Make Your Own Memory Game

My Mom picked up a like-new “Original Memory Game” for the kids at a garage sale last week.

Some of you may remember this kids’ game for 3-6 year-olds: Find the most pairs of matching picture cards to win.

My mom got the game for a bargain price of 25 cents. New versions of this game run around the $9; I’ve seen them on Black Friday for $4. She got a great deal!

But the more I looked at this game, it really struck me how easy it would be to make your very own “Memory Game” with some clip art and some heavy cardstock. If you are a scrapbooker and have access to things like a square punch, this would be an even easier project.

Basically, you need to find 36 pairs of small pictures. You could download free clip art from Microsoft, or you could be really creative and take photos of things your child is familiar with. You could also have your children design the pairs of pictures or you could kick up the game a notch and use numbers and letters to help your child learn even more while playing! Examples of pictures include apples, flowers, dogs, cats, kids, and balloons, to name a few.

Once you have your pictures, adhere them to a heavy weight cardstock using a thin layer of glue, and you could Mod Podge them to seal them. Cut the cardstock into 2″ squares – with one picture on each square.

Or, if you really want to play the game without all the work, you could also just use 2 decks of playing cards. Not quite as many pairs to match or very interesting pictures, but quick and simple.

Then print out the instructions and get ready to play! This would be a great project for the kids to help with!