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Playing Preschool - Unit 8: Things That Go Together

Updated: May 26, 2021

A Companion Guide to Busy Toddler's Playing Preschool Curriculum


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Learning and Fun Go Together

This unit took me back to my childhood, watching Sesame Street and they always played that game "one of these things is not like the other". It seems so obvious to us as adults but this skill requires children to be able to identify attributes and functions of objects and categorize them, and takes lots of practice. I love that Susie starts with recognizing things that are pairs or that compliment each other or that work together to a common purpose. I also enjoyed exploring the idea of friendship and that even though two people are not the same, they can help each other and enjoy what is different about the other person.


Any excuse to eat ice cream is fine with me.

Building Background Knowledge

Since the goal of this unit it to help children start to identify patterns and systems, the best way to introduce these ideas is in context of everyday life. For example, talking about things like first we eat breakfast, next we brush our teeth. The toothbrush and toothpaste work together to clean our teeth. First, we put on our socks, then we put on our shoes. What would happen if we did it in the wrong order? Or if one of the pairs was missing? This is a silly way of exploring why patterns and pairs are important. Also, when talking about magnets, introduce the idea that opposites attract (positive and negative poles, in this case) and how friendships sometimes work the same say.


Video Links


Suggested Books

*Books with an asterisk are my Top 5 Picks to Add to Your Home Library for this unit

Additional Book List

Books in bold are also suggested books in another unit.




Non-Fiction

Fiction

Additional Resources/Activities


  • Puzzles, puzzles, puzzles. What better way to illustrate how things "go together" than actually having to physically match the correct pieces. For scaffolding, use self-correcting puzzles that only have two or three pieces and lay out a few at a time so your child doesn't get overwhelmed. The Learning Journey Match It ones are our favorites: At the Ocean, Things That Go, Head to Tail

  • Memory matching games like this one with characters from Toy Story 4 or whatever your child is interested in. Also, this game was recommended: Things That Go Together!: A Fun Matching Game For 2-5 Year Olds

  • Practice matching upper and lower case letters with Fun-to-Know® Puzzles: Uppercase & Lowercase Alphabet Puzzle

  • I splurged and got the Melissa & Doug Scoop & Stack Ice Cream Cone Magnetic Pretend Play Set for the magnetic aspect as well as the ice cream connection. My toddler still loves to serve me a cone!

  • Conduct STEM experiments/activities with Learning Resources Magnet Movers

  • Explore a topic more fully by pairing fiction and non-fiction books. Read this Article from Scholastic for ideas.

  • Developing Life Skills: practice pairing foods that go well together. Ask your child to create the perfectly paired snack (i.e. cheese and crackers, apples and peanut butter). Talk about balancing sweet and salty or carbs and protein.

  • Practice Partner Yoga - Invite a friend over for a play date and use the book Yoga Friends to practice partner yoga. (From the authors: We wrote Yoga Friends to help kids share this fun and healthy exercise with friends. In partner yoga poses children naturally develop communication skills along with balance and flexibility. Both partners have to work together, and help one another, or they can’t stay in partner boat or tree. Also when doing yoga poses with someone else, even if there’s a lot of wobbling, there’s always tons of laughter! (Each pose is accessible for two children or a child and adult)

Scaffolding/Support


  • Learning uppercase and lowercase letters takes lots of practice. I found this self-correcting puzzle for my son practice matching letters. I started with the ones that are the same shape (just different sizes), then added in the ones that we've learned so far in the curriculum and it's been really helpful!


What was your favorite part of this unit? What other books did you read? What other activities did you do? Please share your photos and feedback in the Playing Preschool with Busy Toddler Curriculum Facebook Group in Photos/Albums/Year 1 Themes Things Go Together


Until next time, may your coffee be warm and your toddler be busy!

Up Next: Playing Preschool: Unit 9 - Community Helpers One of my favorites!



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