Problem-solving
Toddlers make groups of the same type of shape cutout and then create a collage with the shape cutouts.
Be Prepared: Cut approximately eight circles and an equal number of squares from paper. A template is provided. Use contrasting colors of paper, such as yellow for circles and blue for squares.
The activity has two segments. In the first segment, the shapes are placed randomly on a table and 2–3 toddlers are encouraged to sort the shapes into a group of circles and a group of squares. In the second segment, the toddlers are invited to make a collage by placing the circles and squares where they wish on contact paper.
If two adjacent tables are available, use one table for the sorting task and the other table for making the collage. In advance of the activity, place the clear contact paper on a low table with the sticky side up. Fasten the corners with tape to prevent it from slipping. If one table only is available for the activity, encourage toddlers to hold the two groups of shapes they sorted while you affix the contact paper for their collage work.
To begin the activity, invite 1–2 toddlers to help you place the shapes in random fashion on a table and also put on the table two shallow dishes that toddlers can use for keeping the same type of shape together.
Sit or kneel next to 2–3 toddlers you have invited to join you for a fun activity at the table. Hold up two circles and ask whether the two shapes are the same or different. Emphasize the words same and different. After pausing for toddlers to respond, explain how the two shapes are the same: they are the same color, and they are the same shape. Hold one circle on top of the shape to demonstrate how they are the same shape.
Next, hold up one circle and one square, and ask whether the two shapes are the same or different. After pausing for toddlers to respond, explain how the two shapes are different: they are different colors, and they are different shapes. Hold the circle over the square to demonstrate how they are different.
Point to the shapes randomly placed on the table and to the two dishes. Invite the toddlers to put the same type of shape in one of the two dishes. Circles go in one dish, squares go in the other dish. Emphasize that all toddlers at the table should have a chance to help put the shapes in a dish. After the shapes have been sorted, hold up shapes in each dish, one group at a time, and remind toddlers all of the shapes in each dish are the same.
Invite toddlers who participated in the sorting task to join you at the table with the contact paper (or affix the contact paper to the table used for sorting). Explain that now we can make a collage with our shapes. A collage is a piece of art made with different kinds of things.
We have two different kinds of shapes to use for our collage. Our shapes will stick to the paper that is on the table. We can put our shapes anywhere we want on the paper. We can put together the same type of shapes, or we can put together different types of shapes.
Put the dishes of shapes in locations that are accessible to all toddlers who participate. Encourage toddlers to take one shape at a time and to give everyone a turn at putting a shape on our collage.
After the collage is done, talk with toddlers about whether same or different shapes are near one another. You also might invite toddlers to point to all circles or to all squares.
You may wish to place the completed collage in a window or on a wall for display.
The activity is designed to help toddlers pay attention to object characteristics that are the same or different. It is useful for toddlers to know the word “shapes,” but the activity is not intended to teach about shapes, including circles and squares. It is fine to use the words “circle” and “square” during the activity, but explicitly teaching about a circle or square is not necessary or appropriate. Look for opportunities to help toddlers discriminate between two different types of shapes and to become familiar with the concepts of same and different.
Extra support
Enrichment
Problem-solving
Toddlers identify picture cards that are the same.
Seek-a-Boo!™ Memory Game
Be Prepared: This activity uses materials from the Seek-a-Boo™ Memory Game, which includes six categories of picture cards. One large circle card and one small square card show the same item. Select a category that would be of interest to toddlers in your room. For this age, appropriate categories include toys (green cards), food (blue cards), animals (red cards), and clothes (orange cards). The shape category (yellow cards) and random set of items shown in purple are not recommended for the activity described below.
Identify three items in your chosen category. Examples from toys category: beach ball, teddy bear, blocks. Secure both large (circle) and small (square) pictures of the same three items (total of six cards: three large and three small).
Put the three large (circle) cards on a table, set apart so each card can be clearly identified. Give each of 2–3 children one of the small (square) cards that shows an item also shown in a large picture card you have placed on the table.
Invite toddlers to look closely at the cards on the table. Name (or invite toddlers to name) the item shown on each of the cards. Then invite toddlers to look closely at the card in their hand. Next, invite each toddler (one at a time) to put his/her card next to or on top of the picture of the same item on the table. Explain (or remind toddlers) that things match when they are the same.
Ask the toddlers if they would like to put the little picture card next to or on top of the matching big card. Describe each child’s card placement. Example: “Chloe put a little beach ball card next to the big beach ball card. Rikki put the little teddy bear card on top of the big teddy bear.”
After each toddler has placed his/her card on the table, review each of the three collections of cards (the large card, the small card) on the table and encourage toddlers to describe what is shown in the pictures. Emphasize the pictures on the cards are the same. They match. Also explain and demonstrate that the cards are different: one card is larger than another card.
Put all cards aside and repeat the game using a different set of cards from the same or a different category if toddlers remain interested.
Pay attention to whether and how toddlers look at the cards on the table and the card in their hand. You may wish to offer a reminder to look carefully if it seems toddlers are not focusing on a picture. Also pay attention to whether a toddler may be confused by the concept of things matching. The activity emphasizes the same and different, concepts that are required for determining two or more things are a match. The categories of picture cards are organized by color, but it is not necessary to know or teach colors as part of the activity.
It does not matter whether a toddler places his/her small card on top of or next to the larger (circle) card on the table. The options of “next to” or “on top” are offered to support decision-making and helping a toddler focus on his/her actions with the card. If you anticipate this provision might add confusion, simply specify where toddlers are to place their small cards.
The activity uses a limited number of cards to ensure each child can be successful in identifying the same item in a larger card on the table. You might wish to use more cards if toddlers practice the game and become familiar with how it works.
Extra support
Point out a detail of an item shown on the large card and also on the small card. Emphasize how these details are the same. Each card shows the same thing.
Enrichment
The game may be played with more than three large (circle) cards on the table but 2–3 children holding one small card each. Some large cards will not have a small card placed on (or next to) them.
Problem-solving
A toddler independently identifies pairs of identical picture cards.
Be Prepared: This activity is designed for a toddler who has clearly demonstrated skill in matching identical items and would benefit from independently finding matching pairs of items in a set of 12 picture cards (six matches) presented at the same time. Secure two sets of the six matching cards. Shuffle the cards and place them face down in a tidy pile on a table.
Invite a toddler to work by himself/herself to find picture cards that match. Encourage the toddler to look at one card at a time and then put the card face (picture) up on the table. Suggest that the toddler put the cards in a row (from side to side) or in a line (from top to bottom), depending on his/her preference. When the toddler picks up and turns over a card from the pile, encourage him/her to also look at cards he/she has placed on the table. Does the card he/she just pulled from the pile of cards match any of the cards on the table? This approach is easier to manage than putting all 12 cards face up on the table and then finding cards that match. Invite the toddler to put matching cards on top of each other, rather than side by side, to limit the number of cards to look at on the table.
The activity is intended as an enjoyable challenge for a toddler who has previously demonstrated skill in matching identical items. Opportunities to observe this skill include activities in Block 4 (Self-Regulation) and Options 1 and 2 in the current activity plan, among others. The activity is not meant to be completed in a certain amount of time, and a toddler should be warmly acknowledged for effort if he/she does not find all matches. Avoid saying there are six matches in the collection of picture cards. The activity is not intended to teach numbers or counting.
Look carefully at the toddler’s approach to the initial set of cards. If appropriate, offer verbal guidance on the procedures suggested in the activity plan, such as looking at cards on the table each time a card from the pile is turned over. This activity is designed to promote problem-solving skills, and the first problem the toddler is to address is whether to put the cards in a row or in a line (see plan description). This is a matter of preference aimed at providing a comfortable arrangement for the toddler.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: same types of toys, such as vehicles, animal figures, people figures, and dolls; crinkled paper or sand in the sensory table; jumbo animal counters
Offer interest area activities that encourage toddlers to find the same types of toys. Place the jumbo animal counters in the sensory table with damp sand or crinkled paper. Encourage toddlers to find counters that are the same, such as two lions and two elephants. Toddlers may wish to stand the same types of animals together in the sand. Repeat this opportunity with other types of toys (see Materials Needed) that can be the same or different.
Materials Needed: matching card games, such as Go Fish
Provide cards, such as Go Fish, for preschool-age children to use for identifying cards that are the same. For a silly game, invite preschool-age and older children to sit in a circle and remove their shoes. Mix the shoes together in the center of the circle and invite children, one at a time, to look for two shoes that are the same. Line up the shoes and talk with children about how the shoes are different and the same.
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