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November 22, 2011 | 21 Comments

Santa Themed Math Game

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!

  1. Gather your materials. You will need some paper, markers, marshmallows or even cotton balls, a die and someone to play against.
  2. 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.
  3. Add numbers.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Roll.
  7. Add the marshmallow… oh and look who is getting a little fine motor practice too. I’m so sneaky.
  8. 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 by Cheryl Ryan Harshman wasn’t what I expected, it was more. It’s written in the spirit of ” The House That Jack Built” and the text builds and builds starting with snow falling on a house as children sleep and ending with Christmas morning. What I wasn’t expecting is that the author tells the story of The Nutcracker, albeit a very simplistic version, in the rhyming text as well.  The illustrations of the Rat King is a little frightening but nothing that will prevent you from reading it.

How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky is a fun and surprisingly practical story about Santa and how he developed the skills needed for his one of a kind job.  It starts with Santa as a young man and as he keeps bouncing from job to job he acquires skills like going in and out of chimneys as a chimney sweep with ease and without getting dirty,  develops a relationship with reindeer as a zoo worker and gets chubby eating all the food at an all-night diner gig!  There are more but i don’t want to spoil the story. My son loved it, especially once the elves showed up, which was when the toys did too! I know when i was a kid I wanted to know how Santa got his job, and there are movies dedicated to this so this book  jumped on the bandwagon and did a great job , it’s very cute!

McDuff’s New Friend by Rosemary Wells was a classroom classic in my last year teaching. I think I read it every day for 3 weeks straight and then a few weeks after Christmas too! In it McDuff the little Westie dog saves the day finding Santa stuck in the snow! I love Susan Jeffer’s retro illustrations and the little details like the dad feeding the baby, the doggy sweaters the McDuff wears in the snow, and how Santa gave them all gifts they needed in the story .

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Age: Kindergarten, Christmas, Counting, games, Letters & Numbers, Math Activities, Number Recognition, Numbers, Santa | 21 Comments

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21 Comments

  1. Megan says

    November 22, 2011 at 5:07 am

    Love this! Thank you for sharing!

    to Megan" aria-label='reply to this comment to Megan'>reply to this comment
  2. Christy says

    November 22, 2011 at 8:09 am

    clever idea to use marshmallows! I’ve done the same, only using pompoms.

    to Christy" aria-label='reply to this comment to Christy'>reply to this comment
  3. Toddler Approved says

    November 22, 2011 at 8:50 am

    You have done it again. Love this! My son says we have to play right now. Marshmallows are the favorite treat at our house at the moment.

    to Toddler Approved" aria-label='reply to this comment to Toddler Approved'>reply to this comment
  4. An Ordinary Mom says

    November 22, 2011 at 9:19 am

    A good twist on this game for kids a bit older (one of my sons is in kindergarten) is to use two dice and higher numbers. to place the marshmallow they add the two dice numbers together.

    to An Ordinary Mom" aria-label='reply to this comment to An Ordinary Mom'>reply to this comment
    • admin says

      November 22, 2011 at 9:23 am

      Absolutely- great varriation.

      to admin" aria-label='reply to this comment to admin'>reply to this comment
  5. Kirstylee says

    November 13, 2012 at 10:46 am

    This is such a fun idea. My son loves it when he gets to play with dice. Adding the marshmallows will just be even better!

    to Kirstylee" aria-label='reply to this comment to Kirstylee'>reply to this comment
    • admin says

      November 13, 2012 at 9:44 pm

      My son has already asked to play it again this Christmas- it was a huge hit.

      to admin" aria-label='reply to this comment to admin'>reply to this comment
  6. Ankit Kumar Sharma says

    April 15, 2019 at 3:41 am

    A good twist on this game for kids a bit older is to use two dice and higher numbers.

    to Ankit Kumar Sharma" aria-label='reply to this comment to Ankit Kumar Sharma'>reply to this comment
  7. Vishal Sharma says

    April 15, 2019 at 3:42 am

    I tried, It is very useful,

    to Vishal Sharma" aria-label='reply to this comment to Vishal Sharma'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

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    November 28, 2013 at 8:55 am

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  6. 15 Christmas Party Games for Kids | How Does She says:
    December 12, 2015 at 1:09 am

    […] The kids can practice their counting skills while filling up Santa’s beard with marshmallows! Make sure to have plenty on hand for when the kids get the […]

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  7. Tipsy Blog says:
    August 10, 2016 at 2:42 pm

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  10. 100 Free Christmas Games says:
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    […] Santa’s Beard Roll & Count Game This is a sweet game involving Santa and marshmallows. It works on fine motor skills and math. […]

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