Matching is a great activity for young children. Introduce matching starting with object to object-making sure they are the exact same objects. Once the child can match object to object, introduce object to picture, and lastly picture to picture. Introducing matching this way allows the child to begin with the concrete and gradually work towards the abstract.
I have seen great matching sets available, but I made this one easily with my printer. I gathered some of our animals from around the house and found the pictures on-line from retailers advertising. I then laminated it.
I tried to make the photos as close to the size of the actual animal figure as possible. I opted for four pictures on a paper to make it a little more manageable for my daughter, but individual cards would also work as a floor activity. To introduce the activity, I put out only one set. I chose an animal and said "Where is the dog?" (knowing my daughter would know this animal). She touched the picture and I set the figure on the picture.
I have seen great matching sets available, but I made this one easily with my printer. I gathered some of our animals from around the house and found the pictures on-line from retailers advertising. I then laminated it.
I tried to make the photos as close to the size of the actual animal figure as possible. I opted for four pictures on a paper to make it a little more manageable for my daughter, but individual cards would also work as a floor activity. To introduce the activity, I put out only one set. I chose an animal and said "Where is the dog?" (knowing my daughter would know this animal). She touched the picture and I set the figure on the picture.
5 comments:
That is a very cool activity. I love anything you can make yourself. I was wondering if your daughter found it challenging or easy? I have a daughter around the same age and am not sure if it would be worth all of my effort if she didn't find it challenging after the first time.
I wasn't sure what type of challenge it would be for my daughter- 22 months now- but after I showed her one match she matched the rest easily. I thought it would be more of a challenge actually. She does continue to use it at least once a day, even though she has mastered it.
I really like this activity, I am a contributing artist for a blog http://www.kiddingabout.com, writing a lot lately about toddler art so interested in all the good stuff out there!
Lisa
HI this is really good thank you. But can you tell me why you would do this. Is there a reason for doing this with children, for example do they need to have poor vocabulary? Sorry, just wondering why. Thanks
In a Montessori classroom this activity falls under the Language area. It is used for pre-reading readiness. All children would benefit from the activity, so it is introduced to everyone. The purpose of the activity is to develop visual discrimination, familiarity with one dimensional print, and it also encourages the important one-to-one correspondence (used in math). Mostly, it is important for the child to make a connection between real objects and objects in print. Thanks for your comment!
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