Story Time Game: Matching Hearts
My story time kids LOVE playing games. One of my go-to games is a basic matching game using my whiteboard, since most kids in my group are mobile and can participate. My story times average 8–12 kids, so I usually plan the game for 16 and reduce the number as needed when I see how many kids are present. To get ready for Valentine’s Day, I had a matching hearts version of the game.
Felt Board or Whiteboard?
While I prefer to use my magnetic whiteboard, you can adapt most of the games I post for a felt board. I prefer the whiteboard, because it’s easier for me to print and cut pieces from paper and attach a bit of magnetic tape to the back, rather than try to cut out felt. I also find my felt pieces don’t stick well to my felt board, and my story time listener sometimes can’t get the felt pieces to stick without my help. If you do use magnets or magnetic tape, be very careful no one eats any pieces, since it can be dangerous.
Matching Hearts Game Prep
- Print a set of 10 heart outlines on cardstock.
2. Color each heart a different color. Get creative by coloring hearts with multiple colors, polka dots, lines, etc. I colored a zebra heart the kids loved!
3. Print a second set of heart outlines and color to match the first set.
4. Cut out hearts. (Laminate if you want to reuse them.)
5. Tape one set of hearts to whiteboard.
6. Attach a piece of magnetic tape to the back of the second set.
7. Draw question marks on 10 index cards. (Laminate if you want to reuse them.)
8. Tape index cards over hearts on white board.
How to Play the Game
1. At story time, give each kid a heart (with the piece of magnet tape attached to the back).
2. Ask the kids to look at their heart and think about what color it is.
3. Pull the question mark index card off the first heart on the whiteboard. (Let’s pretend it’s the red heart.)
4. Ask, “Who has the red heart?” And invite the kid to come place their heart on the heart taped to the board.
5. Rinse and repeat with the next heart until they’re all matched.
Tips for Success
· Make more hearts than you think you need. I made a total of 16 hearts for my first time playing this game with my story time crowd.
· To avoid chaos, before you pass out the hearts, tell the kids to stay seated and you will hand them a heart. Otherwise, if they come up to get their heart, they might try to play with the board before the game starts.
· Clap when each kid makes their match. They love it!
· If you have extra hearts, match them as a group. For example, if you have two extra hearts, hold them up and ask everyone what colors they are. Then pull off the next question mark and ask everyone to tell you which heart matches.
Variations of the Game
Though I used hearts for Valentine’s Day, you can use virtually anything for this matching game. Kids can match by color, numbers, or type depending on the topic and age range of the kids. For example, for a penguin story time with young kids, you can print the outline of cartoon penguins and color each a different color. Or, you can print out pictures of the same penguin and number them, so the kids match penguins by the number. If you have a small group of older kids, you can print out pictures of different types of penguins (emperor, banded, rockhopper, etc) and match by the type of penguin.
For my Twosday story time, I plan to print items that come in pairs — such as socks, mittens, hands, and ears — so the kids can match the pairs.
