Pine Cones Invite the child to join you as you spread a mat with pine cones on your workspace. Show the child how to carry pine cones to the mat and place them in disarray on the mat. Select the tallest and the shortest pine cones and place them apart from the other cones. Point out the contrast to the child. Place the tallest pine cone to the left of the mat. Going back to the other pine cones on the mat, select the next tallest and place it by the first pine cone. Continue each time by selecting the tallest from the remaining pine cones. Place the pine cones back on the mat in disarray and ask the child to assemble them in order. Return them to the shelf, tallest first. Return the mat to the shelf. The goal of this activity is to help the child develop visual perception, discriminate between tallest and shortest, develop visual perception of tall and short, and to eventually develop knowledge of relative dimensions.