Great Math Game That Strengthens Counting Skills & Provide Exercise!
Chrissie, homeschooling mom and creator of the blog Flipflops and Applesauce, shares a wonderful game to help your students master counting - and run off a bit of excess energy!
Supplies You'll Need
- 10 WonderFoam® sheets in assorted colors
- Black Sharpie marker
- CD player
- Favorite counting song
Use a black Sharpie marker to number the WonderFoam® sheets. For younger children, assign the game tiles numbers one through ten in increments of one. For older children who have already mastered this, try numbering the sheets ten through 100 in increments of ten (or in other increments you'd like them to learn). While you could use sheets of construction paper or card stock to make the game tiles, Chrissie suggests creating the game "board" from foam sheets because they are less slippery. The children will be 'dancing' from sheet to sheet and the last thing you want is an accident! To Play
Set the WonderFoam® game pieces in a large circle on the floor and invite your students to walk, dance, etc. around them. Play and sing a counting song that goes with the increments you've chosen (i.e. Chrissie found a "Count by Ten" song on iTunes that her kids picked up easily). Reminiscent of "Musical Chairs", stop the music at varying lengths and the student who is standing on the last number you sang about wins that round! If you don't feel comfortable with putting paper on the floor and inviting possible accidents, you could actually tape the number sheet to the backs of chairs and have students sit down when the music stops. They'll still get a lot of exercise and counting help!