Finding A Match For Victory

Children love playing games! From simple ones that require no initial set-up to those that come with directions and multiple pieces, these games all aim to keep children occupied and hopefully enhance their cognition and learning too. Games that fit young kids’ personalities and interests are always more fun to play. Kids are very much attached to their favorite objects, and as long as these objects are incorporated in playtime, kids would remain interested for a very long time.

When my daughter was three years old, she loved listening to me read books about animals. She enjoyed memorizing the names of these animals, including what they ate, where they lived, and whether they were domestic or not. Since she loved animals, I would make up games using her favorite furry friends. One of these games was “Find My Twin.” I would set up three animal figurines in front of her and arrange them in a row. I would then show her an identical animal that matches one of those in front of her. She would then have to find the match (or twin)! 

To give her more challenge, I would cover the toys with cloth and ask her to find among the covered ones the correct match for the one I was holding. The more we did this exercise, the more her confidence grew, and she would eventually find the correct match quicker than the first time!

You too can try playing Find My Twin with your kids too. You can use their favorite toys for starters, or you can improvise and use anything that comes in pairs—socks, shoes, clips, blocks. You can also print out photos from the web and cut them out. If your child gets comfortable finding the twin, you may progress to grouping three or more similar objects too!