Things That Go Together, by ColoRide, is a hands-on interactive activity geared toward 3 to 5-year-olds. The concept of matching objects together is not new; however, the method used to complete it is. Four colored plastic clips are used for the matching activity. Six are included with the activity because the colors vary for the different cards. There are 10 cards, each with four pictures on the bottom of the card that need to be matched with four corresponding pictures on the top. The cards are laminated, and they have colored bumps at the bottom beneath the pictures. Place the colored clips on top of the colored bumps to begin the activity. There are grey bumps above the pictures at the top. As the child finds a matching object, he removes the colored clip and places it over the corresponding grey bump at the top of the card. When all matches are made, the child turns the card over to see if the colored smiley faces on the back match the color of the clips over top.

This is a great activity that teaches not only one-to-one correspondence skills but independence as well because it is self-correcting. The child can complete the activity by himself. The clips and cards are colorful, immediately inviting a preschooler to learn. My daughter was all over this activity from the moment I got it out of the package. She really enjoys working with the cards and manipulating the clips around. Despite the fact that we have had this product for a while, as I brought it out to write this review, she grabbed it again and wanted to do it. She will usually work a few cards and then save the others for another time. Even though she has done the cards several times now, because there are 10 of them, she still has to think about which ones match together. I don't know if she will eventually end up memorizing where they go; however, the color of the clips varies on the different cards, which may keep that from happening.

We have certainly enjoyed this product in our home. I can see my daughter's self-confidence building each time she turns a card over and sees that she's gotten the answers correct. There are a few suggestions I would like to make that could make this product even better. The cardstock could be a little sturdier. I'm not sure how long the product will last with a preschooler handling it. The cover that holds the cards is even thinner. Also, a pocket inside the cover would be a great way to keep the cards in place when storing or carrying them. Because they are laminated, the cards are slippery when a small child tries to pick up the whole set, and sometimes the cards slide and go everywhere. Despite these few issues, I think it's a great product, and I am probably going to be purchasing some of the other activity cards in this line as well.

Product review by Heidi Miller-Ford, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, June 2011