make a butterfly matching game

For this super easy matching game you will need to plan ahead to source out your wood discs. I've purchased discs from Amazon, Michael's, and etsy in the past. Stickers were found at a local craft store but you can find them here (I should probably sign up for an affiliate dealio).

Decide on how many pairs you want to make (I did 12 as I only had 24 discs) and get to sticking. Make sure you have 2 of each image.

That's it! I have found that stickers stick best to wood base as is. They stick a little less when the disc has been painted. You can also go over the disc with a coat of mod podge but so far these have stuck and the children know they are not to get wet. I've been gifting sets like this to the kiddos in my life for eons! There have been butterflies, owls, halloween stickers, colored dots, rollerskates, and so much more!

diy halloween matching game

This super easy matching game was made from 16 blank wooden discs, acrylic paint, glue. and round puffy stickers. Super simple!

 

I had the discs on hand thanks to being a craft supply hoarder but you can find them at your local craft store and/or Amazon. They can be a bit on the pricier side (at least for me) so I usually wait until the wood pieces are on sale or I have a coupon. The stickers were purchased from Target and cost once cent shy of three bucks. Add some paint to your discs (both sides) and allow to dry on a sheet of parchment or wax paper. I will often reuse my wax paper until I cannot. Or, use scrapbook paper punched and glued to one side. For your stickers, make sure you use a disc blank that is large enough and that you have doubles of at least eight stickers so that you can make a matching game. Use a dab or two of glue to adhere puffy stickers on as they do not have tremendous stick to them. Paper stickers can be pretty tacky and should stick easily without the aid of glue.

Once all happy and dry, your kiddos can use the pieces as a matching game, a memory game, play money, sand/or mall motor tweezing and transferring/ If you have an available piggy bank your kiddo can practice putting the coins into the bank! Have fun!

a bit of serendipity

The last time the mister and I were in Los Angeles we managed an epic Ikea run. Epic by way of items to use in the classroom. One of the items I purchased was this cookie cutter set. I had no idea when or how I would introduce it to the classroom but it was so cute how could I resist? When we got home, I tucked them away and totalyl forgot about them until this week when I found them again. As I was gathering supplies for school, I grabbed the cookie cutters and thought to place them in a small baking pan I picked up from the dollar store. Lo and behold, they fit perfectly...like crazy perfectly and so instead of adding the cookie cutters to the play dough table, I set up this shape match instead. The children were intrigued and perplexed as it was not as easy as it appeared. We talked about orientation and direction and used words such as rotate, turn, and flip. The children also got to practice naming the animals in the set. Serendipity is fun!

trafic light sticky easel