My four year old daughter absolutely loves playing Go Fish. We started playing with an oversized deck with Paw Patrol characters on it when she was three. At first we only played with the letter cards and a few of the numbers. Once she recognized those, we added in more numbers until we were playing with a full deck. Now she is learning the numbers 10-20. Remembering how well Go Fish helped her single digit number recognition, I thought it would be fun to make DIY playing cards.
At first, I was going to just modify an existing deck with the bigger numbers. But, then I had the idea to let her make her own with her own artwork. She had a lot of fun making these cards and she has a lot of fun playing with them too.
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How to Make DIY Playing Cards:
Materials:
- Cardstock
- Card sleeves (optional, but makes them last longer and easier to shuffle)
Prepping the Cards:
First, you need to cut your cards out of white cardstock. I have a Brother’s ScanNCut that made this so simple. But, you can also print out my template and cut it out by hand. Here is the very simple card template that I made.
Then, number your cards. I did this before my daughter colored them to make it easier to keep track of which ones she had done. We made cards that were 10-20, but you can do whatever you want your child to work on. So, do single digit numbers, large numbers, shapes, colors, or anything else.
Designing the Cards:
Next, let your child take over. I told my daughter to draw whatever she wanted on each card. She has played with enough different decks to know that it is normal for the picture to match for all the cards of the same number. So, she made sure to color hers the same. This isn’t necessary, but it does help her sort the cards in her hand.
If you are curious, my daughter’s cards ended up being:
- 10 – Ariel
- 11 – Rapunzel
- 12 – Cinderella
- 13 – Hallea (her go to name for any toy that doesn’t have a name)
- 14 – Belle
- 15 – Her walking her grandparent’s dog
- 16 – Cinderella with mice
- 17 – Bird
- 18 – Decorations
- 19 – Ariel with legs
- 20 – Balloons and decorations
Protecting the Cards:
The last step is optional, but it is very helpful. Place each card in a protective sleeve. This provides a few benefits. First, they make your cards last longer. Kids are not nice to cards and they provide a layer of protection. Second, they make it much easier to shuffle. You can shuffle them like real cards or you can slide them around on the table. Lastly, they hide any coloring on the backs of your cards. Whether this is a mistake from your numbering or your kid got over excited and colored both sides.
Conclusion of Making DIY Playing Cards for Kids
This was one of our most practical crafts. My daughter had a fun time making them and we use them regularly. And when we use them, it is fun and educational. So it was an all around great craft. I am sure we will be making cards again in the future. What are you planning on putting on your DIY playing cards and what games will you play with them? If you need inspiration, here are several kid level card games from Today’s Parent.
