GIGI'S SEASONINGS
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog

Family Match Game

7/28/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Make your own match game or memory game, and use family pictures! Hours of fun for the little guys!

When my son and his child moved to another city, they were only able to visit 5-6 times a year. I saw a need to make a book or game so my grandson could learn family members and their names when he came to visit here. I ended up making a game, and based it on that old standby, "Memory."

Actually this concept has been around a while. You've seen the little books available in the baby department of retail stores. It's a baby-safe padded book that mom or dad can slip in pictures of family members. Parents can include that book in their nightly story time with baby, and eventually the child learns everyone's names. 

Picture
Creating the game~

Because my grandson was over two years when he made these trips to our house, I opted for a match game. (Please note: Before he was born, I had made him a book to learn our names--instructions for that one are at the end of this blog.) The instructions for this matching game are pretty straight forward. Print up some pictures of family members, making sure they're fairly small. Walmart can print two images on a 4.6 size which would be perfect for the game. I also found an online site that would do a 2x3 size, also perfect for a memory game. Just know that you will need to print up two pictures of each family member. 

I love my Print Shop application on my computer, so I made my own game cards. I just made a template before I started. Then I inserted pictures of family members that were appropriate size and I was set.
Picture
Individual squares in this template were 2x2 inches.
Picture
Here are the family pictures I included. I made sure they would fit in the 2x2 squares.
Picture
I happened on this kid-appealing card stock at Walmart. The whole tablet was $5!It worked great for printing up my pictures.
Picture
Finished game pieces.
Playing the game:

You know the drill. I had 24 cards and you simply spread them out on the table or floor, being sure to mix them up. Then you and the child play the game, turning over two cards at a time hoping for a match. An added plus is that the child can sometimes play by himself. You could mail him one copy, and keep another one at your house to play together. Even after they learn everyone's name, they still get a kick out of playing.
Picture
The set up. And they are not just learning everyone's faces and names. They are also learning geometry, math, and visual memory skills.
Picture
No match here. When they do find a match, they keep the two cards and then go again.
Picture
Of course you realize as my grandson got older, I saw a need to add names. Then they begin the process of learning to read and getting meaning from text.
Books, games and videos!

You can apply this same idea in a book, another game or even a video that you send to the grandchild in another city. I saw an idea on Pinterest wherein you use the pictures in an old "Guess Who," game. I just haven't felt that industrious to conquer that one.

But I do feel a book of family members is great. It can be for a new baby, a blended family with new relatives to learn, an adopted child, new grandchild, great-grandchild, or new cousin, niece or nephew. As I stated above, I made one for my youngest grandson and I made it before he was born. I included pictures of his cousins and other family members. It was a book to be read at bedtime (or of course, anytime), and it enabled him to become familiar with family members and family customs.
Picture
The page and text about his grandfather.
Picture
Page about his cousins!
Finally~

I'm sharing this idea this summer, because it's a great craft (making the game or book) to do as so many of us are staying inside where it's cool. This is a great creative endeavor to do at this time. Also, many of you are headed out.....going to family reunions. Often your kids and grandkids are seeing family members that they only see once or twice a year. This matching game can help them learn the names of their long-distance cousins!

Happy summer, everyone! Until next time!!
Picture
In case you're interested in that "Guess Who" game for family members, here's the website:

​tipjunkie.com/make-a-family-guess-who-game-how-to/amp/
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Retired school teacher and now full time grandmother sharing ideas and looking for new ones about grandparenting!

    Archives

    December 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017

    Categories

    All
    Ancestor Stories
    Back To School
    Carepackages
    Charity Work
    Christmas
    Costume Box
    Crafts
    Fun Boxes
    Games For The Grands
    Hobbies
    Making Books
    Mindfulness For Kids
    Nature Walk
    Reading Connections
    Road Trips
    Scrapbooking
    Sharing Your Hobby
    Tea Parties

    RSS Feed


© 2020 Gigi's Seasonings blog

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog