Printable Crayon Theme Shape Matching Card Game

I love a fresh box of crayons! Perfectly clipped tips, brightly organized colors, and that fresh waxy smell! That’s why I also love a crayon theme for preschool! We all know those tips don’t stay pointed for long, and the colors inevitably end up mixed, but fear not, because there are plenty of art projects and other crayon activities that make use of those old broken crayons.

This Free Printable Crayon Shape Matching Game stays vibrant all year while your students learn all of the basic shapes. Crayons are an iconic part of a child’s life! In most cases, crayons are the first tool for writing and arts and crafts. This crayon-themed activity for preschoolers includes nine shapes: circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, pentagon, rhombus, trapezoid, and octagon.

Teaching Shapes in Preschool

PRESCHOOL MATCHING SHAPES ACTIVITIES

Learning the names of shapes helps form a healthy foundation in geometry. As children learn to name the shapes, they can begin to describe them using important math vocabulary.

Preschool learners need lots of opportunities to explore shapes in order to become comfortable recognizing and naming them. They should spend time making shape crafts for kids, identifying shapes around them, playing with blocks, and making patterns with shapes.

Children should be exposed to important math vocabulary while learning shape names and discussing shape properties:

• Side
• Corner/vertice
• Curved
• Straight
• Symmetry

Even if students do not use the vocabulary themselves, hearing adults talk about shapes using the correct vocabulary will help them as they mature.

Crayon Shape Matching Cards Printable Game

Prepping the Match the Shapes Printable Activity

Print the match the shapes for preschool game on the white side of the scrapbook paper (or on card stock).

Cut the shapes apart.

I like to laminate matching games to extend their life, and to prevent them from bending and ripping. This is optional, though!

Playing The Shape Matching Game

There are different ways to play this back-to-school theme preschool game!

• Classic Memory Match: Turn over two cards at the same time. If they match, you get to keep them and turn over another set of crayons to try again. If they don’t match, you turn them back over in their original spot and play continues with the next player. Play continues until the crayon box cards have all been matched with a shape card.
• Shapes Sort: When students have mastered the names of all the shapes, you can use the cards to sort shapes by characteristics.
  • Curved lines vs. straight lines
  • Specific number of sides or corners
  • Find blocks to match each shape card
• Matching: Some students aren’t ready to match by memory. However, you can provide the shapes cards face-up for students to match with a crayon box card.

More Crayon-Themed School Activities

You don’t have to stop at shapes! Consider incorporating a first-day-of-school theme into your lesson plans for the entire fall season! Here are some crayon crafts and activities to get you started.