Snowflake Matching Game

By Claudea Blythe

Snow is fascinating for preschoolers whether they live in a region that gets lots of it or not. There's something magical about waking up to a fresh blanket of snow while watching the light, fluffy snowflakes continue to drift to the ground. It has been said that no two snowflakes are the same. Well that's not the case with the Snowflake Matching Game, your preschooler will delight in searching for and matching snowflakes. Be cautioned...you may find yourself playing this game with your preschooler time and time again!

What You Will Need 

Scissors

Blue and White Construction Paper

Snowflake Templates

Glue

Printer

How To Make The Game

Note: This should be made in advance since preparing this game can be somewhat time consuming.

1. Start by selecting at least 10 different snowflake templates or create your own snowflake shapes. Your will need 2 snowflake shapes of each kind. Cut out all of your snowflakes using the white construction paper.

2. Next, you will need to cut squared shapes using the blue construction paper (these will need to be slightly larger than the size you choose for your snowflakes).

3. Once you have all of your snowflakes cut out, glue the snowflakes onto the pre-cut blue, squared construction paper. 

4. To ensure your game pieces durability, laminate them using the clear contact paper. Simply peel of the sheets and apply them to both sides of your game pieces.

How To Play

1. Randomly spread the game pieces out onto a flat surface with the snowflakes facing down.

2. Start the game by having your preschooler pick one of the game cards and carefully looking at the shape of it.

3. Next encourage your preschooler to choose two possible matching snowflakes. This is an excellent opportunity to talk about the likenesses of each snowflake, point out how the matching snowflakes are the same.

4. Encourage your preschooler to remember where the snowflakes are when he/she replaces a snowflake into play.

5. Continue playing until all of the snowflakes are a matching set.

Note: Don't forget to praise your preschooler on doing such a good job matching and remembering -- it's hard work.

Game Variation

An excellent way to simplify the Snowflake Matching Game is to cut out the snowflake templates and use them without the blue background. The game will still present a challenge as the game pieces will be randomly spread out. The greatest benefit of this variation is the decrease in frustration for younger preschoolers. 

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