Counting
One of the things I love most about blogging is how one post will inspire another and not just on the same blog but from one blogger to another . I wasn’t going to post this yet but when Kristina from Toddler Approved posted this Corn Roll game that we inspired with our Candy Corn Counting I knew I needed to share this game. Also we have been playing it a lot, and not just because the tv is broken, because it’s fun!
- Gather your materials. You will need some paper, markers, marshmallows or even cotton balls, a die and someone to play against.
- Start by drawing Santa , I couldn’t find a good printable with a beard big enough for the numbers. Which was good since my printer is out of ink anyway. So I drew the santas.
- Add numbers.
- I put the sheets on clip board to keep them from blowing around, but you could laminated them or pop them on a cookie sheet with some magnets too.
- The objective is simple you want to fill up Santa’s beard first but covering all the numbers with marshmallows. The way you do that is to roll that number on the die.
- Roll.
- Add the marshmallow… oh and look who is getting a little fine motor practice too. I’m so sneaky.
- We ended up playing a few times and by request one was a boys against girls.
My daughter even rolled the die for the girls’ team!
I love games like this because they use a few novelties like Santa and marshmallows but are still packed with learning not only math but about sportsmanship and good game play.
Books About Santa
Christmas Morning
How Santa Got His Job
McDuff’s New Friend
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Counting is fun, counting candy is even more fun! This is a great thanksgiving themed math activity that promotes ” Checking your work” something that not only encourages kids to slow down ( something my son needs when doing tasks) but it also builds independence and confidence. Amazingly it wasn’t my kids who ate the candy after this activity was done… I can’t help it candy corn is so yummy! If you are not a fan of using candy for activities you can easily substitute pom poms or pony beads for the candy or make a turkey like the craft that inspired this activity.
- Gather your materials. I used a cheap cookie sheet with raised edges to keep the candy corn contained . Also some brown and green construction paper, scissors, tape and a marker. Oh and of course some candy corn.
- Start by cutting out the green husks. Please remember perfection is not the point, I don’t have time to spare and know you don’t either.
- Cut out the ear of corn.
- Tape to the cookie sheet.
- Add numbers. Try to add some easy and some more challenging. If it’s too easy it’s boring, too hard and frustration sets in, either way learning falls flat.
- Add the corn!
- Check your work.
- Next I flipped the husks over and wrote new numbers on, I added the corn and my son checked my work. I purposely made mistakes on two of the ears, and asked him how to fix them. He subtracted on one and added to the other. It was a great add on to a simple counting activity. I will be doing more “fix my math” activities in the near future because he loved that.
Stores may already have winter holiday decorations out, but fall is not over with. There is so much more time to enjoy it. Here is a fun way to incorporate learning, crafting, and turkeys. Yep, turkeys.
You will need some construction paper, glue, scissors, and markers. For a reusable (and glue-free) version of this activity use felt instead of construction paper.
Trace circles onto brown construction paper. I used a drinking glass to trace. Make a circle for each number you would like to use in this activity.
Cut out the circles and glue them onto smaller sheets of colored paper. At this point you could have your child cut and glue. I prepared all of mine ahead of time because this activity was done simultaneously with 9 children and only me. Draw little wings, feet, and turkey heads on. At the top write the number for each sheet.
Now cut out lots of feathers in an array of colors.
Now your child can read the number (or count the dots) and set out how many feathers need to be glued onto the turkey.
Let your child start gluing away. With so many small children and just me, I used glue sticks.
Have them count out the feathers to make sure they have the correct amount. Then they can be a silly turkey themselves.
This is a fun activity that helps number recognition, counting, colors, sorting, you can even do the feathers in a pattern, motor skills, and is just plain fun.
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Kim is a contributing writer for No Time For Flash Cards, a mom to a toddler, a preschooler, and a foster parent, too. She juggles her day by trying out fun activities and crafts with the kids. After all, she is just a big kid herself. See what she has been up to over at Mom Tried It
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This activity was inspired by my halloween candy counting over at my other blog . Seeing how resistant my son is to writing tells me one thing, that he needs to practice lots but it needs to be within activities he loves. This is a math activity with gross motor, and some writing on a vertical surface which is great for begining writers because it forces the correct wrist position and strengthens the correct muscles in the hand and arm.
- Gather your materials. You will need some paper ( I get this craft paper in the mailing supply section of Walmart , way cheaper than real butcher paper), markers and something to put the paper on the wall with. I use painter’s tape and I use a lot so my toddler doesn’t pick it off.
- Draw a house .
- Decide what things you want to count and write them on. I made the windows and doors spots to write the numbers in.
- Invite your counter to read the questions on the poster.
- Go count !
- Come back and fill in the answers.
- I wish I had a magic wand for my son to make him beleive in his ability to write, to know that he doesn’t have to be perfect and to understand that just because reading is easy doesn’t mean that writing should be or that there is anything wrong because it’s hard. So instead we are doing lots of fun writing… and hoping we turn the corner gently on his terms if possible.
He likes to “split the work” so I made sure we were counting some things with 2 digits, I’d do one or make dots for him and he’d do the other. I don’t think it’s worth it to push to frustration , instead finding ways to make him willing is more my style. 
- Search your house poster to see which question has the biggest number and which is the smallest.
Counting Books
On the Launch Pad: A Counting Book About Rockets
1, 2, Buckle My Shoe
How Much, How Many, How Far, How Heavy, How Long, How Tall Is 1000?
My husband loves math the way that I love art . When he talks about numbers his voices changes just a little bit the same way mine does when I start telling someone about the first time I saw a favorite painting in person. Well my son seems to be gearing more towards that side of things so I have been trying to come up with math activities that fit themes , have an art element if he wants to help me make them and most importantly are fun.
- Gather your materials. You will need a paper towel roll or two, some green painters tape , a black markers( one permenant and a regular washable one), drinking straws, stationary labels and scissors.
- Start by cutting your paper towel rolls into smaller tubes.
- Next color the top of the roll black. Just use a regular old marker.
- Next wrap green painters tape around the bottom of the rolls. Add faces with permenant marker, regular marker will smudge.
- Now cut the drinking straws into smaller pieces. Make sure they are long enough to be seen and grabbed above the rolls.
- Write numbers on the stationary labels. Make sure you write some numbers that are “easy” and many that are a challenge for them too. The balance of challenge and success builds their self confidence.
- Place the Frankensteins on the table with the labels infront. This do not stick to my table but I don’t want to be responsible for wrecking yours, so if you are worried pop down a placemat before the labels. If it’s too late try goo-gone that stuff is a preschool teacher’s secret weapon.
- Give your child the straws and let them count and fill! My son loved that he was putting brains into Frankenstein… nice eh?
- It was during this lesson that I introduced my son to double checking his work. Here he is counting a 2nd time.
- Peel the stickers off and put new ones on. Count and re-fill .
Halloween Counting Book
10 Trick-or-Treaters
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