Kids are born naturally curious. They’re always exploring, touching things, and asking questions. That’s why learning through games is always a good idea. Children will absorb knowledge while having fun. They might not even notice right away that they’re learning new things because they’re immersed in the game.
The memory card game is one of the most common games, we’ve all played it at least once. It’s really fun and really helpful. So why not take advantage of it to teach our little ones a new language? Here’s how you and your kids can make your own DIY Spanish memory card game.
Benefits From Playing a Memory Card Game
The memory card game will surely help kids learn Spanish, but it will also give them some extra benefits:
Socializing
Memory card games can be played solo; but it’s more fun to do it with other people. This way kids will learn to socialize through a fun activity. And they’ll learn to keep a kind environment, even when they lose.
Memory
As the name of the game says, it will help with your kids’ memory. During the game, one kid might flip over a card that they’ve already seen. So, they have to remember where they saw it in order to find it and make the pair. This small exercise will improve their short-term memory. The Spanish/English memory card game will also give them useful bilingual vocabulary that they’ll remember later in life. So, it helps with their long-term memory.
Improve Their Attention
They have to be focused not to miss out on any cards that might appear and help them make a match. They’ll also have to pay attention to learn the new words that each card presents them.
Help with Visual Learning
There are different learning styles, and visual learning is one of them. If your kid is a visual learner, seeing the pictures in the cards will help them understand each concept better. And, even if they’re not visual learners, this game will help them improve in this learning style. Plus, all kids are drawn to colorful pictures, so this game will be interesting for them.
How To Play
Though it’s a very common game, here are some instructions in case you haven’t played it in a while, or for kids that are first-time players.
You’ll have many different cards, but they will all have an identical pair. Sometimes, memory card games have a theme, like holidays or colors. In TruFluency Kids Spanish case, our theme is a general vocabulary to learn Spanish.
You have to put the cards face down, without seeing the picture that each card has. Then you simply have to turn over one card and try to find its pair. If you find it, you take both cards, and that’s one point for you. If you’re playing with someone else, now the other player has to flip over a card. But if he/she doesn’t find the match, then he has to turn the card back over – don’t forget to put it back in the same place! The winner is the one that has the most matching pairs after all pairs have been matched. If you’re playing solo, then continue the game until you’ve found all the pairs.
For the TruFluency Kids Spanish memory game, every time someone makes a match, he/she can say a sentence using the Spanish word that they just learned. This will help the children learn when and how to use that word. You could also bet some candies and/or chores. As a consequence, the winner of the game has a gift, and/or the loser has to do some chores.
DIY Spanish Memory Card Game Instructions
1. Cut some paper into squares, one square for one image. Considering that our memory game will be of 15 words, and each card needs its pair, you’ll need 30 squares. The paper can be from a cereal or shoe box; that way you’ll also be reusing it.
2. Pick different online images according to TruFluency Kids’ below list of suggested Spanish words for the memory card game. Your kid can help you choose his/ her favorite pictures. Print each picture twice (a total of 30 images).
3. If your kid is age-appropriate, let him/her cut the pictures with preschool scissors.
4. Glue the images onto the cereal box paper. Or, if you prefer, you can use crayons to draw the pictures alongside your kid in the paper squares. Make sure to draw every image twice, one per card. This is another way for children to learn the game’s new vocabulary. By drawing the pictures themselves, they will understand the shapes and meanings of each thing better.
5. Write the words on the cards. Remember to write one English word on one card, and its Spanish translation on another equivalent card. Repeat with all the other words.
6. Finally, cover each card with plastic sheets/laminate them/use tape on them. They will be protected, so you can play as many times as you want.
If you don’t have a cardboard/cereal box, you can simply draw the pictures on a sheet of paper (or print and cut them). Then cover them in plastic sheets. But if you do have the cereal box paper, use it, because it will give them more strength. As you can see, you can do this with things that we usually have at home.
Here are some Spanish words to practice while making your DIY memory card game:
- Memory card game = juego de memoria or memorama
- Cards = tarjetas
- cardboard = cartón</em
- Squares = cuadrados
- Images = imágenes
- Scissors = tijeras
- Crayons = crayolas or crayons
- Draw = dibujar
- Write = escribir
- Plastic sheets = micas
Suggested Words
We want to suggest some basic words in Spanish for kids. These words will be easy to learn and are perfect for children that are learning a new language. They are also common everyday words, so you and your kids can start applying them in your life.
- Rainbow – arcoíris
- Dog – perro
- Cat – gato
- Tree – árbol
- Sun – sol
- Milk – leche
- Car – carro
- Book – libro
- Ball – pelota
- Flowers – flores
- Candies – dulces
- Ice cream – helado
- Toys – juguetes
- Homework – tarea
- Music – música
These are suggestions for a game with a diverse vocabulary. But if you prefer you can choose a theme and look for words related to it. In fact, we have a blog about animal names in Spanish, and one about numbers in Spanish. So you can also make memory games with the words that we teach you there.
Benefits From Playing TruFluency Kids’ Memory Card Game
We’ve already talked about the benefits of the memory card game in general. But with our TruFluency Kids’ game, your kids will get even more benefits.
Bilingual Vocabulary
Though a lot of memory cards have words written on them, they are usually in the same language. With our game, kids will learn the same word in both English and Spanish. Another option is to match the picture to the word in Spanish, eliminating the English translation. Or use pairs of words, with an image, like perro rojo, with ‘perro’ on one card and ‘rojo’ on another card. And a red dog on both cards.
Improves Creativity
Kids will not only play the game but will also create it themselves with our DIY Spanish memory card game instruction. This will boost their creativity, and improve their crafting skills.
Stress Relief
Kids can also get stressed by different things, and crafting is a good way to relieve their stress. Through the crafting part of our memory game, both kids and parents can share a relaxing moment.
Family Moment
TruFluency Kids memory card game’s goal is to teach Spanish and English. But it’s also good to enhance the parents’ connection with their children. By helping them create the game, and maybe even playing with them, you’ll share a special moment.
Exciting activities like this always bring many benefits. In TruFluency Kids’ online classes we have even more fun activities to learn Spanish. We don’t want kids to be bored, so we play, sing, dance, and even cook with them. Our Bellieu Method will immerse your kids in a 100% Spanish environment. We will also encourage them to speak because that’s the best way to get fluent and how we all got fluent in our first language.
If you want your kids to learn Spanish in an effective way, and while having fun, check out our classes. We have flexible schedules for people all around the world!
