Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Inexpensive Matching Game with an old Memory game (WFMW)


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I made a simple and inexpensive matching game to use in therapy (I work very parttime as a Developmental Therapist with kids under the game of three) with the help of a piece of 12x12 cardstock (or poster board would work) and just a portion of the contents of a Memory game that my kids didn't play with anymore.

Here is what I did -- I picked out 16 cards that were common objects that I thought the kids would most recognize (sun, ball, flower, pizza, etc.) and then found all their matches. So, I ended up with 32 cards.

I then took 16 of the cards and put them on the 12x12 cardstock in a 4 by 4 pattern. Then, I had the cardstock laminated (though I suspect contact paper would also work). And, then in a separate baggie, I put the 16 other cards that matched up with the 16 that had been laminated onto the sheet.

What I ended up with was a GREAT matching game for kids who are just too young to really get how to play Memory, but who would still then get the benefit of matching pictures and also naming/recognizing objects. And, the fun thing is that you could have different games that worked on different subjects -- animals, colors, shapes, etc. -- without having to spend a fortune at the teacher supply store!

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting.......

Frances said...

Great idea - thanks for sharing!

scrapper al said...

Great idea! How young a child can play this, do you think?

Angie @ Many Little Blessings said...

Well...some kids definitely have better matching abilities at younger ages than others. But, all the kids I have played it with are under three years old. Really -- it's mostly been two year olds, but it wouldn't surprise me if some kids who were even 18 months (if they were good with matching) could do it. Even if they couldn't, it would be good to talk about the various objects pictured, etc.

scrapper al said...

Thanks Angie!