium, and small rainbow bears or the rainbow bear cards around the room.
2. Call out a size (e.g., Find a small red bear!), and let children search for the correct size.
3. Once they find a bear, they must describe its size before placing it in the correct group.
4. Continue until all bears have been found and sorted.

Ways to Extend Learning:

Use Size Clues – Instead of naming the size, give clues like Find a bear that is NOT the biggest!
Add Movement – Have children hop like a bunny or crawl like a bear while searching for the rainbow bear!

👉 Challenge: Use a timer and see how quickly they can find all three sizes!

4. Sensory Bin Sorting 🏖️

How to Play:

1. Fill a bin with a sensory material like rice, sand, shredded paper, water beads, or dry beans.
2. Hide big, medium, and small bears inside.
3. Give children small scoops, tongs, or just their hands to dig through and find the bears.
4. Once they pull out a bear, they must name its size and place it on the matching size rainbow bear card.

Ways to Extend Learning:

Add a Water Twist – Use a water table with floating and sinking bears for extra sensory fun!
Fine Motor Skill Boost – Have children pick up bears with tweezers or clothespins instead of fingers.

👉 Challenge: Give them a mystery grab (let them pull out one bear at a time) and sort as they go!

5. Real-World Comparisons 🌎

How to Play:

1. Walk around the classroom, house, or outdoor space and look for objects in three different sizes (e.g., books, chairs, balls).
2. Have children hold up their rainbow bears and find an object that matches each size.
3. Encourage conversation: Which object is the biggest? Do we have something smaller than this?
4. Place objects in size order to reinforce sequencing.

Ways to Extend Learning:

Make a Size Sorting Tray – Gather everyday objects (spoons, socks, blocks) and let kids categorize them into big, medium, and small groups.
Turn it into a Matching Game – Hold up a bear and say, Find something as big as this bear!

👉 Challenge: Take a photo scavenger hunt where kids snap pictures of big, medium, and small objects on a tablet or phone!

📖 Books to Read:

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears (perfect for size comparisons!)
• Big, Bigger, Biggest by Nancy Coffelt
• The Crayola Comparing Sizes Book by Jodie Shepard

🎵 Songs to Sing:

“This is Big, Big, Big”