This free printable matching game for Groundhog Day is a fun way to test your child's memory skills! It encourages younger children to pay attention to detail and can improve fine motor skills, too.
I hope you enjoy using these printable games with your family or classroom!
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This memory matching game was deigend with toddlers, preschoolers, pre-k, and kindergarten age children in mind. Older children may find the game too simple, unless they need additional practice or therapy.
Like other free printable matching games here on The Artisan Life, this memory card game includes "regular" matching pairs and a shadow matching game.
This post includes suggestions for using these printables as memory game cards and as a simple matching game that even young kids can enjoy.
Each printable page includes 10 sets of cards. Remove some of the printable cards from the game to make the game easier.
These printable features colored images related to Groundhog's Day. If you're planning a Groundhog's Day lesson theme, be sure to grab these Groundhog's Day color by number worksheets, too!
Are memory match games educational?
Matching games can benefit younger kids, even if they can’t play a face down memory game yet. I have suggestions for how to play with kids of all ages a bit lower down in the post.
The US Department of Education recommends playing memory games and counting puzzle and game pieces with young children.
Playing with physical game pieces 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.
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!
How to print and use matching cards
You don’t need much to get these Groundhog's Day matching cards printed and in use. Here’s what you’ll need:
Materials needed:
- Your free printables! (See below for download links)
- Paper or card stock paper. 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 brings the best results)
- Paper cutter or scissors
- Ziplock bag or plastic bin to store your cards for later use
If you need to print on regular paper instead of card stock or a heavy duty paper, I recommend gluing or taping the cards to a cardboard sheet for durability.
First, download your printables from towards the end of the post. Look for the row of purple arrows pointing the way.
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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 along the dotted line 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: (The page shown below comes from these garden themed matching cards.)
Play and enjoy! Look in the section below for play ideas.
Free printable matching card games fun game suggestions
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.
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!
To play a full matching game, place a set of the cards face down in a grid.
- Like with other matching games, the first player will flip two cards face up.
- If they match, the player removes the cards from play.
If the cards shown have different images, the cards are flipped face down again. Play then proceeds to the next player.
Play continues until all pairs of cards have been found.
The shadow matching cards can be used in the same manner as the "regular" cards. They can be played face up or, for an extra hard brain exercise, play with the shadow matching cards face down.
Printable PDF file download area
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, you may click below:
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:
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