My neighbor just shared a story with me about her 18 month old granddaughter. Her granddaughter loves to be sung to and has asked for songs since she could say the word song. Her parents would sing Itsy Bitsy Spider or Wheels on the Bus or whatever they could think of every time she asked for a “song!” She recently learned the word and concept of “different”. And now, no matter what her parents start singing, she will say “different song!”
We laughed about how it is now impossible to make her happy since she learned that one word but it is actually an exciting developmental milestone on her path to being a reader. Helping little ones learn the concept of same and different is an important step for them to recognize the difference between letters. If little ones have lots of practice noticing how things are the same and how they are different, telling the difference between a b and a d will be much easier.
Here is a fun rhyme you can say with your little one to practice the concept of same and different.
Open, Shut Them
Open, shut them, (open hands, then close them)
Open, shut them,
Give a little clap, clap, clap. (clap hands three times)
Open, shut them,
Open, shut them,
Put them in your lap, lap, lap. (pat lap three times)
Creep them, creep them, (creep fingers up body to chin)
Creep them, creep them,
Right up to your chin, chin, chin. (tap chin with forefinger three times)
Open wide your little mouth (open mouth)
But do not put them in! (take finger quickly away from mouth)
