Snowflake Math Center Activity

I made this snowflake math center activity last year for my then 4th grader, but it would be simple as can be to adjust it to any age group or ability. At the time he needed to work on multiplication, but you can make this snowflake math center activity in many ways:

1. Shape match. Draw a shape in the middle of the snowflake and then on clothespins.
2. Number match. Skip the equations and simply use numbers.
3. Addition.
4. Subtraction.

Adapt this to your students or child’s needs!

Gather your materials. You will need some foam snowflakes, clothespins, and a fine tipped permanent marker. I love using trays for activities too because they make it seem more special and keeps things contained.

Using the marker write the number in the middle of the snowflake.

Write corresponding equations that result in that number. You can stick to one sort of operation like multiplication or mix it up as I did. One of my goals for my son was to have him SLOW down and pay attention, so I used both multiplication and addition.

Pop them on the tray and invite your math whiz to help.

Now if you are new around here let me share with you why I like using clothespins so much. It comes down to two reasons; novelty and fine motor skills. Novelty is wonderful when you are doing things like practicing multiplication because wow is this boring for most kids. That is why gamifying math facts is useful too. Children need to understand what 4×7 means ( four groups of seven), but they also have to be able to do it quickly as that will help make more advanced math later in their schooling much easier. Finding fun novel ways to work on this is our job. The clothespins are also a little added fine motor work which is very important for preschoolers but older children need to work on them too, especially as handwriting is used less and less in classrooms.