Preschool Learning: Matching Game

Play a matching game with your young friends today! Gather up a collection of items that have mates, such as shoes, socks, gloves, mittens, and so forth. You can even use articles that do not normally come in sets of two if you happen to have two of the same thing that are identical. Examples include empty product boxes, pencils, crayons, and so forth. Mix your collection together into one large pile, and let the kids match the objects that are alike. You can make the game easier by using a collection of pairs that are very different from one another, like a set of crayons, a pair of spoons, and two shoes. You can make the game more challenging by using more pairs, and by using pairs with only minor differences between them. If all of the items are gloves, for example, the players will need to focus on aspects such as size, color, and decorations to find the correct mates. Play the twins game just for fun, or use it to interest your charges in helping with such chores as sorting laundry or organizing a drawer or closet.

Understanding the concepts of same and different is an important part of academic readiness. Children must learn to notice differences to identify alphabet letters, numbers, and words. Consider the small details that differentiate a b from a p from a d, for example, or think of words like "was" and "saw." Learners also need to develop a good understanding of the concept of similarity. Scientists and educators believe that everyone learns by categorizing and classifying information in accordance with things that are already familiar.

In order to remember a new concept, people often mentally group it with other, similar ideas within their experience and note the differences between the new thing and things they have previously learned to understand. Babies do this all the time, and we can sometimes hear it in their speech as they are learning to talk. One toddler had lots of experience with large dogs in her household. On a trip to a park, she saw another four-legged animal that was about the same size. She tried her familiar word, saying "dog?" This new animal just didn't quite fit with her understanding of dogs, so she used a questioning tone. Her parents saw the problem right away; the baby had never seen a fawn before! They gave her a new word for this new creature, and the youngster filed away the new information. The new animal looked a little like a dog, but it was shaped somewhat differently and was called "fawn." New learning had taken place because the little girl noticed similarities and differences between the strange new animal and the dogs that she knew so well.

Practicing the concepts of same and different in this activity will help your children become comfortable with the ideas. They will be able to take a more active role in learning as they mature, and will be better able to put the ideas to work as they learn and grow.