COUNTING NATURE
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Take your children outside and play a counting game. |
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Let your take turns choosing an outdoor item. |
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Then walk around the yard together counting how many you can find. |
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Example: Trees, toy cars, swings, wagons, etc.
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COUNTING PUSHES
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If you have a swing in your yard, encourage your child to count with you each time you give them a push. |
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If you have more than one child wanting to swing, you can use the counting game to tell you when it is time to give the other child a bush. |
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Example: Six pushes for Mary and then six pushes for Tommy. |
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YARD CLEAN UP COUNTING
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Ask your children to help you clean up the yard. |
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Select a number such as 3, and have everyone find three things out of place and then put them back where they belong.
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HOP SCOTCH TOSS
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Draw a simple hop scotch board on the sidewalk or other cement area. |
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Let your children take turns tossing a bean bag onto the board. |
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If the child lands on a number, say the number and then count out that many small treats for that child. |
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Example: The child’s bean bag lands on the number four. Count out five fish crackers or raisins for that child. |
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WAGON WALK
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Every day place a different number on a small wagon. |
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Let children take turns, taking the wagon around the yard for a walk collecting items to put in the wagon. |
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The object of the game is to place the same number of items in the wagon as the number on the wagon indicates. |
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When the child has the correct number of items in his wagon, he can show you, then have him replace the items back where they belong, so another child can have a turn.
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GROUPINGS
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Play a grouping game, by having your children look for groups of objects. |
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Ask, “Can anyone find a group of three similar items. |
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You may want to set up the play area with groups of items before the children arrive. |
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FISHING POND
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Set up a pretend fishing pond. |
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Create ten fish by cutting fish shapes out of heavy cardboard. |
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Add an eye and a mouth to each fish, using a black marking pen. |
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Add a paper clip to the tail of each fish. |
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Place the fish in a circle of rocks or in the middle of a hoola hoop. |
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Next, create a fishing pole by tying a string to a wooden spoon and then attaching a magnet to the other end of the string. |
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Let your children take turns fishing. |
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How many fish can they catch in one minute? |
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