Tag: Matching Game

Outer Space Matching Game

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Need a rainy day activity or a quiet activity to help pass that scary antic-packed hour as you make dinner? Outer Space Matching Game to the rescue!!

Matching games can help little ones with visual recognition, train their visual memory, improve concentration and attention to detail, and increase short term memory. Memory games can also be used to increase classification and grouping skills!

You can grab the FREE printable HERE and then start playing! I chose to laminate my sheets before cutting to make them more durable, but that step is totally optional!

I love all the vocabulary you can learn from this Outer Space Matching Game, too! It can be the jumping off point for so much space-themed conversation! Or, better yet, use this to reinforce concepts that you have already read about!

If you have a younger child you can start introducing matching games by using fewer cards and keeping them face up. As they get quicker at these 6 pairs, then you can rotate in new matches. Or try turning these familiar cards face down to see how they do!

Did you miss the FREE printable with the matching game cards? You can grab it HERE now!

Once unexpected perk of playing this matching game in our house is that our little lady is learning what “taking turns” actually means. She thought she could keep turning over cards until she found her match, but big brother had a very different opinion about that! It led to great conversation about what our house rules would be.

Want to check out another fun themed matching game? Find my Under the Sea Matching Game HERE!

Happy Gaming!

Dinosaur Number Matching

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Our little lady is fascinated with numbers and has been “counting” everything. She can count well, but she isn’t super careful about assigning only one number to each item. I wanted to integrate what she is learning into our fun #DinosaurWeek theme.

I made this cute dinosaur number matching game for you and made it extra simple with a FREE printable! Print out the page, laminate if you choose to, then cut and enjoy!

Super simple and easy!

This is the perfect activity for a rainy day when you are stuck inside. Minimal prep and fun dinosaurs – what could be better?

Cut out all the cards around the thick black lines and then cut down the dotted line to make the pair of pieces for matching.

There are several ways to set up this game. You can line the dots up in one column and the numbers in another so your kiddo can pick out the matches.

Or you can set it up in a more traditional matching game style. To up the difficultly even farther…. turn the images face down!

Then your kiddo can make matches. I had our kiddo count the dots and then find the number match piece.

She was SUPER focused!

You can even take it a step farther and have your kiddo count out toy dinosaurs to match the number on the cards! We are totally adding this step in the next time we pull out these cards!

Don’t forget to grab your FREE Printable HERE

Happy Counting!

Under the Sea Matching Game

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FREE Printable

Matching games are wonderful for kiddos. They help pass the time when summer boredom sets in AND there are so many developmental benefits to these simple games.

Matching and Memory Games:

  • Train visual memory
  • Improve concentration
  • Increase a child’s attention to detail
  • Exercise and increase short term memory
  • Improve a child’s ability to find similarities and differences between objects
  • Help little ones classify objects and group by similar traits
  • Improve vocabulary

Since it is Under the Sea Week here at our house, I created this fun themed matching game. We are getting to talk about all the creatures we have been learning about throughout the week while we play. It is fascinating to hear how much these kiddos have retained from the books we have been reading!

BONUS – my kids thought it was so fun that I am including a FREE printable in this post so you can have fun with it at your home too! You can download it HERE!

I recommend printing these cards on heavy card stock or other thick paper so no cheater can peak through the paper to see what is on the other side! Not that that has ever happened in our house… ðŸĪŠ Did I mention that this is the second set of cards I printed out? ðŸĪĢ

After you print the sheets, I recommend laminating and then cutting out the cards. Yes, I know there is a great debate about laminate first and then cut OR cut first and the laminate… It is totally up to you! For the sake of time, we laminated first and then cut for this game. 😁

Obviously, laminating is optional, but it will help the cards hold up to repeated use.

With small kiddos you can have them match with all the cards face up. Then, as they become more confident, try turning just half of the sets face down for them to practice matching. With older kiddos, use all the cards face down from the start. There are endless ways to play – and learn – through this matching game!

Ready to play? Download your FREE Printable, HERE! I cannot wait to hear what memories you made while playing!

Happy Gaming!