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Free Printable Garden Matching Game for Toddlers & Preschoolers

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This free printable garden matching game is a fun complement to your homeschool preschool garden theme. Toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners can all enjoy these free printable matching cards when you modify play to differentiate instruction. Both classic matching cards and garden shadow matching cards are included.

Use the garden theme matching cards as a classic face up matching game or provide greater challenge by using the cards for a face down memory game.

This set includes a page of classic matching cards with pairs of exact duplicate images. The second page has shadow matching cards where one image is “normal” and the other is completely blacked out. These cards are the “next level” for children who’ve mastered the basic matching game.

A preview of two free printable garden matching game pages. Each page has pairs of 10 garden related images inside dotted squares to cut out and use as a matching card game. The page in back has half of the images in color and the other half "blacked out" for a shadow matching game. The two printables are on a blue background with a white trowel and a white daisy flower.

Table of Contents

  • Are matching cards educational?
  • How to print and use matching cards
  • Free printable Garden matching game download

Are matching cards educational?

Matching games can benefit young children, even if they can’t play a face down memory game yet. 

The US Department of Education recommends playing memory games and counting puzzle and game pieces with young children. Preschoolers and toddlers can work on finding the matching card and counting to two. If your children are like mine, they’ll be so excited to match cards and show off their counting to two abilities!

Playing with physical game pieces, like these garden theme matching game printables, is more beneficial than playing an electronic matching game. Picking up the cards requires manual dexterity and placing them back in the grid, if you’re playing memory, also requires coordination and dexterity.

Manual dexterity and fine motor skills are important, and neglected too frequently in an age of electronics. Children are increasingly starting school with poor fine motor skills because of using so many screens instead of physical toys.

The shadow matching cards provide additional challenges and benefits. Shadow matching activities can help your child improve their visual discrimination skills and attention to detail. These skills translate to an improved ability to differentiate between letters and numbers. Yes – playing a simple game like this one can improve your child’s literacy and math skills!

These garden themed matching cards can be used in garden, healthy eating, recycling, and Earth Day themes. If you’re teaching ecology, recycling, or an Earth Day theme, make sure to grab these free printable Earth Day coloring pages, too. This free printable vegetable bingo can help with your healthy eating or nutrition theme.

If you enjoy gardening, download a free printable garden planner and free printable gardening planner stickers while you’re here. You deserve something nice and new, too!

A preview of two free printable garden matching game pages. Each page has pairs of 10 garden related images inside dotted squares to cut out and use as a matching card game. The page in back has half of the images in color and the other half "blacked out" for a shadow matching game. The two printables are on a wood surface.

How to print and use matching cards

This post includes affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission on purchases made through links at no additional cost to you.

You don’t need much to get these garden matching cards printed and in use. Here’s what you’ll need:

Materials needed:

  • Your free printables! (See below for download links)
  • Paper or cardstock. I recommend 32 lb bright white paper. For a side-by-side comparison of several papers, see this post on the best paper for printables.
  • Laminator and laminating pouch (optional, but highly recommended)
  • Paper cutter or scissors
HP Paper Printer | 8.5 x 11 Paper | Premium 32 lb | 1 Ream - 500 Sheets |...
Fiskars Craft Supplies: Paper Cutter, Paper Trimmer for Crafts, Photos, and...
Scotch Thermal Laminator, 2 Roller System for a Professional Finish, Use...
HP Paper Printer | 8.5 x 11 Paper | Premium 32 lb | 1 Ream - 500 Sheets |...
Fiskars Craft Supplies: Paper Cutter, Paper Trimmer for Crafts, Photos, and...
Scotch Thermal Laminator, 2 Roller System for a Professional Finish, Use...
HP Paper Printer | 8.5 x 11 Paper | Premium 32 lb | 1 Ream - 500 Sheets |...
HP Paper Printer | 8.5 x 11 Paper | Premium 32 lb | 1 Ream - 500 Sheets |...
Fiskars Craft Supplies: Paper Cutter, Paper Trimmer for Crafts, Photos, and...
Fiskars Craft Supplies: Paper Cutter, Paper Trimmer for Crafts, Photos, and...
Scotch Thermal Laminator, 2 Roller System for a Professional Finish, Use...
Scotch Thermal Laminator, 2 Roller System for a Professional Finish, Use...

First, download your printables from further down the post.

Next, print the pages you want. The margins are safe for almost all printers so you should be able to print at 100%.

Laminate pages before cutting, if you’re laminating. If you don’t have a laminator, you can “laminate” the cut out cards with clear packing tape.

Finally, cut out the cards using scissors or, for faster and more accurate cuts, a paper trimmer.

A guillotine style paper cutter is more effective for laminated pages, but a (safer) paper trimmer works, too. I regularly use this paper trimmer on laminated pages:

A paper trimmer on a wood surface. A printed page of garden matching cards is resting on top of the paper trimmer.

Play and enjoy! You can place all the cards face up, half the cards down for a modified memory game, or all the cards face down for a more difficult game of memory matching. You can also remove some of the pairs to make the memory version of the game easier for younger children. 

The shadow matching cards can be used in the same manner as the “regular” cards.

A top down view of a young girl wearing butterfly bracelets playing with shadow matching cards on a wood floor.

Free printable Garden matching game download

Alright, let’s get to the free printables!

Like all free preschool printables on The Artisan Life, this game is free for personal and classroom use. You are also welcome to use it with scout troops, homeschool co-ops, etc. Basically, as long as you are personally organizing the activity, it’s fine to use these.

You are not licensed to redistribute the printouts or digital files to others. Just send your friends or coworkers to this post so they can download their own copies!

If you agree to this license, click below:

text "click here to download your printable"

I hope your little learner or students enjoy playing this matching game!

Make sure to download these additional free learning printables for preschoolers while you’re here:

Preschool Learning Printables

Download these additional free activities to keep your little one busy and learning without tons of prep time.

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Reinforce the alphabet in a fun way with these free printable alphabet coloring pages.

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Download the entire alphabet of play dough mats and discover a recipe for play dough that lasts for months.

Free Printable Spanish Alphabet Tracing Worksheets

Teach your preschooler Spanish at home with these free printable Spanish alphabet tracing sheets!

Free Printable Car Theme Fine Motor Tracing Strips

Your cor-loving child will adore tracing along the "road" with these free car themed prewriting tracing pages.

Free Printable Ocean Prewriting Cards

Help your child practice the specific prewriting shapes that develop skills needed to write letters and numbers with these fun ocean themed prewriting practice cards.

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Your little learner will love building the dinosaur pictures and counting along with these free printable dino number building puzzles.

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Help your child learn how to count with these farm theme number order puzzles

Dinosaur Prewriting Practice Tracing Paths

Free Printable Dinosaur Matching Game (for your dino-loving child)

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natashalh - the artisan life

Hi, I’m Natasha! I’m so glad you’re here.

I’m a former classroom teacher with a Masters of the Arts in Teaching turned homeschooler & gardener. I share educational & planner printables and tips for making gardening with kids successful and affordable.

I also publish printed coloring & activity books. You can also find me on YouTube.

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