Fun Math Games With Colored Cotton balls

We used colored cotton balls from the dollar aisle for these simply activities. The ones we used were left over from Halloween but you obviously can use any color for these activities. 

My daughter has been learning a lot about patterning in Kindergarten and she has really been interested in it at home as well. So I thought she would enjoy making patterns with the cotton balls.

I used tag board paper to cut strips and then I drew lines to make the squares on each strip. I then colored in the squares with the pattern I wanted on each strip. My daughter also helped me color in the squares. 

When we were done coloring it was all ready for her to make the patterns. It was fairly simple for her to match the cotton balls to the corresponding color so once she completed a strip I asked her to tell me the pattern and then continue the pattern without the color boxes. This added an extra challenge for her. 

Simple but educational way to have fun with patterns and you can use them over and over again! 

We used the cotton balls with my 3 year old to work on sorting. I made color cards ahead of time to correspond with each pom pom color. I wrote the color word in the actual color on each index card. I also pulled out our tweezers and ice cube tray that we purchased from the dollar store and incorporated them into the activity for fine motor practice. 

Writing the color word instead of just having a colored index card is a great way to also incorporate print into the activity! Now we have three concepts being practiced: fine motor skills, sorting, and exposure to print! Not bad for a quick and easy set up! 

My 3 year old used the tweezers to place each pom pom onto the corresponding color card. 

 

Once she was done I asked her to count how many orange ones, black ones etc.. Wait, now we just added counting skills to the list of educational concepts used! Super! 

So many ways to use colored cotton balls but listed here are just a few fun suggestions to get you started! 

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Halloween Graphing Game

Here's a fun and educational way to use those Halloween foam shape stickers that you can get in the dollar aisles or at craft stores around Halloween time.

I used white construction paper to make a graph and placed a different Halloween sticker in each column. If you want the graph to be more durable I would suggest using tag board paper instead but for our needs the construction paper worked fine.

Next we used index cards cut up into small rectangles and placed one sticker on each card. I chose to put the stickers on cards as opposed to having my girls stick on the stickers to the graph so that we can use this activity/game multiple times.

I also made cards with the terms Most, Least, Same so the girls can use these comparative words once they complete the graph.

Before the girls started the graph I grouped the stickers cards together so that once they were done graphing they would each have a column that had the most, least and two that were the same.

Again, what's great about having the stickers on cards is that each time you play you can group them together differently so that the outcome is never the same, making it more challenging and keeping it interesting for the kids.

Now the fun part, graphing time!

Once they were done I asked them to count each category and write the corresponding number under each column. This is a great way to include writing and number skills into this activity!

Finally, I asked them to tell me which column had the most, least and which two were the same. They then placed the comparative word under the corresponding column.

There you have a Halloween graphing game using not only graphing skills but counting, number writing, and comparison words as well!  Now you can switch it up and do it over again and again!

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5 Foam Apple Math Activities

I bought these foam apples in the dollar aisle (I think it was at Target) and decided to put to them use for some fun math activities! 

1. Patterning- The girls have been talking a lot about patterning lately. They have been making patterns in their drawings and in their everyday play. So I asked them each to make a pattern and my 3 year old made a red/green pattern. 

My 5 year old decided to make a  red/green/green pattern. After they put their patterns together I asked them to tell me the pattern they made. Saying the pattern out loud helps to reinforce the concept and it's fun for them to say it as well! 

2. Number Sequencing- Ahead of time I wrote out the numbers 1-10 on stickers and stuck them to each apple. I then mixed them up and asked my girls to place the numbers in order. I gave my 3 year old the 1-5 numbers and my Kindergartener I gave 1-10. ( My 5 year old easily did this so if I were to do it again I would add more numbers to make it more challenging) As you can see this obviously can be adapted for different developmental skill levels. 

3. Number Matching- We used the numbers again for this activity. This time I pulled out our gems and had the girls match the correct number of gems to the corresponding number. Again, you can add higher numbers to challenge kids who have mastered the 1-10.

4. Puzzles- I think the girls had the most fun with these "make our own puzzles". I cut out different shapes in one apple and used a different apple as the puzzle base.

I ended up adding numbers to the pieces when my 3 year old put it together because it was a little difficult for her without them. It was easier for her when she could follow along with the numbers.

5. More/Less/Same- We explored the concepts of More/Less with this next activity. I had my 3 year old sort the red apples into a pile and the green apples into the other pile. I asked her to count them and tell me which one had more and which one had less. She then matched the More/Less cards to the corresponding pile of apples.

We ended up not using same but there's several ways to add that the next time around. Another idea I had was to make a graph with the apples and graph by color and then count them.

There really are endless ways to use these foam apples for math concept play!

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Fine Motor/Math Pom Pom Activity

I love the dollar store almost as much as I love Target! Speaking of the dollar store be sure to check out this post from growingajeweledrose.com: 100 things to buy from the dollar store

Her list is fantastic and she gives examples of how she uses each item for play. We already used many of the materials she suggested but I was also inspired by many other ideas I hadn't thought to use before. She also has wonderful sensory play and bath play ideas on her site so be sure to check it out!

A recent trip to the dollar store inspired this activity. It's not ground breaking or anything, it's been done many times but it's the first time we did it and the girls loved it.  One of the best parts is it all was purchased at the dollar store for $5 and it can be used over and over again!

The materials are simple: pom poms, ice cube trays and tweezers.





The girls used the tweezers to sort the pom poms in the ice cube tray.

 

My 4 year old sorted them by color and counted each color after sorting.

 

 My 2 year old had fun simply using the tweezers to pick up the pom poms. Great fine motor skill activity! Also an example of how this activity lends itself to different skill levels.

 

So simple and fun all for $5!!

Can you say Kool-Aid Playdough?

I used to make this with my preschoolers and they loved it not only becuase it was fun play dough but because the kool aid made it smell so good! 

Here's the recipe:

1 batch

1 cup cold water, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 2 packages of the same flavor kool-aid unsweetened flavored drink mix, 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup salt, 5 teaspoons cream of tartar.

1. In a pot combine water, oil, kool-aid and salt.
2. Heat and stir until salt dissolves.
3. Add flour and cream of tartar all at once to above.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until well mixed and dough forms into a ball.
5. Remove from heat once the dough forms into a ball (this should only take a couple of minutes).
6. Cool on a clean baking sheet, kneading the dough as soon as it is cool enough.
7. Cool completely.  Play away!
8. It should last a couple of months depending on how often it's played with.

Mallory enjoyed helping with the recipe!

Jillian and Mallory had a great time playing with it!!

Did you know playing with playdough....

-Improves hand strength and dexterity which ultimately helps those hand muscles needed for early writing skills.  

-Is a great open ended activity- there's no right or wrong way (except maybe sticking it up your nose- that's probably a wrong way) :)

-Can help math skills by talking about the various shapes you can make.

-Is a great way to play scientist by asking your child questions like "How does the playdough feel.?" "What does it smell like.?", "What might happens when I put this ingredient in?"  

Graphing Shapes

This is so simple and a huge hit with 3,4, and 5 year olds!! 

Materials needed- masking tape, household items shaped like a triangle, rectangle, square, and circle, paper and markers.

First make a circle, square, rectangle, and triangle sign ( I used 1 sheet of paper for each sign)
Gather household items shaped like a circle, triangle, square, and rectangle.

Place the masking tape on the floor in a graph like this:

I had Mallory pick out an item and then place it under the correct shape. 

She absolutely loved it!

The finished product!

After we were finished I had Mallory count each column and then I wrote the amount down on paper and placed it under the corresponding shape. We talked about which column had the MOST and which had the LEAST and the SAME.

In addition to shape identification this helps children count with understanding, make comparison of quantities, use comparitive words and it's a fun and easy way to introduce graphing!