Why we do what we do

Earlier this week, we did this page. They had to circle the monkeys in each row that were exactly the same. Why? Well, because monkey and match begin with Mm - our letter of the week, and because it was fun, and because it is working on visual discrimination, an important pre-reading skill. Children need to pay attention to details. How else will they be able to tell a b from a d? This page is surprisingly challenging for most children. (And I do not read the part of the directions that say to look at the one on the left first)
If you ever wonder why we do a particular activity, please ask! I would love to share with you...even if the answer is just - "it's really fun" or "I wanted to try something new" :)