Math Activities for Kids

25+ Things to Count to 100

January 21, 2019 By Terri Thompson

When I was in elementary school, the 100th day passed with absolutely no fanfare.

That’s not the case these days.

Some schools go all out with parties and t-shirt decorating. We’ve never had to decorate t-shirts. Thank goodness.

But, we have received the “Please bring in 100 of one item for our 100th Day Celebration.” Eep. Help.

After I wiped the sweat off my brow and thought just a little bit, I had a ton of ideas. My daughter brought along a bag of cotton balls and I didn’t even have to go to the store. Easy-peasy.

To save you from panicking if you receive the same note, here are over 25 things to count to 100.

Here are over 25 everyday things to count to 100. They're all small, easy-to-find, and perfect to bring for the 100th day of school.

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Most of the items you’ll find on this list are everyday items. I’m sure there’s at least one or two things you already have at home.

If you do need to go out and purchase something, many of these items come in large packs so you won’t need to spend more than a few dollars.

25 Things to Count to 100

1. Puzzle pieces. Just grab a 100-piece puzzle. No counting needed!

2. Pony beads or any other larger bead

3. Cotton balls

4. Googly eyes

5. Pencils

6. Toothpicks

7. Crayons

8. Paper Clips

9. Cotton swabs

10. Pennies

11. Buttons

12. Stickers

13. Clothespins

14. Small bathroom cups

15. Rocks

16. Bottle Caps

17. Craft sticks

18. Glass florist gems

19. Mini erasers

20. Pom poms

21. Squares of paper. Just take a couple of pieces of construction paper and cut it into 100 squares.

22. LEGO bricks

23. Drinking straws

24. Pipe cleaners

25. Cap erasers

Food Items to Count to 100

Note: It’s likely that food items aren’t allowed at school. But, if you want to practice at home, these are good choices.

26. O-shaped cereal. But, don’t get the flavored kind because they can get sticky!

27. Popcorn kernels

28. Dried beans

29. Mini marshmallows

If your child brings home a note asking them to bring in small things to count to 100, don’t panic. You’ve got this. Easy-peasy.

My must have counting resources:

If you don’t already have some of these items at home, you can easily find them at Amazon. Here are some options for the next time you’re asked to bring 100 things to count to school:

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Candy Heart Addition Math Activity

January 14, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Do you like candy hearts?

Some people love them. Some people love to hate them. Me, personally, I love them!

Even if you hate them, they’re a fun way to add a little Valentine’s twist to learning.

Grab a box of candy hearts and get ready to practice addition with this fun Valentine’s Day math activity, Candy Heart Addition.

Use a fun candy treat to practice math with Candy Heart Addition Valentine's Day Math Activity. It's fun way to practice adding!

The concept for this activity is really simple. We’re going to use candy hearts as a math manipulative to work on our addition skills.

How to set up:

You’ll need three heart doilies, some candy hearts, and a set of math problems.

Pull your addition problems from the group of math facts your child is currently working on. Or, write down some problems from a homework sheet. This is a great way to use a set of flashcards sent home from school.

Write your math problems on a few index cards if you don’t have flashcards.

Once you have your math problems ready, lay out the three doilies and a pile of candy hearts. That’s it. This activity is ready to go.

How to play Candy Heart Addition:

Grab an addition problem. Use candy hearts to put the correct amount on two of the doilies.

In the example above, we need to solve 4+1. We put four candy hearts on one doily and one candy heart on another doily.

Add the two numbers together and put the correct amount of candy hearts on the third doily.

Word through your pile of math problems using your candy heart manipulatives to solve each one.

Extend the fun:

You can use this activity to practice subtraction too. It’s not just an addition activity. Use this activity to supplement whatever your child needs to work on.

Make the activity a little harder. Eliminate the third doily and do the math without the manipulatives.

This activity is a nice way to introduce the concept of addition. Demonstrate how you can count the candy hearts on the first two doilies to find the answer to the equation.

Grab your candy hearts for this fun Valentine’s Day math activity. Candy Heart Addition is a lot of fun – and you don’t have to eat them if you don’t want to!

Math resources you’ll love

We love using games to practice our math. Here are some great ones you’ll love playing.

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

One Fish Two Fish Number Match

January 7, 2019 By Terri Thompson

I haven’t met too many kids who don’t like Dr. Seuss books. My girls definitely love them.

It’s hard to choose a favorite, but One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish is definitely on the top of the list.

It’s very nonsensical, but great for new readers.

The book is also so much fun for a read aloud, and would work great paired up with a fun math activity, like this One Fish Two Fish Number Match Game.

This One Fish Two Fish number match activity is a fun way to practice numbers and counting. It's a fun math game for preschool and kindergarten.

This game is simple to prep and it’s fun math practice for your preschoolers and kindergartners.

Grab your copy of the book and let’s get started making our One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish number match activity!

Supplies Needed:

Red Construction Paper
Blue Construction Paper
Scissors
Black Marker

How to make your One Fish Two Fish number match game:

You will need 10 red fish and 10 blue fish. You should be able to get at least 10 fish from each piece of construction paper.

To make it more simple, create a simple template for yourself. Cut out one fish and trace it to make the rest of your fish.

Once you have your fish cut out, write the numbers 1 through 10 on your red fish. Use dots to represent each of the numbers on your blue fish.

Ways to play:

Mix up your blue fish, then mix up your red fish. Have your child match each number fish to its corresponding dot fish.

Play a memory game. Flip over each of the fish. Take turns choosing fish. Turn over one blue fish and one red fish. Do they match? If not, try again.

Use the number fish to count small manipulatives (such as mini erasers, coins, or pieces of cereal). Choose a number fish, then count out the correct number of item.

Count the dots on the blue fish and say the number out loud.

Can you think of other ways to play this One Fish Two Fish number match activity?

This game also works well as a simple busy bag. Slip your fish in a basket or bag and it’s ready to play anytime your child needs some number practice.

One Fish Two Fish Number Match is easy to prep and fun to play. It’s a great way to practice number and will probably inspire many readings of the book.

If you liked this post, you may also like one of these math games:

Skip Counting with the Cat in the Hat

Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart

Making 10 with Green Eggs and Ham

Apple Counting Rocks

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish Size Sorting Activity at Inspiration Laboratories

Fun hands-on math resources

When we practice math at home, we love to play games. These games are so much fun and a great hands-on activity. Plus, it’s a great way to combine a family activity with learning. Check out some of these awesome math games below:

Are you looking for more kids activities?

Paper Plate Addition Game

December 30, 2018 By Terri Thompson

Practice makes perfect, right?

I know that’s true when it comes to math. Practicing addition, subtraction, and multiplication all help your child become proficient.

It always seems like the default way to practice math is with flash cards. But, today, we’re going to ditch those flash cards (for good) and practice math with this fun Paper Plate Addition Game.

It’s easy to make and you can play it over and over again.

This simple paper plate addition game is a great hands on tool to help your child practice math skills while having lots of fun.

Supplies Needed for Paper Plate Addition

Paper plate
Black marker
One or two dice
Small sticky notes
Small manipulatives, such as buttons, mini erasers, or coins

Make a simple DIY paper plate addition game to help your child practice math skills like addition and subraction. Fun for the classsroom and home.

How to Make This Math Addition Game

Use your black marker to draw a line across the center of your plate. Next, draw a line to divide the top half in half again. See the picture above for an illustration.

Write a plus sign on one of the sticky notes. If you also want to practice subtraction, write a minus sign on another sticky note.

Place your sticky note on the line dividing the top half of your paper.

Gather your dice and your buttons. It’s time to for some math addition practice.

How to play Paper Plate Addition:

Roll one die. Place that number of buttons in the first section of your plate.

Roll the die again. Place that number of buttons in the second section.

Add the two sections together and put the correct number of buttons in the bottom half of the plate.

Remove the buttons and play again.

You can play over and over again as much as you want!

More ways to play:

Practice subtraction: Roll two dice to find your numbers in the top section. Subtract the numbers and place the correct amount of buttons in your bottom section.

Add bigger numbers: Use two dice instead of one to add bigger numbers.

Practice specific math fact families: Are you practicing +2 facts? Always start with 2 buttons in the first section and roll a die to find the second number. Then add the two together. You can practice any set of math facts this way.

How would you use this paper plate addition game?

Fun hands-on math resources

Are you looking for more kids activities?

Hands-On Perimeter Activity: Perimeter Lab

December 6, 2018 By Terri Thompson

Measurement is more than just grabbing a ruler and measuring the length of an object. There’s width, weight, circumference, area, perimeter, and more, so much more.

I love measurement activities because they’re so often hands-on activities, and this idea is no exception.

This perimeter activity is a fun invitation you can quickly set-up so your child can practice measuring and calculating.

Explore measurement with this simple hands-on perimeter activity for kids, a Perimeter Lab math invitation. They'll measure, calculate, and have fun.

So, grab a few items and let’s create a Perimeter Lab.

Explore measurement with this simple hands-on perimeter activity for kids, a Perimeter Lab math invitation. The'll measure, calculate, and have fun.

Set-up your perimeter activity

Set-up is so easy!

First, you’ll need some measurement tools: a ruler, pencil, and your perimeter lab recording sheet.

Click this link to download your perimeter lab recording sheet.

You’ll also need a variety of things to measure. Choose items of various sizes that are rectangular or square. Look for books, boxes, board or card games. You could also cut pieces of paper into different sized squares or rectangles.

Does your child already know how to find the perimeter or are they just learning?

If they already know, set them loose with this math invitation for a fun way to review perimeter.

They can use the recording sheet to walk through the process and find the perimeter of the different objects that you’ve set out.

But, if they don’t know, you can use the recording sheet to walk them through the process.

How do you find the perimeter of an object?

First, grab the ruler. You’ll want to measure side A, side B, side C, and side D of your rectangular object. (See the picture above for reference.)

After you’ve recorded all the measurements, add all the sides together to find the perimeter of the object.

Variations of this perimeter activity

Since we’re just grabbing random objects to measure, you may want to alter this perimeter activity just a bit to fit with your child’s ability.

Depending on your child’s ability, you may want to have them round their measurements to the nearest inch or half-inch. If they’re comfortable with fractions or decimals, they can use more specific measurements.

If all you want to do is get comfortable with calculating perimeter, then getting exact measurements isn’t necessary.

Check your work.

There’s no answer key to this project. You can pre-measure all the items (if you really want to) to create an answer key. Or, just look over the process and the answers to see if your child is correctly figuring perimeter. You can also have your child double-check their work.

Correct answers are important in math, but so is learning the process. Know the process first and then focus on finding the correct measurement later.

A Perimeter Lab is a fun way to learn the process behind calculating perimeter. You’re doing real-life measurements and not just looking at a drawing on a piece of paper. It’s fun, it’s hands-on, and it’s a great way to extend learning at home.

Math Activities for Kids

25+ Things to Count to 100