It’s the middle of August and summer is in full swing. Here in southern California, we won’t see cooler temperatures until mid-October. And yet, though we do live in the Golden State, our home is far enough inland that frequent beach trips are out of the question. So what does this mom do? She brings the beach home! This seashell memory game is super easy to set up, and it’s so versatile. You can customize the game to whatever topic your child is currently learning. It’s suitable for letters, numbers, early phonics – I have a whole list of ideas for you and your child.
For this activity, you will need around 8-16 seashells, depending on how challenging you want the game to be. (Shells can be purchased from the Dollar Tree if you aren’t lucky enough to find your own.) You also need a marker – I used wet erase markers.
This seashell memory game is pretty self-explanatory. Simply choose which topic your child needs to practice, and use the marker to make matching pairs of shells. (See my list of ideas below.) Lay all the shells face down, and instruct your child to flip them over, two at a time. If she finds a matching pair, she can set the shells to the side. If it is not a matching pair, flip the shells back over and try again. Play continues until all pairs have been removed.
My 2-year old searched for matching uppercase letters. As she flipped over each shell, I named the letter for her. Every time she found a match, her face would light up and she would hold the shells to her ears to “hear the ocean”. It was the cutest thing!
My 4-year-old matched uppercase to lowercase letters. With each matching pair, we reviewed the letter’s sound and came up with words beginning with that sound.
My 5-year-old is learning to read and needed something a bit more challenging, so her job was to match opposites. She would sound out each word as she flipped over the shells.
Those are three versions of the seashell memory game that I played with my daughters. You can also try matching:
- numbers to number words
- numbers to number dots (see example at beginning of article)
- numbers to tally marks
- addition problems and their sums
- colors to color words
- words that rhyme
