Thankfully, early learners LOVE to count and it’s an easy skill to teach – one you can reinforce all day, every day.  Walking down the hallway to the cafeteria with your class? Count the number of classrooms you pass or how many stairs you have to travel up or down.

When we find themes that resonate with our students, it helps them understand and retain what we are teaching. Looking for a fun way to practice number sense with your little learners? Check out this penguin counting craft that can easily be adapted to fit various themes. To further their learning of numbers, take a look at this counting book idea with stickers. 

Decorate your classroom with these fun number posters, and your students will be recognizing and ordering numbers in no time! Incorporate counting into your sensory bins with activities like this Spider Counting Mat Activity.  Or integrate counting into your whole group or read aloud time by enjoying one of these Counting Books for Little Learners.

Playing math games to build number sense is a great way to get kids learning without realizing they’re learning!

Counting Puzzles

These FREE counting puzzles for preschoolers are the perfect activity for strengthening counting and building number sense.  Your learners will first count the number of beads on a string and then the number of buttons in the jar before matching them to the written number. 

These number sense counting puzzles will make a fantastic addition to your math center!  Students can complete them independently, and you can check them at the end. Or use them in small groups during math time to help students who need a more hands-on approach.  They also can enhance any whole group lesson by passing out a puzzle piece per student and together finding each puzzle piece for every number in turn. 

Inside You’ll Find:

• 21 Beads and Button Puzzles Numbers 0-20

These fantastic number sense puzzles for little learners come in both black and white AND color options. Have your students color in the black and white version to create a more personalized set!

Getting Your Beads & Buttons Counting Puzzles Ready

Prepping your free number puzzles is quick and easy.  You will need: 

• Paper or cardstock
• Laminator
• Laminating pouches
• Scissors or paper cutter
• Rubber bands for storage

I recommend printing the number puzzles onto cardstock and laminating for both durability and longevity.  This also will allow students to use a dry erase marker on the counting puzzles for an added modification. 

Once you have printed and laminated the puzzles, trim to the edges and cut on the two curved lines, separating each puzzle piece.  For easiest storage, we recommend using rubber bands and keeping 3-4 puzzles together.  Once they are together in sets, store in a quart-sized Ziploc bag or pencil case for quick and easy access.

Using Counting Puzzles with Little Learners

This simple yet effective number sense game has students counting from 1-20 multiple times, as well as identifying a quantity and matching it to the corresponding number which cultivates one-to-one correspondence. 

For first-time use, give students only two puzzles at a time.  As students show mastery, increase the number of puzzles they receive at a time to improve sorting abilities.  

For students who may struggle with inaccurate counting, have them use a dry erase marker to cross out each bead and button after it has been counted. This will help them to slow down and be conscious of the items they are counting, increasing accuracy and understanding. Using counting puzzles for a hands-on math game will build their confidence while they’re having fun!

Download Your Counting Puzzles

Download a F-R-E-E copy of our Beads and Button Counting Puzzles for PreK by clicking the link below.  You will automatically be emailed a secure download! 

Looking for more ways to help build number sense?

For more hands-on counting math games, check out our Insect Skip Counting Puzzles for an added challenge. Or look at our Insect Counting Mats for students who need additional hands-on counting practice. Check out all of these fun counting games to build your students’ confidence with number sense.

Looking for even more math center activities for your little learners?  Consider joining our Dollar Teachers Club! For less than a dollar a day, you will get access to brand new monthly center resources for math AND literacy! Request to join here.

If you can’t find a resource that you would LOVE to have for your teacher toolbox, contact me and I would be happy to make it for you!

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Sunflower Addition and Subtraction Printable covers numbers 1-20. Each number will have five pieces all together. There will be the sunflower number cover and then each number will have two addition problems cards and two subtraction problems cards.

Getting Sunflower Addition and Subtraction Printable Ready

This free printable is very easy to prep. I recommend printing on cardstock and laminating so it can easily be used year after year. These are quick and easy to cut. Simply use a paper cuter and you will be done in no time!

Doing Sunflower Addition and Subtraction Printable Activity

Students will start the activity by placing all of the pieces on the floor or table.

They will choose a sunflower number card. I always encourage my students to say the number out loud. This student chose a number two.

Students will then sort through all white circles looking for addition and subtraction problems that equal the given number.

Once the flower has all six circles representing the corresponding number, they can pick a new number and start again.

Another way this could be completed, is to have all of the sunflowers laid out on a table or even the floor. Students will then sort through all of the addition and subtraction problems and sort according to their answer.

If you have younger (or struggling) students that would be overwhelmed by the number of puzzle pieces in this activity, scale it back. Provide them with only the addition problems or maybe even one addition problem and one subtraction problem. Once they master those, you can slowly add in more.

For young students, you can easily adapt the sunflower number cards into a counting activity. My daughter had a blast counting sunflower seeds and placing it on the cards.

Download Your Sunflower Addition and Subtraction Printable Below!

Can you not find a resource that you would LOVE to have for your classroom? Contact me and I would be happy to make it for you.

Click the picture below to download.

I hope that you and your students enjoy Sunflower Addition and Subtraction Printable to use in your classroom this year!

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What You Need for Spider Counting Sensory Activity

• Spiders
• Ice Tray
• Jumbo Tweezers
• Plastic container
• Spaghetti
• Vegetable Oil
• Marker

Getting Spider Counting Sensory Activity Ready

1. First you will want to use a permanent marker to write the numbers in the bottom of each compartment in the ice trays. I recommend having one ice tray per student.

2. Next you will want to cook the spaghetti. After cooking it, cool down with cold water and place back in the pot.

3. Mix a smidge of vegetable oil in with the spaghetti and mix together. This will keep the spaghetti from sticking together.

4. Place spaghetti in the container that you will want your students to use for the sensory activity. I used a plastic bin similar to this and mix the spiders together.

5. Grab the Jumbo Tweezers and then you are ready for the activity!

Doing Spider Counting Sensory Activity

When we first start a sensory bin, I think it so important to let your students explore it first. If you skip this step, then you can run the risk of your students staying off task during the activity and not using it as intended.

Students will search through the “spider webs” looking for spiders. Once they find one, they will use the jumbo tweezers to grab the spiders.

They will then place the spiders one by one in the ice tray with the jumbo tweezers. It is important to encourage your students to count how many spiders they have as they place them in the ice tray.

Can you not find a resource that you would LOVE to have for your classroom? Contact me and I would be happy to make it for you.

I hope that you and your students enjoy the Spider Counting Sensory Activity!

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Groundhog First to Twenty Math Game contains four different math mats, as well as a DIY number cube.

Getting Groundhog First to Twenty Math Game Ready

You will want to print out enough math mats for your students to complete. My students always completed this game during math centers so I always had five printed and ready to go. Whatever your magic number is, have that many printed. It is recommended that you print on cardstock and laminate so that they can be used for years to come. You will need to print out the dice and glue together. I find that it does better when also printed on cardstock.

Doing Groundhog First to Twenty Math Game

Each student playing the game, will need to have a math mat, counters, and a number cube (or dice). If students are working in pairs or small groups, I always encourage each student to roll the dice before starting. The highest (or lowest) number gets to be the first person to roll.

The first person will roll the dice. My daughter’s number was three so she placed three counters on her math mat.

The next person will then roll the dice and place counters on their mat. This will continue until the lucky winner fills up their board to twenty!

If your students are wanting a challenge, you can make it where they have to roll on the exact number left in order to fill up their board and win. For example, this student has 17 spots filled up. They have only there left. In order to win, he must roll a 3. If he does not roll a 3, one of his partners may be able to win.

Download your free Groundhog First to Twenty Math Game below!

Can you not find a resource that you would LOVE to have for your classroom? Contact me and I would be happy to make it for you.

Click the picture below to download.

I hope that you and your students enjoy this Groundhog First to Twenty Math Game!  Are you looking for more groundhog ideas and activities, similar to do at home or in the classroom? If so, check out some more of our favorites below or check out all of our ideas under the Groundhog Lesson Plans area of our site!

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Zoo First to 20 and First to 50 Math Game contains four different math mats for counting to 20 and four different mats for counting to 0, as well as a printable for a DIY number cube.

Getting Zoo First to 20 and First to 50 Math Game Ready

You will want to print out enough math mats for your students to complete. My students always completed this game during math centers so I always had five printed and ready to go (because that is the max number of students per center).

Whatever your magic number is, have that many printed. It is recommended that you print on cardstock and laminate so that they can be used for years to come. You will need to print out the dice and glue together. I find that it does better when also printed on cardstock.

Doing Zoo First to 20 and First to 50 Math Game

Each student playing the game, will need to have a math mat, counters, and a number cube (or dice). If students are working in pairs or small groups, I always encourage each student to roll the dice before starting. The highest (or lowest) number gets to be the first person to roll.

The first person will roll the dice. My daughter’s number was two.

She placed two counters on her math mat.

The next person will then roll the dice and place counters on their mat. This will continue until the lucky winner fills up their board to twenty!

To shake things up a bit, you can make it where they have to roll on the exact number left in order to fill up their board and win. For example, this student has 19 spots filled up. They have only there left. In order to win, he must roll a 1. If he does not roll a 1, one of his partners may be able to win.

If your students are wanting more of a challenge, they can play First to 50. Students will follow the same instructions as described above, but will have 50 spots to fill on their mats.

Download your free Zoo First to 20 and First to 50 Math Game below!

Can you not find a resource that you would LOVE to have for your classroom? Contact me and I would be happy to make it for you.

Click the picture below to download.

I hope that you and your students enjoy this Zoo First to 20 and First to 50 Math Game!  Are you looking for more zoo ideas and activities, similar to do at home or in the classroom? If so, check out some more of our favorites below or check out all of our ideas under the Zoo Lesson Plans area of our site!

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Summer is a great time to use things around the house to help avoid summer learning loss. This activity is simple to put together in your classroom or parents can become the teacher and do this activity at home. Educators are known for using anything that crosses their path in a cool way like bottle lids, blocks, and mini erasers. So search your house or classroom for anything that will hold your child or student’s interest and start stacking. I will show you how I changed the activity to teach different skills.

Getting Stack a Cap Math Ready:

Materials needed:

• Recycled bottle caps or lids
• Number cards

To get this activity ready I gathered fruit pouch caps, but any manipulative you have that stacks should work fine. My daughter thought it was fun to play with her lids in an unconventional way. I also used 2 sets of single digit numbers from 0-9.

Doing the Stack a Cap Math Activity:

There are several ways you can do this activity. First, I challenged my daughter to make a stacking contest to make the tallest tower possible. She was amazed at how tall she could stack all her lids. Once she was done stacking we counted to see how high her stack was.

Next, I placed the numbers out and had her make stacks of lids that matched each number. We then compared the stacks and decided which one had the most and which one had the least.

For double digit numbers I placed the numbers on the board and she counted out the lids by tens and then by units. This could also work for hundreds and thousands as long as you have enough pouch caps.

If you have two different colored lids, students could use one color for the tens spot and the second color for the units spot to make a more visual difference between the two.

When we were done with the activity I let my daughter come up with her own activity. It’s always nice to let students explore and discover with the materials on their own.

More Math Activities and Ideas

Sunflower Addition and Subtraction Printable

First to 20 and First to 50 Zoo Math Game

Ice Cream Literacy and Math Centers

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What materials do you like to reuse for math practice?

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Materials Needed For The Simple Shape Pencil Craft:

• Yellow construction paper
• Brown construction paper
• Black construction paper
• Pink construction paper
• Aluminum foil
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue

Getting The Simple Shape Pencil Craft Ready:

To prepare for the activity, draw and cut out a large rectangle, small rectangle, large triangle, and small triangle from card stock or other heavy paper for the students to use as templates if they are unable to cut out the shapes freehand.

Doing The Simple Shape Pencil Craft:

To begin this activity, children will use the templates to draw shapes onto their construction paper. They will trace the large rectangle onto the yellow construction paper for the painted wood part of the pencil.

They will then trace the large triangle on the brown construction paper for the wood part of the pencil and a small triangle on the black construction paper for the lead.

Next, the children will trace the small rectangle on the aluminum foil for the metal part of the pencil and another small rectangle on the pink construction paper for the eraser.

After tracing all of the shapes, the children will cut them all out. Your students may need hand-over-hand help cutting if they haven’t developed their fine motor skills or hand muscle strength yet.

Finally, the children will glue all of the pieces together. It may be easier for young children to glue all of the pieces onto another sheet of construction paper and then cut out the pencil after it is put together. During this step, I like to tell my students what to do but not show them, so I can see who can listen and follow directions.

This Simple Shape Pencil Craft is an easy and entertaining project for students to make at the beginning of the school year. They are adorable decorations for your bulletin board too!

You might also like Back To School Bingo!

Need more back to school ideas?

Back to School Confetti

52 Weeks of Printables for Little Learners

How to Display Student Work

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12 Addition and Subtraction Books for Little Learners

Subtraction Action by Loreen Leedy

I love this sweet book about subtraction. The colors and animals in this book are so inviting and make simple subtraction fun for kids.

Monster Musical Chairs by Stuart J. Murphy

We play musical chairs all the time! It’s great to read a book the kids are already familiar with the topic and help them focus on the math concepts reviewed in the book.

If You Were a Plus Sign by Patricia Speed Shaskan

Animals help little learners with simple addition problems in this fun book. This is the perfect book for beginners. The problems are simple and there are a lot of picture clues.

Domino Addition by Lynette Long

Dominos are a great math manipulative in the classroom. I have this book in my set of classroom library books and love it! It’s a great one for kids to read while they are in your math centers too!

What’s New at the Zoo by Suzanne Slade

I like to add this book to our zoo field trip preparations. Animals at the zoo help little readers with their addition adventure!

Elevator Magic by Stuart J. Murphy

This magical elevator takes Ben on an amazing ride as he practices his subtraction through the floors. This story is always a classroom favorite!

The Mission of Addition by Brian P. Cleary

Practice addition skills with monsters! Silly little monsters help readers with their addition problems through fun rhymes and funny illustrations. 
If You Were a Minus Sign by Patricia Speed Shaskan

Add If You Were a Minus Sign to the If You Were A Plus Sign book above as a great way to review two important concepts for little learners.

Splash by Ann Jonas

Splash is one of my favorite math books! Animals jump in and crawl out as readers work through each addition or subtraction problem to find out how many animals are in the pond.

12 Ways to Get to 11 by Eve Merriam

Focus on the number 11 with this simple reading book. Each addition problem comes out with a sum of 11! Students love this book!

Animals on Board by Stuart J. Murphy

Animals are being rounded up for a great adventure! Follow along as Jill adds animals to her ride as she takes them to a special destination.

How Many Blue Birds Flew Away by Paul Giganti, Jr. 

I like adding this book to our spring reading list. Use your student’s love for bird to help with practice their subtraction skills.

Use this set of fun books along with the Zoo First to 20 and First to 50 Math Games!

Looking for new resources that you would LOVE to have for your classroom? Contact me and I would be happy to make it for you.

Don’t forget to check out all of the children’s book lists featured on A Dab of Glue Will Do.

Do you have any favorite children’s addition and subtraction books that are not on the list? If so, please share in the comments below.

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Each Patriotic Roll and Dab will come with three different levels for students. I love this because you can use it for a variety of ages or learning abilities. A three year old can do it with a kindergarten sibling or a struggling kindergarten student can do the same activity as an above average kindergarten student. Level one will require students to roll one dice at at time and simply dab that corresponding number on the mat.

The next level will require students to roll two dice. They will add the numbers together and then dab the sum(answer) on the mat.

Level three requires the students to roll three dice. They will add the three numbers together and then dab the sum.

You can either have your students complete this activity alone or in pairs. If they complete the activity in pairs, make sure they each get a different color. They will take turns rolling the dice and dabbing the number or sum. Once the board is full or time is called, the person that has the most dabs wins.

My daughter, Molly, is all about paint dabbers these days. They are pretty inexpensive and do not make a huge mess, like paint would. I bought a variety pack much like the one linked above. If you do not want to use paint dabbers, you can have your students (or child) use markers, crayons, or even paint.

If you would like more Roll and Dab resources please let me know and I would be happy to make some for you.

To download this product click on the Download Here image below

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For this activity you will need paper (or butcher paper), daubers, and crayons or markers. Like most of the activities featured on A Dab of Glue Will Do, this one can easily be tailored to fit the needs and abilities of your students. First you will use the dauber to create an outline of the shapes.

For younger students that are still working on their fine motor skill development and learning their shapes, I recommend using more daubs, especially with preschool age children or older children that are struggling with forming their shapes. Students will use a marker or crayon to create their shape. This will be similar to dot-to-dot where students are literally tracing from one dot to the next. By the time they trace each dot, they will have made the given shape!

As they master tracing with more dots, you can simply daub circles in the corners of the shape, leaving them to trace in between each dot, creating the given shape.

Kindergarteners like everything BIG so I always found it fun to pull out the butcher paper  for their Dot to Dot Shapes. You can make their shapes a lot bigger. For this activity, I always placed my students into committees and then had each committee complete a set of shapes. You can either daub the corners of each shape and then have students complete the shapes accordingly or have students complete everything on their own.

I think it is fun to have some papers already made with dauber shapes on them and play a guessing game with the students – similar to flashcards. Show students a shape like the one below and have them guess which shape they think it is. This is a great way to talk about corners, sides, round lines, and/or curved lines. It encourages a great classroom discussion about shapes.

For an extension of this activity, you can have students go through magazines and cut out various shapes and glue in the shapes that they just created. I always loved taping these to the ceiling of the classroom for a few weeks. Students love seeing their hard work on display and what better place than on the ceiling for them to be admired throughout the school day.

Can you not find a resource that you would LOVE to have for your classroom? Contact me and I would be happy to make it for you.

I hope that you and your students enjoy Dot to Dot Shapes activity!

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