Alphabet Memory Game

I liked my colored paper shapes so much that I decided to make an alphabet game too. [Plus, I purchased a set of alphabet punches from another homeschooling Mom and wanted to play with them!] I wanted another tool to help my daughter with letter recognition.  My goal is for her to be able to identify both upper and lower case letters by her third birthday.

We have an alphabet puzzle, we complete workbook pages about the alphabet together, we play with ABC flashcards, Leap Frog ABC magnets, we sing the ABC's, we play with letter stencils...I'm sure I could come up with more if I tried. I think that so far, it seems that she becomes more engaged and retains information better if I can devise a study time so that it feels like a game for her. It's the same concept I use for her nutrition - she'll eat the carrots if I shred them up and make it look like spaghetti sauce. So, I often shred carrots into EVERYTHING! [I feel like I should insert a sinister sort of laugh here...bwahahahaha.] :) ...

So, I made an alphabet memory game for her and her brother to play together. It's simple enough for them to set up and play themselves. [She needs someone who knows the letters to play with her, so she cannot play it alone yet.]

There are 56 pieces, so they are laid out in rows of 8 across and 7 down. 

 Here are the game play basics:

Play starts with all pieces laying front side up.

The first player turns over any 2 pieces they choose.  If those pieces match, they remove the matching pieces from the game grid and place the match face up next to them; then take another turn. 

If the chosen pieces do not match, the overturned pieces are returned front-side up and play moves on to the next player. 

If a "free turn" piece is overturned, that piece is removed from the game grid and the 2nd overturned piece is returned front-side up.  Then the player may choose 2 more pieces to overturn.

Play continues until all pieces have been matched together. 

The game teaches kids to identify

and exercises their

 skills.

But you can do more than just

the

with your game pieces.

Try using the tiles to

words.  Or to practice identifying

There are lots of

ways to

with your alphabet memory game.  :)

Here's how to make your own:

Plan your project.  Gather the items you will need.

To make the game, I used colored cardstock, a cutting system for the circle shaped game pieces, punches for my letters and heart/flower shapes, and tape to "laminate", as I described in my Preschool Play Shapes post.  You can make your games pieces simple squares if you don't have a cutting system to use.  Or you can purchase precut shapes at a craft store.  Whatever you decide on, you will need to make or purchase 56 identical shapes to use as the game pieces.

 

Also, you can uses punches, like I did, or use stickers or write out your own letters with a colored marker. Be creative and modify the directions to accommodate your own preferences and resources.

   

Stickers would also be a good alternative to punched shapes for the front side of your game pieces and for the 4 "free turn" pieces. 

I chose to use hearts as my front side design because I wanted a shape with a definite "top" and "bottom". This way, as my daughter turned the pieces over, she would see the letters right side up every time, and learn to recognize them correctly. [Rather than expect to see an "E" look more like a "3" because she turned it over upside down, for example.] I chose to use gold-colored flowers as the "free turn" shapes...but you could use any shape you want...or just write out "free turn" on those pieces too.

You will need 56 matching shapes for the front. And 4 free turn shapes [which would not necessarily need to match].

After you have gathered all your tools and supplies, the

thing to do is to cut our your shapes and letters.  [Unless you chose to use stickers or pens/markers...then you already have this step finished.]

You will need one each of both upper case and lower case letters.  I color coordinated the letters to match their pair.  I only used several colors, so there are multiples of the same color sets in my game, but if I made another one, I would choose 26 different paper colors, or patterns to punch out the letters.  This way my daughter would be able to identify the pairs more easily.  Once all your shapes and letters are ready,

You will need to adhere your front shapes to the game pieces first and then add your letters and "free turn" shapes to the backside, being careful to place them with the top sides matching your front shape top side. 

your game pieces have been assembled, you will want to protect them.  You can use the tape "laminating" technique described here...or another method you choose.

Once the pieces are finished, it's time to PLAY!  Have fun!