Dominos were originally designed as an adult game with versions like Muggins, Mexican Train or Five-Up. Over the years, people have made up their own games using dominos, just like playing cards.  For generations, dominos have been a family favorite around the world.

I have written several times about dominos in the past; here, here and here. Today, I want to show you some very simple dominos designed with very young children in mind.

This set is about as simple as you can get.  The pieces are large enough for small, chubby hands, they are sturdily made, and come in a box.  There are not too many of them but enough to go around.  Each domino has two dots (pips) with one or 2 colors.  The colors are also textured to add another dimension.

One of the earliest skills sets that children are thinking about is “same and different.” While playing with them, ask the children if the pip colors are the same or different.  You can then ask if they can find the “same” domino.  Set them up so the same colors touch one another, but I wouldn’t expect toddlers to do the same.  Older infants can simply put them in the box and take them out of the box (or in the mouth or out of the mouth:).  They may even pile them up and knock them down.

Yes, dominos are for infants and toddlers too.

Now imagine the same child on the same swing and rather than getting distraught, she tells you what she wants.  She signs “faster” or she signs “slower” but either way she communicates her needs to you before frustration sets in.

Two more words that you can introduce via sign language are “same” and “different”.  Imagine all of the  scenarios where you can help describe things or situations with these two little words.  For example, toddler wants to play with a small truck that another child already has in his possession.  You walk over to the child with another truck and tell him it is the “same” because it is like the other truck.  The child looks at you and points out that he thinks it is “different” by signing the word for “different.” He notices that the color is different, or the wheels, or the size.  You support him by giving language to his signs.  “You see that the trucks are different. They are not exactly the same.  But they are both trucks.”

Now you can explain to the child that he can have the truck “later”

and he responds with, “sooner.”

The conversation begins.

Even very young children will recognize that there are 3 animals in each story – same. They will also notice that both tales have a wolf – same.   From there, the similarities get murkier while the differences become more obvious.  The 3 Pigs are brothers but the 3 Bears are a Mommy, Daddy, and Child bear – different.  There is a little girl in the bear story named Goldilocks but there are no people in the pig story – different. The Wolf is a bad guy in both stories – same, but he experiences very different fates (depending on the version you are telling!)

Even within each of these stories there are opportunities to compare and contrast.  As Goldilocks encounters different areas of the Bear’s house she notices that all of the items are the same (beds, chairs, porridge) but they are also different (firmness, size, temperature).  The Pigs all build houses but the houses are very different.

All of these similarities and differences can be described with and by the children especially if you have visual representations of the characters.  A felt board with all of the characters would work great.  Create a line down the middle of the board so the children can manipulate the characters depending on the questions you are asking.  Once you have explored both stories with the children, leave the felt board and associated pieces out for the children to explore on their own.  It is through access to the materials that they can practice telling and retelling the stories to their hearts’ content.

One of my favorite ways to use children’s books as a vehicle for curriculum development is by examining versions of the same story.  One that jumps to mind is the story of The Gingerbread Boy.  There are so many good versions of this tale; The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Girl, The Gingerbread Friends and the not-so-famous Gingerbread Pirates.

Reading the classic version acquaints the children with the characters and the story line, so they become familiar with the traditional version.  After reading it a few times; enough that they know the characters, and can predict what will happen, you can then introduce a new version.  Tell the children how the story is the same in some ways and different in others.  Ask them to think about what is the same and what is different so they can compare the stories.

There are all sorts of ways to support the children as they make comparisons.  Be sure to use visual representations to organize the children’s ideas.  Using a scanner to make copies of the main characters of each book so the children can see which ones are the same and which ones are different.  You know I like graphic organizers like Venn diagrams or Attribute Maps, so use those to help support the children’s ideas.  Many of the stories have some of the same characters and some different characters.  These distinctions are easily observed by children but some of the nuanced differences may be harder to recognize.  Help the children find them.

This website has more great ideas to explore Gingerbread Man versions.