matching objects to pictures

One of the principles of Montessori education is to move from concrete to abstract.  First, Elise matched objects to objects, now she's matching objects to pictures, and soon she'll be matching pictures to pictures...

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Why matching?

Matching supports the development of visual discrimination, 

which is an important reading skill.

Matching can also enrich vocabulary,

especially if the items being matched are related.

Matching provides experience in 1-1 correspondence,

which is a critical math skill.

Matching also requires problem solving;

the visual disharmony of mismatched items provides a control of error.

Oh, and there's just something so interesting 

about seeing two items that are exactly the same, right?

Whew!  Ready to match objects to pictures?

Here we go!

^^ "Hey!  I have that!" - matching familiar items to catalog photos ^^

^^ matching Rosie to photos of Australian Cattle Dogs in The Ultimate Dog Book 

- Elise finds this mach a lot! ^^

^^ real-life matching - We bring field guides on all our walks. ^^

^^ matching vintage fake fruit to fruit cards from Montessori Print Shop

 - The fruit was leftover from a Carmen Miranda costume, but real fruit would work, too! ^^

^^ matching familiar items to laminated photos ^^

^^ matching farm animal figurines to Moo ^^

^^ matching North American mammal figurines to postcards ^^

^^ story props - matching percussion instruments to My Family Plays Music ^^

^^ matching rings to their color-coordinated silhouettes 

- I made the cards by tracing each ring on paper and filling in the outlines with colored pencil ^^

^^matching dishes and utensils to a Montessori-inspired placemat

- I made the placemat by tracing Elise's dishes and utensils on construction paper and aluminum foil.  After cutting them out, I glued them to poster board and attached contact paper. ^^

^^ matching miscellaneous items to the silhouettes in Black & White ^^

 ^^ Black & White is an accordion-style book, so after matching the first side, Elise flipped it over and scavenged around the house for items to match the other side! ^^

^^ matching the pieces of a shape puzzle to their color-coordinated outlines ^^

^^ matching cooking utensils to their outlines ^^

^^ Elise found this matching activity on her Language shelf before I had the chance to present it to her, 

but she knew exactly what to do!  :) ^^

Still looking for more matching objects to pictures inspiration???  

• This was one of my favorite diy materials from my teaching days: a matching objects to pictures collage!
• I think this matching objects to pictures idea from Chasing Cheerios is really clever:  Black Bean Bowl of "B" Objects.
• If you are handy with a camera and printer, How we Montessori has a great tutorial for making your own cards:  Matching with more and DIY cards.

a montessori-inspired placemat

A place for my plate

my napkin,

my glass,

and my fork, knife and spoon?!

Brilliant!

Yes, Elise, my little love, I think so, too...

Not only does this placemat appeal to your sense of order,

it reinforces your vocabulary as you name each item,

it provides a control of error as you set your place at the table,

and it offers you an opportunity to match objects to pictures -

which is helping you to develop visual discrimination.

Wow.  :)

For more matching objects to pictures,

come back on Tuesday!

We're matching the whole dang house!!!!

(Well, not really, but almost.)

sssssssssssssssssssss........

For a little Friday afternoon fun, I thought I'd share a few photos of our diy Halloween decor this year - giant snakes!!!  I know, I know!  Halloween was a week ago, but - gah!  I can't get enough of these two slithery fellows...

I made them from flat, twin-sized sheets I found at the thrift store.  Elise and I stuffed them with leaves, and the rest is history!  Well, it was actually a lot more work than that, but they did come together in the end - and they were a huge hit with all our trick-or-treaters!  ;)

Happy weekend, friends!

busy hands - toddler edition

A quick glimpse at all the fun things Elise has been up to the past couple months...

posting coins

building bears

 investigating a bear trunk

stacking blocks

 reading with G-Bob

 crafting with friends

spraying rocks

swinging on the big swings

pasting pictures

 experimenting with cornstarch and water

 slicing cheese with a knife

dreaming about winter

happy halloween!

Happy Halloween!!!

We've already been cruising around the neighborhood, 

checking out decorations - in full-costume, of course.  

I don't know who's more excited for trick-or-treating tonight... 

me or Elise!  Ha! 

If you celebrate Halloween, I hope your day is "bear-y" sweet and spooky!  ;)