These printables can be used for so many things. You can print them out and laminate them to use them with playdough, you can grab some zoo sticks ( affiliate link here
Gather your materials. You can print the sheets out below. Click on the link and the pdf will appear you can print or download. Grab some counters, I found these leaves and apples at Micheal’s. I also grabbed a fun container for them and a clipboard to keep the printable stable. I will laminate these for my class and use painter’s tape to tape them to our table when I put them out for free choice in class.
I wouldn’t have a child go through all 10 or 20 of these printables, instead print out a few that fit where your child is at with counting. You can always come back here and print out more as their skills continue to grow. 
Set it up – a fun set up isn’t essential but it’s fun! 
Time to place the counters.
Some children will prefer to count the leaves or apples into a pile first and then place them. That is perfectly fine!
Annica says
These are adorable!! Thank you so much. What section did you find your apples and leaves in Michael’s?
Allison McDonald says
They were on an end cap of the seasonal fall decor!
Hannah says
Hey Allison, thanks for sharing these hands-on math(s – I’m British!) mats.
These offer the best of both worlds – they’re cute and educational to boot!
I’ve recently included your post in my round-up of free printables here: http://doxzoo.com/blog/free-printables-arts-crafts/.
Hannah 🙂
Denine Hicks says
Hi Allison,
I love so many of your ideas! I can certainly see the wisdom of having 10 sheets spread out so your child can SEE the difference between 1 and 10 objects.
However, to make this activity re-usable for my preschool, I will laminate one tree and all the numbers printed on cardstock, cut the numbers into squares, then use velcro on the backs of the numbers to be able to adhere to the page with the tree. The child can then place a number on the velcro and that many objects on the tree.
This month we are reciting the poem “Way up High in the Apple Tree” [Way up high in the apple tree/(insert number) red apples smiled at me/I shook that tree as hard as I could/down came the apples and mmmmm were they good!] with my toddlers as we stick velcro paper apples on our paper tree then shake them off! Lots of fun!
Kelly Whitman says
I love the fall counting trees!!Where did you find the adorable leaf and apple counters?
Kelly W
Allison McDonald says
Micheal’s on an end cap of the seasonal decor section!