Snowflake Bump Game

C is in 4K now and is sent home a simple homework activity every week. This past weekend she came home with a game I hadn't heard of before - a math bump game. After a quick search on Teachers Pay Teachers I found the exact game she brought home. She loved it so much we created a version she can play at home since she had to return the Gingerbread Bump Game back to school. (click on the titles for the printable)

3 Dice Addition Game

 

2 Dice Addition Game

2 Dice Subtraction

Directions

Each player needs 20 makers (ones that are stackable are preferred) - each player needs a different color.

Players take turns rolling the dice. Add (or subtract) the dice together and cover that number on the game board (if subtracting tell child to find the larger number and subtract from that die)

If that number is already covered by another player, they can bump that marker off and replace it with their marker.

If the number is already covered by your marker, you can place another one of your markers on top of the one already on the board. Once a number is "doubled up" it is locked and cannot be bumped off.

If a number is rolled that is locked up,  that player skips their turn.

The game is over when all numbers are covered.
The winner is whoever has the most numbers covered with 2 markers.

Snowman Math Game

C is really into math right now, so I made this quick snowman game for us to play together.

I cut circles for the bottom, middle and head of the snowmen.

Then wrote numbers on them so the top and middle circles would equal the number on the bottom circle. I made them reversible as well and made a few sets, using different colors.

Dot Marker Counting

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This was a pretty simple activity to set up and play.

First I took our dot marker set, which includes 6 colors, and dotted each side of a 1 inch wood block with each color.

Then C and I took turns rolling a number die and the color die. If we rolled a "3" and a "teal" then we would put 3 teal dots on a piece of paper. We weren't making any special pictures, we were just going to play until the paper was filled up (or until C was done with the game) But you could play with any dot marker printable out there, or make a picture as you go.

We ended up filling up almost the entire paper.

Dice Games

C is is really into playing dice games (if you couldn't tell by the recent posts)

I made these 2 felt board games for her to play. You could also play the game with construction paper pieces or by drawing the different parts.

 

We play pretty much like the Cooties game, you have to roll a 1 before you can add the other pieces.

free printable

Roll & Color Turkey

What you need:

• A printout of this turkey
• Color Die
• Number Die

Roll the dice and color the number you roll using the color you roll. Continue until the picture is colored.

 

Linky Parties

Math Game - Add & Subtract

I came up with a version of this apple game from Little Family Fun after I realized I didn't make enough apples for both of us to keep adding apples. 

Players:
2

What you need:

1 die
Game board (can be a plain sheet of paper, or a picture to match your theme)
Anything you can count (crumpled up paper, blocks, erasers, beads, pom poms, etc.)

Rules:
The first player roles the die and adds that many counters to the board.
The second player roles the die and takes that many off the board.
If there is not enough on the board to take away or enough off the board to add, then the player skips a turn. (C was always asking, "are there enough to take away?")
You can play as long as you want.

 adding 4

 taking away 1

C loved this game!

We later played the game using star shaped erasers.

 

Math Board

I came up with this mini abacus to make C because she is very into math right now. She is always asking me, "What is 5+7" or "What is 3+3+3?".

I took a piece of cardboard, cut slots on the sides and added some yarn and beads. Pretty easy.

And now she can do her own math facts :)

I am thinking of writing the number of beads next to each row.

Halloween Math Mats

Today's game is very similar to the activity I mentioned back in February. The only difference is the shape used :)

First C dropped 5 black pom poms onto a pumpkin shape. She counted how many landed on and off the pumpkin. I recorded the numbers since she is very interested in math facts (and dressing like a ballerina).

 We did other combinations as well

 Then she made some faces

 Then I switched the picture to a spider web. Here she was counting how many small and big "spiders" were on the web.

Then she rolled a number die and put that many "spiders" on the web.

Roll and Color

For this game, C rolled one of the color dies I made for the peg people game and then a number die. She then colored the number she rolled using the color she rolled. If she landed on the rainbow side, she got to pick the color to color the number.

I am sure I have seen this online, but I cannot remember where. If it is your original idea let me know and I will give you credit.

Tot School

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Updated 5.21.14
I created a Teachers Pay Teachers store to hopefully eliminate some downloading issues. For now only the original version (with a few edits) is available. You have to sign up, but it is free. Check it out here



**UPDATED**

A-Z paths ~ D’Nealian font
 (I used a free font called Block Letters Tryout)

A-Z paths ~ Zaner-Bloser Font

Go to my "printables" page for individual letters

 C had to dot over the letter A's along a path using our dot markers. I told her the lower case "a" (which was first) had to find the upper case "A" at the end. Idea similar to this idea at A Mommy's Adventure, which C also did.

 I also printed out the letters of her name multiple times, upper and lower case, randomly on a piece of paper. Then she had to follow my directions "Mark the letter "C's" green" and "Mark the letter "o's" yellow", etc.
**Updated 11.12.12 ~ if you are looking to do a similar activity, check out Little Miss Glamour Goes to Kindergarten, she created a free printable that includes all letters.

*You can find dot markers here

 I made this fridge magnet chart, idea found at Chalk in my Pocket. After she completed it, I mixed up the letters for her to fix. She thought that was pretty silly and enjoyed fixing my mistakes :)

 I also made some word charts. This idea is from Camp Slop.

I also  made these block puzzles for C, idea from Activity Mom. I used 1 inch foam blocks I found at Goodwill. I found these on Amazon, but they are pretty pricey. You could make this activity to fit what you have on hand.

C thought the puzzle she is doing in the top picture looked like hopscotch, so I made her an indoor hopscotch using painter's tape (since it still looks & feels like winter here)

And that's about it, my mom visited us Wed-Fri, so we took a few days off.

Shapes, Colors and Counting

I came across these games in my collection when I was looking for things to put in "quiet boxes" for C (more about those later)

I cut out a few shapes using the colors we were working on at the time. I put the larger shapes I cut out on a piece of big paper, the smaller shapes on the cards. I wrote how many counters I wanted the children to put on the shapes. I made the two games below, but you could use any shape, colors and numbers you wish, making it age appropriate (I made this a few years ago for an older preschool classroom). For counters you could use anything - pom poms, erasers, flat marbles, beads, etc.

Simple Math Game

I posted this activity last year but since I really like this game, as did C, I thought I would repost it.

All you need is a heart glued onto a piece of paper and some pom poms (or cotton balls, or any other small object)

C stood above the heart and dropped 3 pom poms. She then counted how many landed on the heart and how many landed off of the heart. We even counted how many landed on the carpet when that happened. It is a great beginning math skill game! You can make it as easy or hard as you want. Plus, it can easily be used for any day use by using different shapes.