One thing I’ve been trying my best to do since Sam’s come home is making a little time each day for Grae and I to do something fun together. Just the two of us, with her having my full attention. It’s not always easy as baby brother tends to be the type of baby who doesn’t love being put down, but so far we’ve been making it work. By request of Miss G, we’ve done mini manicures, we’ve cooked up some yummy treats, we’ve taken our babies for a walk outside {okay, so that one involved Mr. Sam, but by her choice}, and we’ve done some art.
Tag Archives: matching games
LEGO Play Dough Imprint Matching Game
LEGO. Miss G’s been into it in a big way for sometime now, so when some blogging friends made mention of an entire week dedicated to LEGO-inspired fun, I jumped aboard as quickly as I could.
Simple {balloon-shaped} Homemade Matching Games
I’m absolutely thrilled to be sharing one of Miss G’s all-time favourite games over at I Can Teach My Child today {one of the very first blogs I ever followed!} We’ve made and played these super simple homemade matching games since Gracen was around 2, and they never get old. Over time, we’ve varied them according to the season and Gracen’s interests and abilities, which makes them perfect for all kinds of munchkins. Pop on over and see the full post here. ☺
Sticker Matching Game
This morning I woke up to this post from Kiwi Crate in my inbox, which turned out to be a perfect afternoon activity for Miss G. The moment I nonchalantly mentioned a ‘sticker matching game’, she was ready to go.
Luckily, this little activity takes very little prep work. Miss G helped me gather some paper, some dot stickers, a Sharpie, and some scissors.
To get started, I folded a green sheet of construction paper in half, and cut out a tree shape freehand.
Next, I used the Sharpie to draw 15 unique shapes onto the dot stickers (the original post uses letters instead of shapes, but I thought this would be a better starting point for Miss G).
Next, I drew matching shapes on the tree. And that was it. The game was ready.
Then I let Miss G go. All I said was “Do you want to try this sticker matching game?” and she started peeling stickers off of the backing. I wasn’t sure what she’d do, but she automatically placed the polka dotted circle sticker on top of the polka dotted circle drawn on the paper. Smart little cookie! ☺
And from there, she powered through the rest of the stickers.
Let me tell you, Miss G adores matching games. Mix in stickers, which she also adores, and this game couldn’t be more perfect for her.
Done!
Of course, the second she finished her tree she tilted her head to the side and said, “Grae Grae does anover sticker matching game, Mama?” And really, how can you say no to that? This time, we went with something a little different… I cut out a quick gingerbread person and used the stickers as body parts and decorations.
She loved this one too and pleaded for another.
This time I decided to try the letter idea.
I wasn’t sure if it would be too much for her, but off she went and carefully started making matches.
It definitely took her a little more time, but she happily worked on it on her own as I tidied the house.
“Mama, Mama! All done!!!”
This was such a fun and simple activity that we’ll definitely be doing it again soon (VERY soon – as in tomorrow – if it’s up to Miss G).
♥
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Cupcake Colour Matching Felt Board Game
After seeing how Lindsay from The Little Red Horse turned my felt board DIY into an awesome birthday gift (check it out here), I decided to *borrow* her idea and whip up something similar for one of Grae’s little friends whose party we attended this weekend. (Thank you, Lindsay!)
I liked the idea of a creating a colour matching game, but wanted to try something different than ice cream cones this time around… Something a little more October birthday-ish, so cupcakes it was!
All I did was cut out cupcake tops (with a candle attached for gluing purposes), cupcake liners and candles in coordinating colours, and little yellow flames.
Then, using Aleene’s OK To Wash-It glue, I attached the coloured candles and flames to the cupcake tops.
Voila! An easy little felt board game that allows munchkins to practice colour matching by pairing up the tops and bottoms of the cupcakes.
Sadly, I didn’t take a photo of the finished product, but the felt board looked exactly like Gracen’s, said “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” across the top, had two of the felt cupcakes in the middle (because the little boy was turning two) and said “JACKSON” (the little boy’s name) across the bottom. We also included the rest of the alphabet, the other cupcakes, and a jack-o-lantern face designing game each in a little bag separately.
Gracen loves her felt board, so she was very proud to give one to her little friend come party time. ☺
♥
Homemade Household Objects Puzzle
After nap time today, Grae actually came up to me and said, “Do fun ac-ti-vi-tee?” Funny little duck. Yes, baby girl, we can always do a fun ac-ti-vi-tee. In fact, that’s why I’m constantly adding to my Toddler Activities Pinterest board. For moments just like these.
I love the idea behind this simple sun bleached puzzle, but because the sun wasn’t shining all that much in our neck of the woods today (and because it takes a couple days time to create), we decided to make our own ready-in-an-instant version, sans the sun. ☺
First up, Gracen helped me collect our materials… A piece of large black card stock, a silver sharpie (a white/yellow/silver/gold crayon or pencil crayon would work too), and an assortment of flatish objects from around the house.
Next, we traced the objects onto the card stock. Grae helped with tracing a couple of the objects, but for the most part, she was very content with watching me trace and announcing the names of the objects and the shapes they left on the paper.
Here’s what our household objects puzzle looked like when we’d traced all of the objects.
Miss G got busy matching right away. I swear she lives for stuff like this. In between shape and object names, she kept repeating “Fun game. Mama (and) Grae Grae make FUN game”.
Finished! (I spy toes.)
Celebration dance in order.
Here’s a little video of her being silly on her second time through…
♥
DIY Felt Board {and an Ice Cream Colour Matching Game}
When we were on vacation, all of the old-school toys Grandma Charlotte has saved from her boys’ childhood got me thinking about favourites from my own childhood. While it’s not really a toy, one thing I LOVED growing up was the felt boards teachers would use during carpet times in elementary school. You just knew that if you sat down to listen to a story and the teacher reached for her felt board and a bag of felt pieces, it was going to be a good one.
This then got me thinking about all of the cool things Miss G and I could do with a felt board of our own. From matching games, to sorting activities, to building funny faces, and learning about shapes and colours… The options are endless really.
Now, we probably could have bought a pre-made felt board and coordinating pieces, but what fun is that?! Especially when making one of your own is so easy. The best part is that this entire project can be done over the course of a nap time if your little one sleeps for at least an hour.
We picked up this square poster frame from IKEA, grabbed a package of felt from the craft store (you can also buy it on a roll from fabric stores), and gathered up a glue gun (I later changed my mind and used Tacky Glue but I think either would work), a pencil, and some scissors.
To get started, I took the cardboard backing out of the picture frame, lined it up with the corner edges of the felt piece, and traced the other two sides onto the felt in pencil.
Next, I cut the felt square out. (Make sure you’re using really sharp scissors here. Your sanity and straight line with thank you.)
Next, because I chose to use white felt, I took the paper insert that came inside the frame, flipped it over, and glued it onto the cardboard insert to create a white backing for my felt. (You can use your glue gun or Tacky Glue here, but you could just as easily use white glue or a glue stick too.) See the difference? Much better with a little help from the insert.
Next up, I carefully gave my felt piece a quick iron. You don’t have to do this, but I found it made it much easier to mount the felt onto the cardboard when the large creases had been removed. Just be sure to use a low heat and keep your iron moving if you do this step. Then, mount your felt onto the cardboard using thin glue strips in order to avoid ripples and bumps in the felt. Also because felt does have some give and can stretch over time, it’s a good idea to glue the middle as well as the edges (I did the edges and a giant ‘x’ across the centre). Once you’ve got your felt piece placed on the glue, smooth it down from the centre outwards to ensure a good stick.
When your glue has had a chance to dry, place your cardboard backing into the frame and secure it.
Voila! Felt board complete.
With Miss G still sleeping and a little time still on my hands, I decided it would be really fun to have a game of some sort ready to go for when she woke up. I had no idea what I would make, but it needed to be something quick and easy. Thank goodness for Pinterest! I searched “felt board ideas” and got all of these great results. Scrolling through, I was immediately drawn to an ice cream cone colour matching game that I knew would be quick to cut out and super engaging for my little lady who loves matching games and announcing the colours she sees around her.
I just cut out my first cone and ice cream scoop freehand and then used the pieces as a guide for my others, but upon visiting childcareland.com later, I saw that she has a printable template available also.
I cut my circles out using a coin as a guide and glued them onto the cones using a little dot of Tacky Glue. And that was it. After a few minutes drying time, the pieces were ready to be put to use.
I love this felt board set because it can be used when talking about colours, it can be used as a matching game, it can used to learn about rainbow order, and it can be used just for fun (think 8 scoop ice cream cones!)
Here’s the finished product.
Miss G was thrilled to wake up to this little surprise and matched the scoops to the cones again and again, naming the colours as she went along.
Can’t wait to make some other pieces for her soon.
UPDATE: Check out our new and improved DIY felt board tutorial!
♥
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