Monday, December 14, 2009

Holiday Math Activities

To say James is interested in numbers would be a huge understatement. This guy LOVES numbers and counting. As such, I like to come up with plenty of activities that involves both.

Here are just a couple of things I whipped up and wanted to share with all of you. I'm also linking up to ABC & 123 with this post, so be sure to check out their blog for more math ideas.

First up... Christmas Tree Counting
To make this you simply print out (or draw and color) a BIG tree, and number small squares 1-10. I used buttons as counters, but you could use any variety of things: sparkly pom-poms, jingle bells, mini ornaments, popcorn... the list goes on!

James REALLY liked this activity and did an excellent job with numbers 1, 2, 3 & 10. Those were the first he did until he lost interest and decided to just decorate the tree with the buttons and number cards. :)

Next... A Number Forest
(like my titles for these? Sorry, I'm not very clever!) This is so easy to create, though I'll admit it does require a small amount of prep work on your part. You'll need:
  • A shoe box
  • 10 popsicle sticks
  • 10 pictures of trees (I made mine, but you could use clip art)
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Black marker
Number the pictures 1-10, glue them to the popsicle sticks, cut holes in the box and, if you want, you could paint the shoe box brown (this was my plan, but I ran out of steam after making the 10th tree!).

That's it! James had fun lining up his number forest and spent a good 20 minutes planting and uprooting the trees. ;)

11 comments:

Our Little Family said...

Ohhhh, love those! I just can't seem to get Maddie pumped up about numbers and counting. Maybe some Christmas-themed activities would up the interest level. I'll have to tackle those tonight!

Katie said...

What great ideas and the perfect post to link to the Holiday blog hop math edition! Thanks for sharing & Merry Christmas!

Karen said...

Great idea!! I like very much!!
Thanks for share!! The season take out our creativity!!! lol (I'm not shure if I writte ok, because I'm thinking in Spanish!!!!)lol What I mean.... Es que esta epoca tan especial, nos hace mas creativas!!! (I know it's ok in Spanish, hope you understand!!!)lol

Paul said...

wow, i think that amazing how much you're doing!

Ticia said...

Next time you could let him paint the box, and that saves you painting it.

Love your ideas.

Counting Coconuts said...

Thank you!!

Ticia, what a GREAT idea! I wish I had thought of it! :)

Cara said...

These are super activities! My guy is more interested in letters and colors than numbers and counting, so I'm always on the lookout for fun number activities! Since these feature Christmas trees, I'm sure my son would love them!

Bran said...

WOW! I've just fallen upon your blog today and it it jam packed with so many fantastic ideas for tots! LOVE IT!

Adriana said...

These are great ideas! Diego is very into to numbers and counting right now too!

Elise said...

We love numbers and counting here too. I also love creating activities like this for my little girl as she seems to really enjoy them at the moment.

You've come up with fun ideas, that are also really versatile. I like that you can use different bits and pieces to decorate the tree.

Susan said...

You are too amazing. Seriously! I love these activities. The forest is so cute I can't stand it.

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