Creative Family Fun

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Learning Activities for Kids

Math Play: Counting Blocks

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On Monday, I mentioned that we had been using the book Math Play! by Diane McGowan and Mark Schrooten lately to work on our numbers and have fun at the same time. I wanted to tell you a little more about it, because it truly is a great resource for toddlers and preschoolers. The book is designed for ages 2 to 6, making it perfect for my 4- and 2-year old. The activities are fun, easy to set up and require little if any special supplies. We’ve had the book for a couple of weeks now and have already done 8 activities with plans to do more.

 

One game we had a lot of fun with was Tower Counter. The supply list: blocks. Yep, that’s it. Easy-peasy. I started by asking her to build towers with a certain amount of blocks. She’s build it. Then I’d either ask her to add a certain amount or take away a certain amount. After she did that, she recounted the blocks in her tower. It was a great introduction to addition and subtraction for the preschool age. Lizzie had a blast and kept wanting to play well beyond the point where I thought she’d want to stop. What was AJ doing this whole time? She was building with us, just not using the math concepts. She was in the build and knock down mode.

If you’re looking for a great way to introduce or reinforce some math concept, take a peek at Math Play! It’s a great resource.

Make Learning a Game

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Motivation has been a huge problem with my 4-year-old lately, especially when it comes to learning writing skills. She has the tendency to use the words “I can’t” too much without even trying. After a few weeks of wanting to bash my head against a wall, I came up with a solution. Turn learning into a game! Two pieces of paper and a Sharpie later and I had the “Lizzie Learns her Numbers” game. Yep, it did the trick.

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I drew a board game form and started filling in the squares with the skills I wanted her to work on – writing her numbers. I also included fun games and activities designed to help her with her numbers. Most of the activities on the game were pulled from Math Play! by Diane McGowan and Mark Schrooten. (This is a wonderful resource for fun math activities for ages 2 to 6.) She has to complete a square to earn a sticker and move on to the next. Every 4 to 5 squares also has a special prize that she’ll earn. When she completes the entire board, she will earn a grand prize.

In order to make the flip up squares, I cut around 3 sides of one of the squares. I then glued an extra piece of paper to the back of the game, that way, when she flipped up the square, I had room to write underneath it. Simple!

I’m sure you’re wondering what sort of prizes she’s earning through this game. I’ve filled it with fun activities such as making cookies, a trip to the park and finger painting. I tried to come up with things that would be a treat, yet wouldn’t cost me money. The grand prize will be a trip to a nature center.

So far, the game is working to motivate her. Her “I can’t’s” are gone and she’s actually eager to learn to write. So, if you’re having a problem motivating your little one, turn it into a game!