10 ways to use opposite cards

Here are ten fun ways to use a set of opposite cards!

Over the years, a number of people have asked me for opposite activities. I finally put together a set of cards, games, and other printables in our opposite activities pack.

Here are ten ways to use the cards you’ll get in the pack!

10 ways to use opposite cards

1. Simply name the opposites.

When you first begin, go over each pair with your child. Name one card, and see if he can name its opposite when you show the picture. Some are obvious, like wet and dry.

Others are a little more challenging, like fresh and rotten.

2. Have your child match the opposites.

Gather just a small set of cards with their matches. Mix them up. Then show your child how to find a card and its match.

When I asked my preschooler to do this he immediately complained, “This will be SO hard!” But I had given him such a small stack that it wasn’t hard at all. He actually enjoyed it. 😉

3. Play “true or false.”

Put two cards next to each other and make a statement. “Hot is the opposite of cold.” Your child can tell you if your statement is true or false.

If the words true and false are tricky for your child to understand, ask a yes or no question. “Is hot the opposite of cold?”

4. Play multiple choice.

Place a card above a set of three cards, one of which is its opposite. Have your child locate the correct card.

5. Create a sentence using a card.

“That coffee is hot!”

(Note… you will likely find that your preschooler doesn’t catch on to the idea of a complete sentence. Not a problem. Just talking about the featured word is great for language and vocabulary development!)

6. Find the rhyming card.

Name a rhyming word, and have your child find the opposite card that rhymes. In this case, my son figured out that clean rhymes with mean.

7. Act out the cards.

This was my son’s favorite. He loved being fast and slow, tall and short, and hot and cold.  He begged to act out the cards again, but it was time to get lunch on the table.

8. Play a memory game.

Place a set of cards on the table. Ask your child to study them and then close his eyes. While he closes his eyes, remove one of the cards. Ask him to open his eyes and remember which one is no longer there.

(Full disclosure: I tried this with my son, but it just frustrated him.)

9. Run and grab!

For kids who need to burn off some energy, put one set of cards in your hand and all their opposites at the other end of the room, lined up in a row. Give your child a card. Then have him sprint to the other side of the room, grab its opposite, and run back.

10. Play “I Spy.”

Spread the cards out on the table or floor. Play “I Spy.”

• “I spy something wet.”
• “I spy the opposite of cold.”
• “I spy the opposite of open.”
• “I spy something  rotten.”
• “I spy an opposite that rhymes with green.”

We hope you get a chance to try some of these ideas!

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