This free Thanksgiving printable matching game is cute, simple to play, and kids love it! The Thanksgiving-inspired illustrations are warm and inviting, and matching games are a staple – I really enjoy a game the young and old can play together!
Matching games are so fun and can be really useful in developing certain types of brain function. Interested in learning more about the learning benefits of memory games? Keep reading below.
Looking to get straight to the game? Scroll down to the bottom of this post!
Benefits of Playing This Free Thanksgiving Printable Matching Game
For example, if you’re having the child say what the name of each item they flip over is, ta-da, your child is practicing visual recognition and communicating that recognition with speech!
Even if they don’t have a match, that’s a mom-win right there. And there are many more benefits than that:
- Memory games help children train their… MEMORY! Bet you didn’t see that coming 😏. But seriously, their brain is recording where each card is, storing that information, and then when it’s match is discovered, their brain retrieves where the card was and applies that information to make a match! Amazing.
- Playing a game together (with an encouraging attitude) is a bonding experience, promoting healthy attachment and feelings of security.
- Spatial intelligence is encouraged when children (and adults FYI) play memory games. According to Scientific American, spatial intelligence is a person’s “capacity for mentally generating, rotating, and transforming visual images, [and] is one of the three specific cognitive abilities most important for developing expertise in learning and work settings.
So let’s get playing!
How To Play This Thanksgiving Matching Game
- Print out this Thanksgiving printable below! If you print on cardstock, that helps prevent the image from being visible through the paper, but ours printed just fine on regular printer paper!
- Cut out the squares. If your child has solid scissor skills, invite them to help! If not, check out these tips for teaching scissor skills.
- Laminate if desired (optional!), I opted not to this time, but my preschooler is really enjoying the game so I may still go ahead and do it.
- Place all squares face down, mix them up, and take turns flipping over two squares per turn. Lay them in a grid to make it easier, spread them out randomly for a bigger challenge.
- If a player finds a match, they get to go again! Play until all of the matches have been found. Whoever has the most matches win – we almost always play best 2 out of 3!
Pro tip: If your child is overwhelmed by all of the pieces, start by teaching them to play with only half of the matches out! Here’s what all of the matches look like:
Download Your Free Thanksgiving Printable Matching Game!
This Thanksgiving matching game download is part of our member’s only library! And it’s completely free to become a member! Whoo-hoo!
If you are an existing member, click here to head to the member’s only section and enter the password from your welcome email.
Otherwise, sign up below to become a member and get the library password. Once downloaded, just print and enjoy! And enjoy lifetime membership to the entire member library!
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