Fun Matching Games for Kids

Habitat Match

• Join Ms. Frizzle and the kids from the Magic School Bus in this online adventure all about animals and where they live. The Great Habitat Match-Up tests your knowledge of endangered animals and their homes as it challenges you to decide which animal belongs in which environment. Help keep the animals safe by making sure they all end up in the proper habitats. This game is appropriate for kids from ages 8 through 12.

Concentration

• The only thing needed to play this classic game is a deck of playing cards. For younger players, you can remove half the cards so that the game “board” is not so big, but for older kids, it’s best to use the whole deck. Shuffle the cards and deal them out face down in rows of 8 to 10 cards each. Players take turns flipping a card over and trying to find a match for it among all the other cards. Players only need to match the number on the card, not color or suit. If he finds a match, the player gets to go again. If not, he turns both cards back face down, and play passes to the next person.

  At first. it’s just a matter of guessing, but the challenge comes when someone finds a card that she has seen before and tries to remember where the other one is. Play gets lively as each player tries to recall the placement of all the cards that someone has turned over. When players match all the cards, each player counts how many pairs he has. The winner is the one with the most pairs.

  Adobe has a free online version of this game as well.

Family Match

• This is a matching game that’s fun for young kids. You and your child make your own playing pieces and use the refrigerator as a playing surface. Cut several pairs of 4-inch-by-4-inch squares of cardboard. Attach a magnet to the back of each. (You can get magnets at a craft store.) Glue a photo of one family member or pet to half the squares. On the other half of the squares, write the name of one of the pictured family members (or pets). Place them all on the refrigerator, and line them up so your child can see how they match. Ask her to mix them all up, and then let her match them again. When this becomes easy for her, add more photos and names to the mix. This game lets her be in the kitchen with you when you are fixing meals but keeps her occupied and out of your way at the same time.