Lollyellen
05-13-2009, 06:47 AM
Charlie loves counting and numbers, so I got this idea from another website, but it really turned out CUTE and you can alter it to your child's ability/levels...
Raindrop Counting 1-10 for Toddlers/Young Preschoolers
Use a large piece of construction paper for your background (I used oversized manilla paper 'cause that's just what we had around here).
Using another piece of paper (I chose light blue), cut out 10 different cloud shapes (small clouds for smaller numbers, increasing in size as the numbers get higher). Gluestick them onto your background piece and number them 1-10 with a Sharpie.
Use those little clear glass flat-sided marbles (for home decor purposes - I found a huge bag of them at Hobby Lobby for like $2) as "raindrops" - they will function as fun "counters" for your kids to use with the game.
I laminated the background with the clouds on it. I just took it up to the library and they did it for me (cheap too - I think it was fifty cents) while Charlie and I looked for books.
When you are sitting down with your child, starting with number one, ask him/her what number you are pointing to. When they recognize it correctly show him the "raindrop counters" and ask him to put "one raindrop" on the number 1 cloud. Continue similarly. After he "gets it" ask him, "How many raindrops should go here, on the number 5 cloud?" Change up the way you ask the questions, so it doesn't get monotonous.
Here's Charlie telling me I'm getting too monotonous...
http://www.maternitycorner.com/lollyellen/raindropcounting1.jpg
Here he is, actually having fun counting and learning numbers in a fun, hands-on way!
http://www.maternitycorner.com/lollyellen/raindropcounting2.jpg
Here he is completely ignoring all the hard work I put into making the activity and looking through the lid of the raindrop container... :no:
http://www.maternitycorner.com/lollyellen/raindropcounting3.jpg
:lol: It was really fun - worth the effort! The cool thing about this is that it is so open-ended - you can change up the format of the game based on your kids' abilities and skill level...For instance, for the five year old I babysit, I made another one, "Raindrop Math" - where one cloud's worth of numbers is added to another cloud's worth of numbers, for a new cloud's total, using mathematical symbols (plus sign, equals, etc.) and simple addition format. :tup:
Raindrop Counting 1-10 for Toddlers/Young Preschoolers
Use a large piece of construction paper for your background (I used oversized manilla paper 'cause that's just what we had around here).
Using another piece of paper (I chose light blue), cut out 10 different cloud shapes (small clouds for smaller numbers, increasing in size as the numbers get higher). Gluestick them onto your background piece and number them 1-10 with a Sharpie.
Use those little clear glass flat-sided marbles (for home decor purposes - I found a huge bag of them at Hobby Lobby for like $2) as "raindrops" - they will function as fun "counters" for your kids to use with the game.
I laminated the background with the clouds on it. I just took it up to the library and they did it for me (cheap too - I think it was fifty cents) while Charlie and I looked for books.
When you are sitting down with your child, starting with number one, ask him/her what number you are pointing to. When they recognize it correctly show him the "raindrop counters" and ask him to put "one raindrop" on the number 1 cloud. Continue similarly. After he "gets it" ask him, "How many raindrops should go here, on the number 5 cloud?" Change up the way you ask the questions, so it doesn't get monotonous.
Here's Charlie telling me I'm getting too monotonous...
http://www.maternitycorner.com/lollyellen/raindropcounting1.jpg
Here he is, actually having fun counting and learning numbers in a fun, hands-on way!
http://www.maternitycorner.com/lollyellen/raindropcounting2.jpg
Here he is completely ignoring all the hard work I put into making the activity and looking through the lid of the raindrop container... :no:
http://www.maternitycorner.com/lollyellen/raindropcounting3.jpg
:lol: It was really fun - worth the effort! The cool thing about this is that it is so open-ended - you can change up the format of the game based on your kids' abilities and skill level...For instance, for the five year old I babysit, I made another one, "Raindrop Math" - where one cloud's worth of numbers is added to another cloud's worth of numbers, for a new cloud's total, using mathematical symbols (plus sign, equals, etc.) and simple addition format. :tup: