Teaching Young Kids with a Deck of Cards

The majority of play at my house is what I’d consider “free play”- it’s lead and directed by my children. While free play is incredibly important and beneficial, it’s my opinion that adding elements of structured play can be really powerful in teaching particular skills you’d like to see developed in your child. It’s important to clarify that while I hope to encourage a skill through this play, the main purpose is really play. You know your child best. If he or she does not seem happy when playing in these particular ways, don’t force it.

Here are some examples of ways in which we used a deck of cards to encourage play and growth for our children when they were toddlers and early learners. Pro-tip: spread out cards and involve movement to find the cards.

Drop a Card:

Cut a slit large enough for cards to slide in. Kids love to just drop the cards in and hear the noise it makes. You can also adapt to practice counting and more.

Hide and Seek in an Envelope:

Hide a number card in an envelope and give clues as to which number it is. This number is one less than eight. There are this many people in our family.

Sort Cards:

Make a pile of all the suits in a deck of cards.

Count with Cards:

Use buttons, pennies, or counters to match the number represented.

Match Cards:

Make a pile of each card. Find all four.

Advanced: Sequential Order:

Put a few cards in sequential order which one flipped over.

I hear parents often say, “My kids would never do that.” The truth is, kids will do a lot of things if their parent engages with them. Consider this when working with some of these activities. Will a child randomly grab a deck of cards and start making matches? Likely not. Would they be willing to do that with their parent they’re craving some one on one time with? Likely yes. Sitting down and giving your child some undivided attention while encouraging them to do these activities will always get the best results.