Preschool Mitten Matching

Get ready to chase away the winter chills with this fun and engaging preschool mitten matching activity! Perfect for preschoolers, this activity helps develop visual discrimination, fine motor skills, and early math concepts. It’s also a great way to sneak in some extra practice with colors, patterns, and counting. So grab your scissors, gather your little ones, and let’s get those fingers working!

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What Supplies Do I Need for the Preschool Mitten Matching Activity?

Table of Contents

Printable mitten template (provided below!)
Paper or cardstock
Scissors
Crayons or markers (optional)

What do you need to do to prep for this Activity?

Print out the mitten template. For extra durability, use cardstock.
If you want to add some extra flair, let your little ones color in the mitten designs before cutting them out. This is a great way to work on those fine motor skills and color recognition!
Cut out the mittens along the dotted lines.

How to Play, It’s a Cinch!

Matching:

Mix up the cut-out mittens.
Have your child find the matching pairs.
Encourage them to describe the patterns and colors they see.

Memory Match:

Lay out all the mittens face down.
Players take turns flipping over two mittens at a time.
If the mittens match, the player keeps the pair. If not, they flip them back over.
The player with the most pairs at the end wins!

Other Preschool Matching Activities

Dinosaur Number Matching Puzzle

Gingerbread Man Shape Matching

Dinosaur Shape Matching Game

Christmas Memory Matching Game by 24 hour Family

Bonus Ideas to Make it More Fun

Use the mittens to practice counting. How many mittens are there in total? How many pairs?
Create a mitten matching book by gluing the pairs onto separate pieces of paper.
Turn it into a sensory activity by hiding the mittens in a bin of dry beans or rice.
Introduce new vocabulary words like “pattern,” “match,” and “pair.”

The benefits of Matching Activities for Preschoolers

Matching activities like this mitten match-up offer tons of learning opportunities for preschoolers. Here’s how:

Visual Discrimination: Kids learn to spot similarities and differences in shapes, colors, and patterns. This skill is crucial for reading and writing later on.
Problem-Solving: Figuring out which mittens belong together encourages critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Memory: Playing memory match with the mittens helps boost those memory muscles!
Fine Motor Skills: Cutting, manipulating, and matching the mittens strengthens those little hand muscles, getting them ready for writing.

Adaptations for Different Skill Levels

Younger children: Start with fewer pairs of mittens.
Older children: Introduce more complex patterns or add a matching game element.
Challenge: Have children create their own mitten designs and find a classmate’s mitten that matches.