Christmas Tree Grid Game

Little present ornaments make fun counters for our Christmas Tree Grid Game.

To play this game the child rolls a die and sets out the correct number of presents on the Christmas trees. Play continues until the grid is full.


Grid games are great for developing left to right movement, one to one correspondence, counting sets of objects, and creating equivalent sets of objects. Download this grid game here.

Squirrel Grid Game

**I have fixed the link to the squirrel grid. My apologies for the error.**

Lauren enjoyed feeding the squirrels as we played our newest grid game. For this game I made acorn counting cards and a grid of twenty squirrels. Real acorns made fun counters but feel free to use any small counters that you have available.

Download the squirrel grid
Download the acorn counting cards

To learn more about grid games check out my explanation of grid games and Teach Mama's additional insights.

M&M Fun

What do you do with that bag of M&Ms left over from Halloween?

Sort them,

graph them,

and play this great game from Making Learning Fun.

Pumpkin Path Game

I have recently introduced three year old Lauren to simple path games. I keep the paths short (10-12 spaces) and straight to make it easy for her to follow. She plays these games with a homemade die with 1-3 dots. As she plays she is developing the concepts of left-to-right movement, one-to-one correspondence, and equivalent sets.


The pumpkin path game is played with a game board, a die, and a small pumpkin decoration (I bought a bag of six at Hobby Lobby).

To make the game board I taped together two 4 1/2 x 12 pieces of tan construction paper, glued a clip art scarecrow to the right side of the construction paper, and used yellow sticky dots to create a path leading to the scarecrow.

Each player needs a game board and a pumpkin. A player rolls the die, counts the dots, and moves the pumpkin the correct number of spaces. Play continues until the pumpkin reaches the scarecrow.

For more information about path games check out Sally Moomaw and Brenda Hieronums' excellent resource, More Than Counting.

Halloween Countdown

We've been counting the days until trick-or-treat with our Halloween countdown. Each day the girls color one pumpkin and count how many pumpkins are left. Julia writes the number on a small Post-It note and we read the sentence together. Countdowns provide a fun reason to practice left to right movement, counting, and writing numbers.

Watermelon Seed Counting Game

Here's a fun counting game that we played with our watermelon counting boards. Each player used one board with twenty seeds.

We took turns rolling the die, counting the dots, and removing that number of seeds from our board. Play continued until there were no more seeds on the boards. This was an easy, quick way to practice counting!

Writing Numbers

Julia needed some practice writing numbers so I cracked open my copy of Math Their Way by Mary Barrata-Lorton for a little guidance.

In Math Their Way children are introduced to numeral formation using purple and green cards. The first part of each numeral is written in purple and the second part is written in green. That author states that these cards help "to eliminate reversals and gives the children a sequential pattern to follow when writing the numerals."

Each numeral card is traced several times and then Julia practices writing the numerals...

...in shaving cream,

..in colored salt or her favorite writing substance: Jello powder (thanks to Teach Mama!)

...using the "wet, dry, try" method (Thanks to Handwriting Without Tears)

..and finally, after lots of practice, she fills in a row on her practice sheets.

Counting Watermelon Seeds

These watermelon math mats are perfect for counting and addition practice in the summer months. I have had them so long that I can't remember where I got the idea but I think they are from Workjobs 2 by Mary Baratta-Lorton.

To make the mats I used green poster board and red, white, and green felt. For the seeds I used small, white beans and spray painted half of them black. I made eight of these watermelon mats.

To practice counting, the child places a number card on a mat and then places the correct number of seeds on the watermelon,


To practice addition, the child places an addition card on a mat and then uses the black and white seeds to solve the addition problem.

Five Little Pigs

Materials:

• Five Little Pigs poem. Print the second page (the numbers) on card stock.


• Pigs printed on card stock


• 12x18 green construction paper


• 9x12 brown construction paper


• lamination film (if you do not laminate, then place a piece of clear packing tape under the velcro)


• Velcro

To make the chart:

• Glue the poem to the top of the 12x18 green construction paper. Cut the brown paper into the shape of a mud puddle and glue to the bottom of the green construction paper.


• Laminate the poem, number cards, and pig pictures. Cut the pieces apart.


• Attach a small strip of velcro above the word 'five' on the poem and to the back of the number cards. Attach five pieces of velcro to the mud puddle and to the back of the pigs.

To use the chart:

• Place the pigs on the puddle.


• Read the poem with your child using your finger or a pointer to track the print.


• After you read "The farmer took one piggy out." your child removes a pig.


• Count the number of pigs left in the puddle. Cover the word 'five' with the word 'four' and read the poem again. Continue until all the pigs are removed.

Sticker Addition

Julia used farm stickers to practice addition. First she cut apart the equation and answer cards. Then she placed the correct number of stickers on each equation card and found the correct answer. Download the addition page here.

Feed the Chicks

Lauren practiced counting 1-3 objects with our latest counting game. This game uses a chick counting board, dot spinner, and popcorn kernels. The counting boards came from Workjobs by Mary Baratta-Lorton but they would be easy to create with clip art.

The child spins the spinner, counts the dots, and places the correct number of corn kernels in a chick's dish. Use a die if your child is practicing counting six objects. Use two dice to practice addition.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Extension

Like many little ones, Lauren loves to hear The Very Hungry Caterpillar again and again. I am happy to reread it because I know that repeated readings of favorite stories builds a love of books, increases comprehension, and motivates the child to pretend to read the book independently. The following activity allows Lauren interact with the book in a meaningful way and practice counting skills too!

Materials:

• fruit pictures (from dltk-teach) printed on card stock


• green yarn


• green button


• The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Preparation:

• Cut out and laminate the fruit pictures. Punch one hole in each piece.


• Cut a four inch length of yarn. Tie a button to one end and wrap a piece of tape around the other end.
  

I place each piece of fruit on the ground as Lauren and I count them. I give her the "caterpillar" (green yarn). As we read about what the caterpillar eats, Lauren feeds her caterpillar by lacing the yarn through the hole in the fruit. We count each piece as she laces it onto the yarn. Lauren loves this activity and chooses to do it a few times a week.

Counting Nemos

In preparation for an upcoming trip to the aquarium we have begun a study of ocean animals. The girls played a counting game using Finding Nemo fruit snacks. This game is a variation of "Hunt for It" in Developing Number Concepts Book 1: Counting, Comparing, and Pattern by Kathy Richardson. Developing Number Concepts is essential reading for anyone who teaches math to young children.

Materials:

• Finding Nemo fruit snacks
• six small bowls
• tray or cookie sheet
• paper bag
• number cards

Preparation: Hide sets of Nemo fruit snacks under the bowls to match the numbers on the number cards. Place the number cards in the bag.
A child pulls a number card out of the bag and reads the number. She then lifts a bowl and counts to see if the number of fruit snacks matches the number on the card. The child continues to lift bowls and count until she finds the correct set.
The number cards I used have a numeral on one side and a set of pictures on the other. The children can read the number or they can count the pictures to determine how many fruit snacks to hunt for.

Toddler Eggs in a Basket

This version of the eggs in a basket counting game is designed for children who need practice counting up to three objects.

Materials:
mini Easter baskets
mini Easter eggs
egg counting cards (I used clip art to create mine on Power Point. Stickers on cards would work well too.)

The child counts the eggs on a card and then places that number of mini eggs in a basket. The child may choose to place the mini eggs directly on the card while counting.

I made cards with one, two, and three eggs for Lauren. You may want to make cards with more eggs for your child.

We're Counting the Days

At our house we have two exciting events in April: Easter and Julia's birthday! Of course Julia wants to know how many more days until each of these events so we created an egg hunt countdown and a birthday countdown.

The egg hunt countdown is a large construction paper egg labeled with black dots. Each day the girls place a sticky dot on one of the black dots and then count the remaining days until the egg hunt. We have a pencil with a rabbit eraser and a pencil with an egg eraser to use as pointers when they count. After they determine how many days remain, Julia writes the number on a sticky note and places it on the record sheet.

I created Julia's birthday countdown in Power Point using clip art. Each day she colors a cake, counts the remaining cakes, and posts the number on the record sheet.

Eggs in a Basket

Young children need lots of opportunities to count real objects. These cute little baskets and tiny, colorful eggs provide plenty of interest to motivate children to work with this counting game.

Materials:

• mini Easter baskets (I only had eight baskets but I think ten would work better. You can find these at a craft or party store.)


• mini Easter eggs (I found these at Hobby Lobby)
  
• number cardsThe child lays down the cards in order, places a basket above each number, and counts the appropriate number of eggs into each basket. To make this activity self checking, provide the exact number of eggs the child will need
  

Variation: If your child does not recognize numbers you can provide cards with dots. The child counts the dots on each card and places the corresponding number of eggs into the basket.

Here is a variation of this game that I made for my two year old.

Rabbit Counting Grid Game

I learned about grid games in the book More Than Counting by Sally Moomaw and Brenda Hieronymus. The authors write that grid games are an important part of preschool and kindergarten math because they "provide opportunities for children to create mathematical relationships by using interesting manipulative counters to create, compare, and quantify sets."

Children are highly motivated to play grid games with fun counters. As soon as four year old Julia saw this rabbit grid game she was excited to feed the rabbits!

To make this game I used:

• two grids of 15 rabbits (created with clip art and printed on card stock)
• 30 carrot erasers
• die
  

Each player rolls the die and places the corresponding number of carrots on the rabbits. Play continues until a player covers all her rabbits. Julia had lots of practice counting and comparing as she decided "How many more carrots do I need to cover each rabbit? Who has more- mommy or I?"

Can you guess who won?

I created an easier grid game to play with my two year old. In this game we use a grid of 10 heads of lettuce, a die with 1-3 dots on each side, and rabbit erasers.

These games are great to play after reading Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit or Muncha, Muncha, Muncha by Candace Flemming.