Countin Actvities

When I first started ordering things for classrooms, I was working in Head Start where I had more money to know what to do with. I ended up ordering these:

I never really saw the purpose of them, and I actually thought they looked pretty boring. Plus, until a child could really read numbers, the could never truly be successful at this game. Plus, all you really do is place things on a flat picture and take them off again. It could have been because of my lack of excitement over these materials, but the children in my classrooms never really seemed to enjoy these. What they enjoyed doing was playing with the small materials in other ways (including sticking them n their pockets to go home).

Last year I saw, and ordered, these:

Now, these are fun! They are totally interactive! There's a dice that you roll to determine how many of the item to put in. If your children can't read numbers yet, that's okay. Use a regular dice and count the dots. They can also sort this these (all the pink gems in one box, one of each cookie on each plate, etc). Yes, they use these for props in other games...and that's okay too! The materials are all very durable! Since they have a purpose that the children enjoy, they are more likely to put things away properly so that it will be available the next day. Everything is made with strong materials made to last; there is no cardboard pieces or paper things that will get smashed, ripped, or torn. The children can play with these items without needing much if any, explanation. They really enjoy these items!

I highly recommend these materials. Of course, the original purpose is for math skills, but they also promote social play and dramatic play experiences as well.