Dominoes are such a great learning tool for kids. As well as helping preschoolers develop number recognition, they also help teach patterns, subitizing, 1:1 correspondence and even fine motor skills. There is such a lot of learning in such a simple toy! In the following activities, I actually use paper dominoes that I have made into a printable worksheet. You can scroll down for your own FREE copy if you would like.
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This is what you will need:
Dominoes
Pom poms
Tweezers (optional)
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Print out your FREE copy of the paper dominoes and carefully cut around each individual piece with scissors. Match pom poms to the dots on the dominoes. Count the dots and pom poms as you go.
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2. You may like to extend the activity by making it into a rescue game. To do this, place a dominoes piece into each well of a muffin tray. Add some pom poms to each well and then tape down some layers of sticky tape.
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3. Then carefully snip away the washi tape to reveal your dominoes and pom poms. Once the playing pieces are revealed, match the pom poms to the dominoes.
!WARNING! Remember that scissors are sharp! Always supervise children when they are using scissors!
I loved learning about greater than and less than numbers when I was at school. My teacher had this really neat way of teaching us the underlying principals. She used this cute crocodile analogy to show us that the crocodiles open mouth pointed to the bigger number! It’s something I still remember to this day, and has proven a great way to help my children learn these math basics.
You can easily make one of these crocodiles with some craft sticks, or scroll down below to find a FREE printable version of the activity.
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This is what you will need:
A piece of recycled cardboard
White computer paper
Clear sticky contact or packing tape
Green craft sticks
Googly eyes
Scissors
Blue tack or a glue stick
Dry erase or white board marker
Washi tape (optional)
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Start by making your game board. To do this, paste down two squares of white paper onto the recycled cardboard. Cover these squares with clear contact or packing tape to make a wipeable board. You can then write the number of blocks you will need to build in each square with white board marker.
Next, make the crocodile. To do this, take two craft sticks and use blue-tack or a glue stick to attach two googly eyes. Cut a strip of sharp white teeth from the your left over white computer paper.
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2. Collect some blocks – we used Duplo blocks, and then you are ready to play. Build your towers and move your crocodile mouth to point to the largest tower.
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Here is your FREE printable version of this activity:
This super cute activity is great for helping kids develop their scissors skills. It is a really quick activity to put together and only requires a couple of easily accessible materials. You will only need some paper, a marker pen, scissors and a glue stick. The end result is a super cute piece of art too!
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This is what you will need:
Colored construction paper
Scissors
Black marker pen
Gluestick
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!WARNING! Remember that scissors are sharp. Adult supervision is always required when children are using scissors!
This is what you will need to do:
1. Cut circles from orange and yellow paper. You might like to trace a circle onto the paper first to help with the cutting. For each lion, you will need one large circle and one smaller circle.
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2. Use the glue stick to paste the smaller circle into the center of the larger circle.
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3. Using a black marker pen, draw a face on the lion.
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4. Grab a pair of child safe scissors and snip from the outside of the larger circle to the smaller circle. Keep cutting until you have snipped around the entire circle.
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5. Paste your lion down onto a piece of colored paper using your glue stick.
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If you would like a copy of the FREE printable version of this activity, download the file below.
We loved this fun counting and early numeracy game for kids! It was super easy to put together and was a fun way to recycle a piece of cardboard. It is also a mess-free activity and once made, the game board can be played with over and over again.
If you don’t have time to make your own game board or you would prefer the FREE printable version, simply scroll down for your copy.
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This is what you will need:
A piece of recycled cardboard
Colored construction paper
Scissors
Marker pen
Pom poms
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Cut some cupcake shapes from colored construction paper and paste them onto your piece of recycled cardboard. You could also draw them with marker pens. To be honest, this will probably be a lot quicker and easier than cutting the paper ones out 😉
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2. Label each cupcake with a number. The number will correspond to the number of pom poms you will add to each cupcake.
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3. Grab some pom poms and place the corresponding number onto each labelled cupcake.
I love this colorful mitten number match game I posted on my Instagram this morning! The mittens are super simple to cut from colored construction paper and then you can play with them anyway that you like. You could match pom poms, stickers – any loose parts that you might have. Don’t feel restricted to only adding the pegs.
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What you will need:
Construction paper
Pencil
Scissors
Glue
Pegs or clothespins
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What you will need to do:
1. Draw and cut mitten shapes from colored construction paper. I used my Cricut maker to cut mine. Once you have cut your mitten shapes, label them with a number.
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2. Match pegs or loose parts to each mitten. You can match numbers, colors, shapes – anything that you like.
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Here are some fun and FREE mitten match printables for you!
It doesn’t snow where we live here in Melbourne. In fact, I have probably seen actual, real snow only two or three times in my entire life. I do love the idea of snow though, and how pretty it looks – I am not sure I love that it’s so cold!
In this activity, you will make a fun sensory writing tray that uses coconut as it’s sensory base. The coconut sort of resembles snow, and as well as feeling great – it smells divine! Making this activity is a true sensory learning experience, and a fun way to keep writing practice interesting.
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This is what you will need:
A shallow dish or container. We used this tray from Melissa and Doug. Here is an amazon affiliate link to the product:
1. Pour a small amount of coconut into your tray or dish so that it is covered with a thin layer of coconut. I rarely use food as a crafting material – it is such a waste. But I found this in my pantry and it was close to its use by date, so we decided to use a small amount in this activity.
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2. Place your tray of coconut on a flat surface. You may like to spread out an old sheet or some paper towel under your tray to catch any coconut spills and make clean up easy. Then start writing in the tray. This time, we used a paintbrush to keep things interesting. But you can use any tool that you like – or even just your finger!
We started with letters. I typed up some words and then we used our paint brush to write each letter in the coconut snow! Once you have formed your letter, simply smooth over the coconut letter and start again!
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Don’t feel restricted to only writing letters. Try writing numbers and add some counters to practice counting, subitising and 1:1 correspondence skills. [Have you heard of the term subitising before? Subitising is the ability to recognize the number of objects in a small group without actually counting each item out].
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And you can also practice shape formation too! To do this, I simply printed out some shapes and then placed them next to the tray for my little guys to copy.
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These are the shapes that I printed. You can download your own shape file here:
Once you have finished with your writing tray, you might like to store the coconut in an air tight container to use again another day. You might even like to dye your coconut with some food coloring. It is up to you how you choose to play and learn!
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Thank you so much for reading! Any thoughts or questions, please pop them in the comments section below. Jacinta Xx
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Please enjoy these fun FREE winter counting printables!
Getting out and exploring our neighborhood and enjoying nature has been so important to us this year. It has allowed for fresh air, calm and a change of scenery! While we have been out and about exploring, we have collected all sorts of beautiful natural specimens that we have turned into these wonderful crafts!
!WARNING! remember to watch for car and bike traffic while out walking, and always walk safely with an adult.
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Nature Vases
These vases are made from a piece of recycled cardboard, this particular one was cut from the side of a delivery box, and are a great way to go on a nature hunt around your local neighborhood.
This is what you will need:
Recycled cardboard
Marker pens
Bamboo skewer
!WARNING! please be careful when using the bamboo skewers to make holes in the card. Bamboo skewers are sharp. It is strongly recommended that an adult makes the holes in the card using the bamboo skewer.
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Draw a vase onto the piece of cardboard with black marker pen. Add some pattern and detail to your vase. Feel free to be as creative as you like! Then, color your vase with marker pens.
2. Take your bamboo skewer and make holes in the cardboard above the vase. Remember that bamboo skewers are sharp! So it is best to ask an adult to do this step.
3. Take your cardboard outdoors and search your neighborhood for colorful flowers and leaves. Push the stems of the leaves and flowers through the holes in the card.
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Flower Crowns
This gorgeous flower crown craft is super easy to put together! You will only need a couple of easy to source materials to make this beautiful piece of art.
This is what you will need:
Recycled cardboard
Pencil
Scissors
Acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Black marker pen
Bamboo skewer
!WARNING! please be careful when using the bamboo skewers to make holes in the card. Bamboo skewers are sharp. It is strongly recommended that an adult makes the holes in the card using the bamboo skewer.
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Using your pencil, draw the face shape onto your piece of cardboard. Cut around your drawing with pencil. Then paint the hair and use the marker pen to draw the face.
2. Carefully take the bamboo skewer and make holes across the hairline. Remember that bamboo skewers are sharp! It is best to ask an adult to do this step!
3. Now head outside on a nature hunt and search for all sorts of flowers that will make a beautiful flower crown!
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Nature Color Hunt
This nature hunt is fun to make and is a great way to learn colors! Again, all you will need is a piece of recycled cardboard and some paint to make your very own.
This is what you will need:
Recycled cardboard
Paint
Paintbrush
Bamboo skewer
!WARNING! please be careful when using the bamboo skewers to make holes in the card. Bamboo skewers are sharp. It is strongly recommended that an adult makes the holes in the card using the bamboo skewer.
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Paint strips of color onto the piece of recycled cardboard.
2. Carefully use the bamboo skewer to make holes along each strip of color. Remember that the bamboo skewers are sharp. It is best to ask an adult to do this step.
You may even like to add some little labels to bring some literacy and early reading skills into the activity.
3. Head outside and collect all sorts of flower and leaf specimens and push them into their correct colored holes.
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There are so many fun ways to use nature specimens in kids crafts! What is your favorite activity? Thank you for reading! Jacinta Xx
Halloween is fast approaching and my kids are getting super excited! Even though the holiday will look a bit different this year and trick or treating probably wont be happening where we live – I am still determined to make it as fun as possible.
These three activities are super easy to set up and lots of fun to play. They each use clear sticky contact – the type that you would cover school books with. Clear contact is such a fun craft material! I always have some on hand at home.
Please note that the materials list in this post contain referral links!
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The first sticky contact activity that I want to share with you is this ghostly yarn art activity.
1. Place your cardboard on a flat surface. Draw a ghost on some black construction paper and glue it to the cardboard. Cut some eyes and a mouth from the white construction paper and paste down these pieces too! Cover the cardboard with clear contact – sticky side up. You may like to decorate your cardboard with a strip of colored washi tape to finish.
2. Cut a piece of white yarn and stick it down to the contact. You can start covering your ghost anywhere that you like. We started tracing around the edge of our ghost picture.
3. Keep sticking down the yarn until you have covered your entire ghost. The neat thing about this activity is that you can be as creative as you like with how you stick down the yarn. You might like to add long, straight lengths of yarn or you may like to swirl your yarn pieces.
4. And if you have younger children, you might like to use cotton balls to stick to your ghost. They work really well too and look great!
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The next activity I want to share with you is this fun erasable tracing board. This activity is great for developing fine motor skills and once you’ve made it, can be used over and over again! It’s a great way to save paper!
Here is what you will need:
Recycled Cardboard
Spider Web Printable (See step 1)
Clear Contact
Erasable Marker pens
Paper Towel
Here is what you will need to do:
1. Start by printing the PDF attached below and paste it to a piece of cardboard. Once the glue is dry, cover the printed sheet with clear contact. For this activity, you will stick the contact down as you would normally cover a book. You may like to finish the board with a washi tape boarder.
2. Now trace away! Grab a dry erase or white board marker and start tracing!
3. Once you have finished tracing, simply grab some paper towel and wipe the marker away. Then you can start tracing again!
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The final activity that I want to share with you is this fun sticky mummy activity! This is such fun, and best of all, you only need a few simple materials to make one.
This is what you will need:
A piece of recycled cardboard
Black construction paper
Glue stick
Clear Contact
Scissors
White washi tape
This is what you will need to do:
1. Trace a circle shape onto black construction paper and paste the circle onto the piece of cardboard. Add some big eyes to the center of your circle. Cover the entire board with clear contact, smoothing any bubbles out with your fingers as you go. You may like to decorate the boarder of your cardboard with a strip of washi tape.
If you like, you can use this Mummy picture instead of drawing your own:
2. Next, grab your roll of washi tape and start adding strips to your mummy. Each of these strips that you add will represent the mummies bandages. You can either tear lengths of tape straight from the roll and attach to the board, or use your scissors to neatly snip. It’s up to you. Both ways will look great!
3. Once you have finished your Mummy, you can remove the tape from the clear contact. You probably won’t be able to use the tape again, but you will be able to reuse the board.
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I hope that you have enjoyed reading this article and find it useful this Halloween holiday! Jacinta Xx
I really love activities that develop math skills! Especially activities that encourage number recognition, counting skills, subitising and 1:1 correspondence. The activities that I describe here are perfect for developing all of these early numeracy skills. And best of all, you probably have everything you need to play at home already!
These activities are actually an extension of a recent blog article I posted entitled “Build A City.” You may have read it already? As well as working on the early math skills I listed above, these activities also introduce some simple addition and subtraction principles.
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This is what you will need:
Printed copy of the downloadable files
Lego, duplo bricks or building blocks
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Build a Tower
For this first activity, simply print out the “Build a Tower” file – you will find a link at the end of this paragraph. Then build a tower, stacking the number of bricks or blocks in each square. You will notice that the squares on the page are at different angles. This encourages your child to manipulate the angle of their tower on the page. This manipulation of angle is great for developing fine motor skills.
Here are the files that you will need. There is a black and white one, where you can match any color bricks to the squares, and a colored file. For this one, you can match colored bricks to each square.
You will get to practice some easy addition in this activity. Begin by printing out the downloadable file – again, you will find this file at the end of the paragraph. Then simply add the blocks together to build the towers.
You guessed it! This next activity is subtract a tower. Start by printing the downloadable file and then substract the blocks. Place the resulting stack onto the corresponding square.
I first posted this super easy activity a couple of months back as a fun way for kids to practice their early number skills. The idea is to simply match the corresponding number of sticker or googly eyes to each number. This activity is perfect for practicing number recognition, number order, 1:1 correspondence and subitising skills.
Once you match the stickers to the numbers, it kind of makes the numbers look like monsters! So come October, this activity will be a super fun Halloween game too.
I have used stickers in the above pictures to label each number, but you can also use googly eyes! You can even use the googly eyes like counters, rather than gluing them down, so that you can play over and over again.
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This is what you will need:
Copy of the FREE printable file
Stickers or googly eyes
White school glue (optional)
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This is what you will need to do:
1. Print the free downloadable file.
2. You can now play any way that you like! You can use googly eyes to decorate your numbers, either gluing them down, or if you would like to use your print out over and over, simply use the googly eyes like counters. That way you can move them into place, and then clear them away.
!WARNING: Remember that googly eyes are a choking hazard. Always closely supervise your children and never give googly eyes to mouthing babies to play with!
3. I used some fun sticker eyes that we had at home to label the pictures that I posted over on Instagram. If you don’t have these stickers, you could try drawing some eyes with chalk or a white gel pen.
And that’s it! A really fun and super easy activity to play with your children or students this Halloween.
