This DIY puzzle is an easy-to-make matching letter game! It’s a fun way to use recycled materials for playful learning!

A Matching Letter Game You Can Make!

This DIY puzzle is made up of items you likely already have, but are either tossing away or recycling! 

It so amazing to be able to make a playful learning resource out of these materials. It’s a great way to save money and you may just find that your kiddos prefer playing with the bottle cap “pieces” and egg carton “board” over a fancy puzzle anyway!

All activities should be supervised by an adult. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links.

Watch to See This Game in Action!

In this video, you’ll see my kiddo enjoying this DIY matching letter game. Since he was still working on uppercase letter identification, both the letters on the caps and the letters in the egg carton were both uppercase. However, you could use this same exact set up for uppercase and lowercase matching once your kiddo is ready for it!

You could also create a DIY uppercase and lowercase puzzle out of cardboard like we did with our DIY Alphabet Matching Puzzle!

Tips for Setting Up This Activity

Save your bottle caps! Since you’ll need quite a few for this activity, it may take some time to save these up! I washed them clean and placed them in a sealed container until I had enough for the game!

How to Sanitize Egg Cartons. Before you use egg cartons for arts, crafts, and playful learning be sure to sanitize them! Cardboard egg cartons can be sanitized by heating it in an oven set to 170F for 20 minutes.

Don’t Have Stickers? If you don’t have stickers, no problem! Just write the letters with a permanent marker on top of the bottle caps!

• Bottle Caps
• Marker

Step 3

Write the letters of the alphabet at the bottom of each of the egg carton holders.

Step 4

Have kids match the letter on the bottle cap to the letter written in the egg carton.

Step 1

Stick alphabet letters on top of bottle caps, or simply use a permanent marker to write a letter.

Step 2

On one of the egg cartons, tape an extra 4 egg containers so that there are enough spaces for each letter in the alphabet.

Step 3

Write the letters of the alphabet at the bottom of each of the egg carton holders.

Step 4

Have kids match the letter on the bottle cap to the letter written in the egg carton.

More Matching Letter Games!

I know that grown ups get busy, and it may be hard to find the time to make DIY learning games like this.

That’s why we made a printable version of a letter recognition activity! And it’s totally FREE! This is all about picking the apples from the tree, and then matching them to their lowercase version in the basket.

If you are looking for more printable activities related to the alphabet, be sure to check out our Alphabet Tracing Cards, Alphabet Flash Cards, and our Alphabet Matching Puzzle as well.

And don’t miss our full comprehensive list of alphabet learning activities!

Here’s a fun way to learn your uppercase and lowercase letters! This alphabet matching game is a DIY toy that teaches and is a resource you can use time and time again! Not only does the ice cream theme make everyone happy, but it also makes it fun to learn as well! Learning to connect lowercase and uppercase letters can be tricky! But this fun ABC letter activity makes it a much easier process to learn.

An Alphabet Matching Game You Can Craft and Play

What’s better than playing and learning? Also crafting! Get the kiddos involved in creating this activity too. Have them color the scoops, and even help with cutting out the circles. They will be so proud to play and learn with a game they helped make!

For more ideas on creative and fun ways to play with the alphabet visit our Alphabet Activities List where you will also find some free printables!

How to Make This Alphabet Matching Game

Here’s how you can make and play with this interactive ice cream alphabet matching game. In this video, you’ll see how easy it is to put together and how fun it is for kids to see the letter, find the matching letter, and pull the string to complete the next letter. Using simple materials, this is a budget friendly way to make a DIY learning resource you can use time and time again!

All activities should be supervised by an adult. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links. 

Budget Friendly and Kid Friendly!

From start to finish, this alphabet learning activity is really quite simple to do. You do not need any fancy materials to create this DIY learning resource. Making the board, scoops, and cones out of cardboard is a great way to keep costs down while recycling materials you already have at home! Read on for the simple step by step instructions.

For the color, we used paint sticks. They are a great arts and crafts supply that we constantly use. The colors come out so rich and vibrant, even on cardboard! The best part? They look like paint, roll on like a crayon, but dry in seconds! For more ideas of supplies you should have in your craft box, check out our Comprehensive List of Arts and Craft Supplies!

• Paper
• Glue
• Velcro Stickers (optional, for attaching)

• Cardboard
• Paint Sticks
• Permanent Marker
• Paper
• Glue
• Velcro Stickers (optional, for attaching)

Step 5

On the extra ice cream scoop, cut two slits near the center, leaving an opening in between so that the paper letter will be visible.

Step 6

Thread the paper letter strip through the cardboard so that it smoothly goes to the next letter when pulled.

Step 7

Optional; add velcro stickers to the back of the ice cream scoops and two velcro stickers to the main board. This will allow your child to place the letter down with accuracy, but is not a necessary feature.

Step 1

On a big piece of cardboard, glue or tape a cardboard triangle (aka your cone).

Step 2

Cut out cardboard circles; we did 27 for the whole alphabet, plus the bottom scoop.

Step 3

Color and decorate your ice cream scoops and cone. With a permanent marker, write the letters on each ice cream scoop.

Step 4

On a strip of paper, or several strips of paper, write the entire alphabet, leaving at least half an inch in between each letter.

Step 5

On the extra ice cream scoop, cut two slits near the center, leaving an opening in between so that the paper letter will be visible.

Step 6

Thread the paper letter strip through the cardboard so that it smoothly goes to the next letter when pulled.

Step 7

Optional; add velcro stickers to the back of the ice cream scoops and two velcro stickers to the main board. This will allow your child to place the letter down with accuracy but is not a necessary feature.

Educational Benefits for this Fun Alphabet Matching Game

This alphabet game will help to teach your child how to match uppercase and lowercase letters. Through practice, they will be able to identify and group these letters easily, the foundation of being able to use those letters to read and write.

This DIY game can also help them with their fine motor skills since they’ll be pulling the paper tab and using their hand-eye coordination to grab and match the letters. And last but not least, they’ll grow their love for learning because they’ll be independent in this activity also.

Make your own alphabet matching puzzle with just some cardboard, markers, and velcro. This is a great letter recognition activity for preschoolers.

Plus, this is super budget friendly, and you can do with kids of a variety ages – from toddlers that are barely walking to the ones that are getting ready for school. That’s the beauty of a simple activity.

And if you are looking for more playful alphabet learning ideas, be sure to check out our ABC Parking Lot Activity, Alphabet Paint Activity and our Alphabet Spoon Matching Activity!

Keep reading and discover how easy it is to make your very own puzzle out of some cardboard, velcro, markers, and sticky paper. 

All activities should be supervised by an adult. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links.

Watch the Video to See How to Make this Alphabet Matching Puzzle!

In this video you’ll see how easy it is to make this puzzle yourself. From start to finish, this only takes about 15 minutes. 

If you want to save even more time, download our free Alphabet Matching Puzzle printable inspired by this activity!

For written step-by-step instructions, read on below for more information!

Teach The Alphabet with a DIY Puzzle

This is another one of my favorite sensory activities. Not only are they looking at the letters and identifying them, but they are actually picking them up and moving them around.

When you lead this activity with them, it can teach them a lot more than just how to match uppercase and lowercase letters. You can encourage listening and speaking too. 

Ask your child, “where is the lowecase a?” When they find it, exclaim, “there it is!” 

Here’s how to make a DIY counting puzzle for your kiddos. This is a basic tutorial, please change things up and make it fit your child’s needs.

• Painter’s Tape
• Craft Knife or Scissors
• Clear Contact Adhesive Roll

• Cardboard
• Markers
• Self Adhesive Dots
• Painter’s Tape
• Craft Knife
• Clear Contact Adhesive Roll

Step 4

Attach a hook and loop adhesive pad to the pack of each lowercase letter piece. Place the other half of the hook and loop pad next to each uppercase letter.

Step 5

For vertical play, use painter’s tape to attach clear contact paper to the wall, sticky-side facing up. 

Step 6

Hang up the large uppercase letters board to the wall above the contact paper and let your child match the lowercase letters with the uppercase ones.  

Step 1

Use a sharp craft knife or scissor to cut out 26 rectangles from one of the pieces of cardboard. Retain these as they will be your 26 lowercase letter puzzle pieces.

Step 2

On the other large piece of cardboard, write each uppercase letter in the alphabet, leaving room next to each letter for the lowercase letter to be attached next to it.

Step 3

On the small rectangle pieces, write each lowercase letter from the alphabet.

Step 4

Attach a hook and loop adhesive pad to the pack of each lowercase letter piece. Place the other half of the hook and loop pad next to each uppercase letter.

Step 5

For vertical play, use painter’s tape to attach clear contact paper to the wall, sticky-side facing up.

Step 6

Hang up the large uppercase letters board to the wall above the contact paper and let your child match the lowercase letters with the uppercase ones.  

Free Printable Version of This DIY Alphabet Matching Puzzle

Even though this DIY alphabet matching puzzle is super easy to make, I understand that it is often hard to find the time to create your own learning resources!

That’s why we created this FREE printable alphabet matching puzzle.

Just print, cut out the lowercase letters, and have your kiddo match. For more durability, use a laminator, and attach the adhesive stickers!

And if you have a car fan, you have to try our free Alphabet Car and Parking Lot printable puzzle!

You can even modify this to teach your child how to read cursive. Print out the uppercase and lowercase letters in cursive. 

Then, ask them to match the letters together. Even if you aren’t going to teach them how to write the letters in cursive, being able read script fonts is an important skill they will need in life. 

Educational Benefits of This DIY Matching Alphabet Puzzle

There are so many wonderful things that this simple puzzle can teach your child!

Letter Recognition: Every single time they pick up a letter and match the lowercase to the uppercase, they are putting the letters into their memory.

This is one of the earliest reading skills that children need before they start to put sounds together. Even children as young as toddlers can learn this part. 

Early Phonics: When children are ready for it, they can begin adding the sounds to the letters they pick up. 

Ask them, “Which letter makes the “sss sound?” and watch them reach for and match the S.

You can even modify this to teach your child how to read cursive. Print out the uppercase and lowercase letters in cursive. 

Then, ask them to match the letters together. Even if you aren’t going to teach them how to write the letters in cursive, being able read script fonts is an important skill they will need in life.