Valentine's Day: Match Heart Pattern Cards | EYFS Printables

Early Years Valentine’s Day Activity: Match Heart Pattern Cards Game

Celebrate connection and pattern recognition this Valentine's Day with our delightful Valentine's Day: Match Heart Pattern Cards! This engaging printable is perfect for EYFS children, offering a sweet and interactive way to develop visual discrimination, matching skills, memory, and turn-taking.

Ideal for Preschool, Nursery, School, or for Parents and Childminders at home, these charming heart-themed cards combine playful learning with a festive Valentine's twist.

This comprehensive pack features:

• A set of 32 cards (16 matching pairs), each adorned with a unique heart pattern.

• Built-in tabs: Each card includes a tab that can be folded before lamination to significantly strengthen the final product. This clever design also ensures that when the cards are turned over for games, the pattern on the front cannot be seen, maintaining the challenge!

(Note: Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity suggested on this page and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)

• 💡 How to use this resource in your classroom/setting

  Our Valentine's Day: Match Heart Pattern Cards are incredibly versatile and can be used in a multitude of ways across various early years environments:

  • Invitation to Play or Adult-Led Activity: Select an appropriate number of pairs for your children's developmental stage. Start with a smaller set (e.g., 4-6 pairs) for younger children or those new to matching, and gradually increase the number as their skills develop.

  • Simple Matching Activity:

    • Place the cards face up on a table or on the floor.

    • Children can simply match up the identical pairs, placing them next to each other.

    • Alternatively, they may enjoy collecting them as they go once they find a match. This is great for early visual discrimination and sorting.

  • Memory and Turn-Taking Game ('Picking up Pairs'):

    • Laminate the cards (ensuring the tabs are folded beforehand to prevent seeing through them) and place them face down in a grid.

    • This provides a further challenge by adding a memory element. Children take turns flipping over two cards, trying to find a matching pair. If they find a match, they keep it and take another turn. If not, they turn them back over, remembering their positions for future turns. This actively promotes memory skills and turn-taking.

  • Fine Motor Development: The act of picking up, flipping, and placing the cards helps to strengthen hand muscles and enhance hand-eye coordination.

• 🎯 Learning objectives covered - 🐣 EYFS Framework

  This engaging activity supports key developmental areas within the EYFS framework:

  • Mathematics (Shape, Space and Measure / Pattern): Children develop visual discrimination by identifying identical patterns and matching shapes. They can also begin to recognise and discuss different patterns.

  • Physical Development (Fine Motor Skills): Manipulating the cards (picking up, flipping, placing) helps to strengthen small hand muscles and improve dexterity.

  • Communication and Language (Listening, Attention & Understanding; Speaking): Opportunities for children to follow instructions, concentrate on the task, describe the patterns they see, and communicate their turns in the game.

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Self-Regulation & Managing Feelings; Building Relationships): Playing a turn-taking game fosters social skills, patience, and learning to share and celebrate with others.

  • Cognition and Learning: Developing memory, problem-solving skills, and sustained attention.

Download our Valentine's Day: Match Heart Pattern Cards today and help your EYFS learners connect with patterns, numbers, and each other through delightful play!

⬅️ VALENTINE’S DAY Topic Page

⬅️ EMOTIONS & FEELINGS Topic Page

⬅️ KINDNESS & FRIENDSHIP Topic Page

⬅️ FESTIVALS & CELEBRATIONS Menu Page

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