Thursday, February 4, 2010

Valentine's Activities - Math & Misc.

Math
Matching candy hearts to numbers. To do this work, James would lay out all the numbers and then find the corresponding number of candy hearts. I made it so there are only a set number for each color of candy hearts - for example, there is only one green heart, so James would (hopefully) see that it belongs to the number 1. PS: James has no idea these are candies - we're not big on feeding him this kind of stuff, but should he figure it out (and he will - he's a mouther) we'll be ok with it in moderation. :)

Similar idea for this activity, only it's done in a tray and with a smaller sequence of numbers. In this case I used tiny hair bands as the counters.

Matching the hearts suit from a deck of cards. I cut the cards in half and then put one half in one bowl and the other half in another bowl.

Math in a bag - this clever idea comes from My Montessori Journey. Since James showed me the other week that he can add and subtract, I thought this was the perfect thing for him. I plan on doing this every week going forward, changing the arithmetic as soon as he masters it. And I'm only putting out one bag at a time so as not to overwhelm him. Plus, I know my little guy - he'd gladly empty each bag and combine all the counters! :)

Lacing numbers 0-10. Not sure how this one will go over since James isn't much into lacing. We'll give it try anyway. :)

Misc.
I wasn't sure where to allocate these activities, but all are fine motor related.

Attaching pink and red erasers to pencils. One day while shopping at the dollar store I saw these two side by side and I instantly saw potential for an activity!

Sorting buttons by either color or shape. I suppose this could've gone along with my sensory activities... ah well!

Removing and applying heart shaped stickers. I was inspired by Jill at The Shafer Family to use the adhesive background that is left over from a used sheet of stickers. I made my own variation of it by peeling off the backing and putting it on a sheet of paper. The idea is James will peel off the hearts and try to match them to the corresponding shape on the background. I think this will go over really well because while James really likes stickers, he gets annoyed about taking them off. These should be really easy to remove now that the backing is gone. :)

UPDATE:
Number recognition using a "parking lot" and red, pink and purple cars! This idea comes from My Montessori Journey (can you tell how much I love her blog?!). James thought this was pretty darn cool. He's going through a sensitive period with numbers right now, so while he knows these numbers well, I want to continue to indulge his interest them.

For more Valentine fun, check out my other posts:
Valentine's Activities - Montessori
Sensory Fun - Valentine's Style

20 comments:

The girl who painted trees said...

So many awesome activities! I can't wait to try math in a bag with Bear. I wish we were already settled in our own home so I could do more. My inlaws aren't so understanding of what we do all day. Sigh. I love those trays with 4 sections at the top. Hope to find some over here.

http://theadventuresofbear.blogspot.com

Bran said...

Oh the deck of cards is a great idea!

Sippy Cup Central said...

Those are so good, love the math in a bag. great job!

Sippy Cup Central said...

Those are so good, love the math in a bag. great job!

Our Little Family said...

Well first of all, you are SUCH an inspiration. I'm sitting here thinking, "Oh, I MUST try this one" and "Wow, how great!"

And, thank you for the link! What a great idea, using it like that. I definitely must try that (along with everything else!).

PS: Mike just brought me a deck of incomplete cards that I can cut up. Ha!

Theresa Mezo said...

So many great activities!
I love the playing cards, and the stickers without the backing.. perfect for little hands! :)

Deborah Stewart said...

Great ideas on teaching so many wonder math concepts!

Elise said...

Hi Mari-Ann

What fantastic activities. Matching candy hearts to numbers is a perfect acitivity for Valentine's Day. I would have never thought of cutting a deck of cards in half and matching them - love this idea. Maths in a bag is also a great activity.

Whenever we are out shopping, I always have an eye out for things I can buy and use to make resources and activities too. My mind is often thinking about this kind of stuff!

Strawberry said...

I love the math ideas! I have to find those numbers. I have been looking for creative ways to teach Camden simple math. Thanks so much for the ideas :)

Little Family Fun said...

What fantastic ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Linda

Jo Shabo said...

I love the matching the playing cards- that is a great idea! we have a MILLION decks of cards- so i think we could do this with a deck- lol!
Love the matching heart activities too- very nice!

Jen said...

Hi there. Cute Blog! My son is only 20 months but you posts are great. I can't wait until he's old enough so I can try some of them. I'm stopping by from Friday Follow. If you would like to view my blog, it's at http://bzzagentreviews.blogspot.com/

Have a great weekend!

~Kristen~ said...

Happy Friday Follow! Great blog! I am now following you, too! Thanks for coming by to follow my blog!

By the way, I looooove Bermuda!!!

Unknown said...

I love the pencil idea! We have all those supplies already!

~SHANNON~ said...

Following you back from Friday follow! Thanks for coming by!

These are some great ideas, I'm bookmarking your page now so I can refer back to this when my pumpkin gets a little older! lovely site!

Adriana said...

Such great ideas! Thanks for sharing! I will definitely be doing some math with the little conversation hearts and an old deck of cards.

Marcy Fox said...

Thanks for the great ideas!

Holly said...

wow, I'm impressed! So many great ideas I can use, thanks!

And thanks for following my blog through FF...I am definately following yours!

Gaby said...

Love the math activities and the deck of cards matching!!

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