Reindeer Games - Math Concepts

Hard to believe that Christmas is just days away.  It's time for presents and visits from Santa and making cookies (lots and lots of cookies!)  It's also the perfect time for teaching math concepts to your little ones.

I set up a simple math game here.  This concept is number value.  Kiddos will understand that the written number '5' means five objects.  I only did 1-5 with this layout.  Start out simple and work your way up to 12 objects.

 You can use a whole host of items to teach this concept.  These small wooden reindeer, I found at Michael's Craft Store in the holiday clearance section.  I think there was a package of 20 for $2.99, but they are 70% off this week.

First, lay out the numbers (or simply write them clearly on a piece of paper) in order - 1, 2, 3,4,5.  Then ask the child to show you how many reindeer for each number.  If they place four reindeer under the number '2', don't say No, that's not right.  Say something like, Let's count those together.  While counting put your finger on each reindeer.  It helps to reinforce the number value.

You can use any objects that you have around the house - jingle bells, cotton balls, candy canes, etc. The play possibilities are endless!

Have a fun & playful day!
Mel

Math Games Mondays - Desert

Math Games Mondays returns with a simple and fun game.

I found this cactus clipart on etsy.com  Simply buy, download, and print out one sheet for each child playing.  You could also use stickers on a piece of cardstock in a grid fashion.

The "game pieces" are Safari Ltd Desert Toob toys. (This is not a paid endorsement, but I do LOVE their toys!)  You will also need one dice or spinner per child.

The child rolls the dice and counts the number of dots. Then, he covers up that many cactus. For example, if  rolls a 4, then he would put 1-2-3-4 toys on the game board. 4 cacti would have 4 toys on them (one on each). The, they roll again and again until the whole game board (all the cacti!) are covered.

This game teaches counting and one to one correspondence.

Have a fun and playful day!
Mel

Math Games Mondays - Desert by melanieshanks featuring Omniware serveware

Omniware serveware
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Math Games Mondays - Horses & Hearts

I think every kid goes through a "Horse Phase", right?

In this household, we are no exception.  Horses have taken over our lives!  We have horse toys, barns, horse rug, horse sweaters, etc!

If your child is "into" something, go with it!  Create learning opportunities around their favorite thing - whether it be a movie, a show, an animal.  If they are interested in it, the learning will be even more exciting!

I found this adorable and rainbow clipart on etsy.  Simply purchase and print one sheet per child on sturdy cardstock (or you could laminate so it lasts longer.  I always laminated my game boards when I taught preschool.)  I purchased a Horse Toob from Safari Ltd at Joann or Michael's.  Now you're ready to play.

Simply roll the dice.  4?  Count out 4 horses.  Now cover 4 heart/squares - one horse per heart/square.  Continue taking turns till all the heart/squares are covered with horses.  This game teaches counting, number value, one-to-one correspondence, and taking turns.

You could adapt this game to fit your child's interests or your weekly preschool theme.

Have a fun and playful day!
Mel

Math Games Mondays - Horses & Hearts by melanieshanks featuring horse home decor

60% OFF SALE Digital Clip Art Clip Art Hearts Spring Summer Clipart...
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Math Games Mondays - Minions

BANANA!!!

Okay, who doesn't like the minions?  They are so funny!  My 3 year old nephew calls them BEE-BOs and even my 17 year old likes them.  One sure fire way to get your kids to learn is to center the games and activities around things they like.

When you think of minions, you think of math, right?  No?  Well, I cam up with a simple math game for Math Games Mondays series all about minions and math.

I found minions playing cards at my local Dollar Tree dollar store and the banana candies (because minions LOOOOVE bananas!) at a local toy store.  So, $1.00 for the playing cards and $1.99 for the candy.  You don't have to use candy.  You can use buttons, pennies, anything you want for counters.

It's a simple one to one correspondence game.  Your child needs to put one banana candy onto each spade or heart.  Have them count "one" then put the candy on, then count "two" and put the candy on.  Do this until they he has the correct number of bananas.  By counting out loud and one at the time, it is showing number value.

Repeat until all 5 spades are covered...

or all  hearts...

or all 3 clubs.

You can adapt this game for anything your child may be interested in at the time. Go with the flow and the learning will flow.

Have a fun & playful day
Mel

Math Games Monday - Roll the Dice Games

Games are fun...and easy to make.

You need very few supplies - paper, glue, cutouts or stickers, 2 penguin game pieces, and a die.  My penguins are from Safari Ltd. Penguins Toob.

Simply map out a twisty path with your snowflakes and glue them on.  If you are using stickers, place them on.  Kids can help make the gameboard.

Roll the die and move that many spaces. Easy, peasy.  You can make these easy game for little money and for any theme you want.  You could coordinate your game to your child's favorite book or movie.

 OR if you have 2 players...you can use the penguins to take turns (patience is a good thing!) to see who reaches the end first.

 So that there's no hard feelings, I always say, "Kate is the first winner. Ethan is the second winner." I learned that from a veteran preschool teacher of 20 years.

 I used Safari Ltd. Penguins from a Toob, but you could use any animal as game pieces.  If it's snow-themed, you could use any polar animals or Anna, Elsa, or Olaf figures like these at the Disney Store as game pieces.

 The possibilities are endless.

Games are great for teaching taking turns, patience, counting, one-to-one correspondence, and family bonding time.

Have a Fun & Playful day!
Mel

Math Games Monday - Love Birds

 Happy Monday!

I decided to do a series of Math Games Mondays for preschoolers.  I was talking to a former classmate who is in the international banking field.  She said, "I think I like preschool math the best - you get to "subtract" M&Ms. Sounds yummy to me!"

Preschool math is sooo important and easy to come up with ideas.  I saw these bird cutouts at my local Dollar Tree dollar store along with the acrylic hearts and an idea sparked!

I simply added a large number to each one and the number word under it.  Add a cup to contain the hearts and wa-la! you have the Love Birds math game.

Easy peasy, right?  You could do duplicate this game a million zillion times using any kind of cutouts that you find.  I had a set for each letter (monkey cutouts for M day, frog cutouts for F day, etc) when I taught preschool.  They got beat up some by all the little hands using them, but these games are cheap to make.

So the child takes a Love Bird. He can read the number or you can read it to him.  Then, he takes one heart at a time and places it on the bird cutout until he reaches the right number.  It is important for the child to count each heart that he places on there and physically slides or places the heart on the bird.  This is one-to-correspondence - an important preschool skill.

The child may need help and that's okay - it's bonding time.  He may want to add too many or not enough.  Just say, "Let's count together."  You can model counting each heart individually.  Children learning by watching us.  :)

Play as long (or short) as he wants.  The idea is to keep it fun and light.  It'll be so fun that they won't even know they are learning.  That is how children learn - by playing.

This game teaches number recognition, number word recognition, one-to-one correspondence, the value of each number, and counting.

Happy Monday & Happy Playing!
Mel