Family Memory Game Craft

The “Memory Game™” is a popular preschooler game. Why not make your own version using photos of family members that your preschooler doesn’t get to see very often. This will not only increase cognitive skills, it will reinforce family relationships by allowing your preschooler to put a name to the face of a relative he/she may not get to visit regularly or may not be very familiar with. So gather up those family photos, sit down and enjoy this preschool family craft.

As with any preschool craft, this is a suggestion of how to make it. You can modify the instructions to work for you and your family and the supplies you have on hand.

What you will need for 12 pairs of photo cards:

2 sets of photos of 12 relatives-wallet size
      (for digital photos, simply print 2 sets from your computer or local copy store.)
3 sheets of 8.5” x 11” Cardstock
Ruler
Scissors
Glue Stick
Black marking pen
Optional: Stickers or markers to decorate the backside of the cards

How to Make It

Step One:

Create twenty-four 4.25”x 2.75” cards
(you may want to draw cut lines on the cardstock and let your preschooler cut out the cards)
     -cut the cardstock in half length wise creating 6 strips that are 4.25”x11”
     -cut the strips in half creating 12 cards that are 4.25”x5.5”
     -cut each card in half ending up with 24 cards

Step Two:

Have your preschooler glue the photos onto the cards, leaving space under the picture for you to write the relatives name and relation with the black marking pen.

Step Three: (optional)

Let your preschooler decorate the backside of the cards using stickers, markers, crayons, paints, etc.

Step Four:

Play the game! Place all cards picture side down on a table or the floor. Mix them all around then make sure there are none overlapping. First player will turn over two different cards – if they match, the play takes the cards and gets another turn. If the cards do not match, turn them back over and the next player takes a turn. The person with the most pairs at the end of the game wins!

Variations

Instead of creating two matching cards for the Memory Game, create 4 matching cards and play a family version of “Go Fish.” Or, use just one set of photo cards and have your preschooler tell you the name of the person and anything they might remember about their last visit or phone call with that relative.

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