Fun & Easy Montessori Matching Activities for Toddlers

What are the benefits of matching activities?

Many children begin showing interest in simple matching activities around 18 months. For toddlers and preschoolers, matching is fun and challenging work that offers tons of developmental benefits.

Matching games builds language skills (vocabulary), early math skills (matching, pattern recognition, comparing and contrasting), problem-solving, critical thinking, concentration, perseverance, and more.

So today, let’s chat about fun and easy Montessori matching activity ideas for little ones. We’ll also cover the natural progression of matching activities, AKA which activities you should do, and in what order.

Ready? Let’s get started!

Pin it now, read it later

Note: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may receive a commission if you purchase something through the links below. You can learn more here!

Quick tips: Getting started with matching activities

• • Use real objects when you can. This is especially important if your child is new to matching work. Try toy cars, fruits or veggies, dining utensils, pairs of shoes or socks, and so on.
  • Start by matching things your child is already familiar with. For example: Household objects, colors, farm animals, or basic shapes.
  • Help your child verbally identify each object to build language skills. “This is a circle. Can we find another circle?”
  • Start small with 2-3 matching pairs. You can slowly build up to more as your child shows interest and readiness.
  • Print on cardstock for durability. Laminating works too but is less environmentally friendly (and more expensive).
  • Skip the written labels for now. Unlabeled picture cards and real objects are easier for little ones to work with.
  • Embrace repetition. Toddlers usually do an activity multiple times, for just a few minutes each time. So let your child wander off when they’re done — and keep the activity accessible for later.
  • Keep it fun. Like all toddler activities, matching work should be engaging, hands-on, and stress-free. Enjoy!

Step 1 | Object-to-object matching

Activity ideas

This is the first stage of matching work. As the name suggests, it involves matching two identical objects.

The reason we start with object-to-object matching is to give children an opportunity to practice matching in a concrete, hands-on way. Since pictures are, by nature, symbolic representations of objects, they’re more difficult for children to match at first. (Once your child is comfortable with object-to-object matching, of course, you can give the next stage a try.)

Here are a few activity ideas…

• Pairing socks: Set 2-3 unmatched pairs of socks on a tray and encourage your child to pair the matching socks
• Matching fruit or veggies: Place a few pairs of fruit or veggies (2 apples, 2 oranges, etc.) in a basket for your child to match
• Animal friends: Ask your child to match 3-4 pairs of identical toy animals
• Natural objects: Collect a few items outdoors — 2 stones, 2 leaves, 2 pinecones, etc. — and match them
• “Match”-box cars: Encourage your child to match 3-4 pairs of toy cars
• Pairing kitchen tools: Set 2-4 pairs of identical kitchen utensils (2 forks, 2 wooden spoons, etc.) in a basket or tray for your child to match
• Matching shoes: Place 2-3 unmatched pairs of your child’s shoes on a large tray or mat and encourage your child to match each pair. For a more active variation, try placing each shoe across the room from the other!

Step 2 | Object-to-picture matching

Activity ideas

Once your child has mastered object-to-object matching, you can introduce object-to-picture matching. Naturally, this involves matching an object to a realistic picture of the object. Photographs are best when possible, and in general, cartoon images should be avoided.

When you begin, try working with 4-6 pairs, adjusting as needed until the activity is at an appropriate level of difficulty for your child.

Here are a few activity ideas…

• Fruits or veggies: Match real fruits or vegetables to photographs
• Natural objects: Match real natural objects (pinecone, twig, stone) to picture cards
• Colors: Match toys or other objects to corresponding color cards
• Set the table: Use a Montessori style placemat to set the table, matching plate, cup, and utensils to the correct outlines
• Animals: Match toy animals to photographs of real animals
• Vehicles: Match toy vehicles to photographs of real vehicles
• Household objects: Match small household objects (paperclip, crayon, button) to picture cards
• Pom poms: Match colorful pom poms to hand-drawn circles of the same color

Step 3 | Picture-to-picture matching

Getting started

Once your child is comfortable with both object-to-object matching and object-to-picture matching, you can give picture-to-picture matching a try.

Note that most children aren’t ready for this type of work until around 2 to 2.5 years. So don’t rush it! Let your little one build a strong foundation in matching before diving into more challenging work.

If you’re confident that your child is ready for this stage of matching work, here’s a simple way to introduce this type of activity:

1 | Set it up: Place half of your matching cards face-up on the table, with the other half of the set in a pile to the side

2 | Model the activity: Next, show your child how to draw a card from the pile and look for a match. “I’m looking for a butterfly like this one. Oh, there it is!

3 | Let your child take over: Encourage them to pair the remaining matches

Activity ideas

• • Family photos: Print out two sets of photos of loved ones — mom, dad, sibling, grandma — and match them
  • Nature photography: Match identical photos of plants, landforms, wildlife, etc.
  • Storybook characters: Print out images of favorite characters, like the Brown Bear animals, and match them to the images in the story
  • Postcards: Match assorted postcards from your town or favorite vacation spot
  • Emotion cards: Match photos of real people demonstrating different emotions
  • Picture cards: Pair picture cards featuring animals, bugs, colors, buildings, vehicles, or anything else your child is interested in!

Check out the printable shop for matching cards & more…

Loved this post? Pin it!