Free Printable Milk & Cookies Alphabet Matching Game

Do you love learning activities that tie into food?! I do! Especially ooey-gooey, hot-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies! Yum! Your students will love this Milk & Cookies Alphabet Matching Game, and they’ll also love munching on some cookies afterward to really help that learning stick! It’s easy to prep the alphabet matching activities for preschoolers and it can also easily be differentiated to meet the needs of all of your learners.

milk and cookies alphabet matching uppercase and lowercase cards

milk & cookies alphabet matching game uppercase and lowercase alphabet matching cards on black and white scrapbook paper

Recommended Grade Level:

Preschool

Kindergarten

Supply List
Coordinating Activities

Cookie Alphabet Matching Supplies:

Printer/Ink
Scrapbook Paper
Paper Cutter
Laminating Supplies (optional)

overhead view of a monkey and banana themed alphabet matching game.

a child placing a heart-shaped letter b card into a pink envelope with a letter b on it.

Learning the Alphabet in Preschool

ALPHABET ACTIVITIES FOR PRESCHOOLERS TO PLAY AND LEARN

MATCHING UPPERCASE AND LOWERCASE LETTERS BUILDS A CRUCIAL FOUNDATION FOR READING SUCCESS.

Hands-on learning activities for preschoolers give them multiple opportunities to explore concepts at their own pace. Letter matching games introduce these crazy shapes we call letters that all have different names and different sounds.

I like to incorporate alphabet printables all year long, giving the same information in multiple ways. It keeps learning upper and lowercase letters from getting boring while also instilling a sense of confidence in our young learners as they begin to make sense of it all!

This ABC printable includes twenty-six uppercase letters on chocolate chip cookies and twenty-six lowercase letters on glasses of milk.

Children can play independently, with a partner, or with a small group. You could even play with the whole group to introduce and practice the game before sending students off on their own.

Children can simply make a pile of milk cards and a pile of cookie cards and start searching for matches.

Alternatively, you can create small groups of matched cards for students to work on 5-10 letters at a time.

In addition to practicing matching the letters, you can get your students thinking about letters, sounds, and the “code” of reading!

What lowercase letters match the uppercase letters, except they are smaller?
What letters use curved lines? Straight?
Do some of the letters look like numbers?
Which letter sounds are similar/different?
What sounds do you make with your lips? Mouth? Throat? Tongue?

What Can Preschoolers Learn With An Alphabet Matching Game?

ALPHABET MATCHING GAME PRINTABLE FREE

AN ENGAGING GAME TEACHES MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE. MEMORY MATCH GAMES PROMOTE A TON OF VALUABLE SKILLS.

Although the primary goal of this memory game is to learn uppercase and lowercase letters, it supports a variety of other skills:

Visual discernment
Letter names
Letter sounds
Attention
Concentration/Focus

Why Is It Important For Kids To Learn Letters?

Learning to identify uppercase and lowercase letters offers benefits far beyond what we might imagine. Kids need time to explore at literacy centers, with alphabet worksheets, coloring pages and alphabet tracing and matching worksheets and games.

Visual Discrimination: Discerning letters requires the ability to notice small details, differences, and similarities. As kids grow, they will continue to use those skills to read, compute, problem-solve, and learn.

Math Skills: Sorting and matching are important math skills that actually fall under the category of algebra! Regardless of whether kids are sorting shapes, colors, numbers, or letters, foundational math skills begin to grow.

Fine Motor: When children pick up small cards, use play dough to create letters or trace and write letters, their fine motor muscles become stronger and more able to grasp a pencil for real handwriting work.

Reading Skills: When children gain accuracy and automaticity at naming letters and sounds, their journey toward literacy, decoding, and reading sight words will likely be much smoother.

Materials needed for the Milk and Cookies Alphabet Matching Printable:

White cardstock or printer paper
Printer
Laminator (optional, yet recommended)

How to Make the Milk & Cookies Alphabet Matching Game

Step One:

Print two copies of the alphabet matching free printable letter cards on cardstock or scrapbook paper. I like to use patterned paper so the cards are not see-through.

Step Two:

Cut the cards apart. Laminate for durability, if you wish. Cut the letters apart.

Step Three:

To play the alphabet letter matching game, lay the cards out face down in a grid. Take turns turning over two cards. If the uppercase letter matches with the lowercase letter, it’s a match! Players keep all matches and go again until they turn over two unlike cards. Keep playing until all cards are matched.

Sequencing: Use either set of letters, mix them up, and see if children can put them in ABC order.

Letter Sounds: After students master the alphabet uppercase and lowercase matching challenge, use the cards to explore letter sounds.

Play Dough: Engage the sense of touch by using the letter cards as playdough mats to practice forming each uppercase letter.

Name Necklace: Use yarn and a hole-punch to assemble cookie chain necklaces using the letters in students’ first names.

Hide-n-Seek: Hide a laminated set of the alphabet matching printable cards in the sensory bin for a game of letter hide-n-seek!

Face Up: Use the free alphabet matching printable for an easier game by placing cards face up in a grid. The same rules apply, but kids can see all the cards.