This activity can apply to many levels of learning. 3-4 year olds could verbalize their responses or they could match attributes that are alike.
In this exercise, you will set up the activity using glow sticks as a venn diagram. What is a venn diagram?
A venn diagram is a charting method that allows the user to categorize items. For instance, if the blue circle represented trees and the yellow represented flowers, then the user would place items in each category. A redwood would belong in the blue circle. A rose would belong in the yellow circle. Some items would be included in both circles and would belong in the green section. A dogwood would belong in the green area because it is a tree that produces flowers in the spring. You can adjust this activity to your child's abilities. A sample page is included.
In this printable, I have included happy faces. Some of these faces are also animals or plants. You could make a venn with the categories "happy" and "animals" for instance.
Materials: attribute cards (pictures of happy, animals, plants etc.) Labels for each category Container for cards Two glow sticks formed into circles
Presentation: Invite the child to play a game. Show them the cards and ask what they see. Discuss the different attributes- size, color, diameter, mood. Lay out a circle with a label inside and ask the child to put all the cards that fit the description inside. When the child finishes with that part, lay out another circle to intersect the first (see venn above you want the circles to overlap with a section in the middle), and add a label to this circle. Ask the child to put cards with that attribute inside that circle. Point out that a card could fit into more than one circle sometimes. Continue until all labels are used.
Goals: Awareness of similarities and differences, development of visual perception, preparation for vocabulary development and for exercises of classification, and recognition of words.