Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

Valentine’s Day Tangram Activity with Printables

By

Valentine's Day Tangram Activity with Printables - This is part of a set that features printable Valetnine's Day with a small set of tangrams, a large set of tangrams, and a heart shaped pattern mat.

Earlier I shared with the tangram Valentines with a printable tangram set. I made them for JDaniel to take to school to pass out to his classmates. At the same time I made them I made a large set of tangrams and a tangram pattern mat. I would you would like to see this tangram activity too.

Tangram Activity

The links below are affiliate links.

Tangram Valentines Set including tangrams, the Valentine’s Day cards, and the pattern mat were included in the same PDF printable. I mention them in the card post. They weren’t  all displayed. I did share a picture of them in an Instagram post. That post featured them as an extension activity. The book that went along with the activity was Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch . It is my favorite Valentine’s Day book.

Valentine's Day Tangram Activity with Printables - This is part of a set that features printable Valetnine's Day with a small set of tangrams, a large set of tangrams, and a heart shaped pattern mat.

I wanted you to get to see what the pattern mat and larger set looks like. We had a great time working with them. It thought you might like exploring and building with them too.

Valentine's Day Tangram Activity with Printables - This is part of a set that features printable Valetnine's Day with a small set of tangrams, a large set of tangrams, and a heart shaped pattern mat.

The tangram pieces can be printed out on any color of paper you like. We printed ours on  red copy paper.

Valentine's Day Tangram Activity with Printables - This is part of a set that features printable Valetnine's Day with a small set of tangrams, a large set of tangrams, and a heart shaped pattern mat.

Hint 1:

The tangram pieces need to be turned upside down to create the pattern. If you leave them printed edge up, you have to make the pattern backwards.

Hint 2:

A reader contacted me and pointed out that they like to build the tangram pattern on the pattern itself and not beside it. If that is what you like to do, print out two copies of the pattern mat. Use one as the mat. Cut out the pieces on the second mat and build your pattern with them. They will fit on the mat perfectly. The tangram blocks in the set are too big to fit on the mat.

Other Related Activities

If you like working with tangrams, you will want to check out my tangram pizza box post. It will walk you through how to make a giant set of tangrams.

I found this really cool set of puzzle patterns for the Chinese New Year animals.

For more math related activities please take a moment search through my blog and my Early Learning Math board on Pinterest.

Valentine's Day Tangram Activity with Printables - This is part of a set that features printable Valetnine's Day with a small set of tangrams, a large set of tangrams, and a heart shaped pattern mat.

signature

Fire Truck Games and Activities for Kids

By

Fire Truck Games and Activities for Kids

We have played and created fire truck games and activities for a long time at my house.  I think it all started when we went to a story time at the library that had a fire safety theme.  A fire truck was invited to come to the library and JDaniel loved climbing all over it.  Since that library visit, we have checked out and explored books about fire trucks a lot. We have created crafts with fire trucks. We have played fire truck games using homemade math worksheets and one the floor.

Let me share with your come of our favorite fire truck games and activities! These are just some of what we have done. Please take a moment to search through the blog to find several more fire truck games, a snack, and a few more crafts.

Here my favorite fire truck games and activities:

Fire Truck Crafts

Fire Truck Games and Activities for Kids- This is a collections of games, crafts, and free math worksheets that all have a fire truck or fire fighter theme.

Meeow and the Big Box that the librarian shared so much I later shared it with JDaniel’s preschool class. Since that library visit, we have checked out and explored books about fire trucks a lot.

Fire Truck Games and Activities for Kids- This is a collections of games, crafts, and free math worksheets that all have a fire truck or fire fighter theme.

After reading through a book on painting techniques for kids, we made this fire truck with smeared flames behind it. We made the smears with a simple household item we already had in our kitchen.

Fire Truck Games
Fire Truck Games and Activities for Kids- This is a collections of games, crafts, and free math worksheets that all have a fire truck or fire fighter theme.

JDaniel used to suffer each spring and fall with terrible allergies. We had to spend a  lot of time inside.  This masking tape ladder is just one of several floor activities we did while avoiding pollen. JDaniel could move up the ladder as he read a sight word or counted on.

Fire Truck Games and Activities for Kids- This is a collections of games, crafts, and free math worksheets that all have a fire truck or fire fighter theme.

JDaniel has such a great time creating a snowstorm in a bag! I made him a fire truck bag with colored tissue in a zipper bag. The harder he blew in the bag the more the tissue flew. This fire truck game was great ways to work on breathing control.

Fire Truck Games and Activities for Kids Rolls and Cover

While we were exploring the number one to twenty, I made this fire truck game for JDaniel.  He loves rolling dice. I selected dice that had dots on them. He could count the dots and then cover the number with a button.

Fire Truck Games and Activities for Kids- This is a collections of games, crafts, and free math worksheets that all have a fire truck or fire fighter theme.

This is one of our newest fire truck games. It wasn’t created for JDaniel. The fire truck counting game is an activity I made for Pre-K Pages community helper series.

Fire Truck Games and Activities for Kids Number line

About the same time I made the fire truck game for Pre-K Pages I created this counting activity. While it is not a game per se, it came to be used to play math counting games.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, there are even more fire truck games and activities you can seek out on JDaniel4’s Mom. Here is one more to wet your appetite. I think you will love this place value fire truck game.

Fire Truck Games and Activities for Kids- This is a collections of games, crafts, and free math worksheets that all have a fire truck or fire fighter theme.

signature

100 Days of School Craft- Gumball Machine

By

100 Days of School Craft- Kids will love counting out the gumballs to make sure there are 100 before creating this fun craft.
A gumball machine holding 100 paper gumballs would be such fun to make for the 100th Day of school.  It is really simple to make! All you need are several sheets of construction paper, white copy paper, scissors, and some glue

We started by cutting out the gumballs. Many gumballs could be cut out at the same time when we stack several pieces of colored paper on top of each other. That gave us the opportunity to cut out four or five gumballs at a time.

We cut out our gumballs free hand. You could trace circles on the sheet of paper and then cut out circles.

Young children will probably need the circles cut out for them. It may take too long for them to cut out the circles. It also might be hard for me to hold the stack of paper together while cutting.

Once you think you have 100 circles,  you will count them. We put our circles into groups of ten. Then we counted the groups to make sure we had ten groups.

100 Days of School Craft- Kids will love counting out the gumballs to make sure there are 100 before creating this fun craft!

The gumball machine’s dome was made by cutting out a large circle out of the copy paper. With the dome cut out, we glued 99 gumballs inside the circle.

Hint:

We smeared glue all over the circle and ten randomly stuck the circles all over it. That way we didn’t have to glue down every circle.

When all the circles were in place, the dome was glued onto a piece of black paper. You could probably use any color of background paper.

A gumball base was cut out of green paper. Then a small slot was cut out of the base. The slot was to represent the place where a gumball comes out of a machine. The base was then glued in place.

100 Days of School Craft- Kids will love counting out the gumballs to make sure there are 100 before creating this fun craft.

Gumball number 100 was glued into the slot. I wanted to make it look like a gumball had just fallen down after 100 days in school.

100 Days of School Craft- Kids will love counting out the gumballs to make sure there are 100 before creating this fun craft.

Here are a number of other 100 Days of School activities:

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School

Celebrate the 100th Day in 100 Ways100th Day of School Printables

signature

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School

By

 

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School
Children are often asked to bring a container or display of 100 items to school as part of the 100th Day of School celebration. Below you will find a list of loose items that you children can take 100 of to school. You will also find several ways your children can display 100 items below too. The displays could be on a t-shirt, poster board, or a piece of paper

Before Gathering Your 100 Items You Could Read a Book

Here are some wonderful books about 100 days in school or the 100th day!

The links below are affiliate links.


Food Items for the 100th Day of School

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School- Here are a wide variety off individual objects that can be taken in collections as well as way to display 100 objects.

 

 

  • Beans
  • Noodles
  • Spaghetti
  • Split peas
  • Cereal rings
  • Candy hearts
  • Popcorn kernels
  • Pretzel sticks
  • Sugar cubes
  • Sugar packets
  • Smarties
  • Jelly beans
  • Crackers
  • Raisins
  • Skittles
  • Rice
  • Marshmallows
  • Sunflower seeds

Items Found in Your Craft or Learning Areas

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School- Here are a wide variety off individual objects that can be taken in collections as well as way to display 100 objects.

 

  • Styrofoam peanuts
  • Water beads
  • LEGO
  • Magnetic letters
  • Plastic cookie cutters
  • Unfix cubes
  • Wiki sticks
  • Dominoes
  • Action figures
  • Jingle bells
  • Poker chips
  • Math counters
  • Wooden cubes
  • Checkers
  • Pom poms
  • Craft Gems
  • Spools of thread
  • Pieces of Yarn
  • Feathers
  • Buttons
  • Beads
  • Pretend Gold Coins
  • Pennies
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Wiggly eyes
  • Pipe cleaners

School Supplies for the 100th Day

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School- Here are a wide variety off individual objects that can be taken in collections as well as way to display 100 objects.

 

  • Small stickers stuck to tens frames
  • Unsharpened pencils
  • Erasers
  • Index cards
  • Sticky notes
  • Pieces of paper
  • Crayons
  • Magic Markers
  • Paper
  • Hole reinforcement stickers
  • Paper clips

Shirt Ideas You Can Create for the 100th Day

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School- Here are a wide variety off individual objects that can be taken in collections as well as way to display 100 objects.

  • Tally marks are drawn on a t-shirt made with fabric markers
  • LEGO brick prints of a shirt made with fabric paint
  • Smiles on a shirt make with fabric markers
  • Beads that are sewn onto a shirt

Kitchen and Bath Items for the 100th Day

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School- Here are a wide variety off individual objects that can be taken in collections as well as way to display 100 objects.

 

  • Cupcake liners
  • Cotton balls
  • Cotton Swabs
  • Straws
  • Birthday candles
  • Coffee stirrers
  • Food labels
  • Bread tags
  • Twist ties
  • Package of paper bags
  • Paper cups
  • Paper napkins
  • Plastic spoons
  • Toothpicks
  • Bottle tops
  • Plastic lids
  • Canned drink tabs

Odds and Ends to Send for the 100th Day

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School- Here are a wide variety off individual objects that can be taken in collections as well as way to display 100 objects.

  • Playing cards
  • Balloons
  • Screws
  • Metal nuts for bolts
  • Bolts
  • Metal Washers
  • Keys
  • Hairpins
  • Hair elastics for ponytails
  • Loom bands
  • Puzzle pieces
  • Drops of water in a small container with a lid and the dropper
  • Paper chain with 100 links

Items You can Display on Paper for the 100th Day

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School- Here are a wide variety off individual objects that can be taken in collections as well as way to display 100 objects.

  • Fingerprints on paper with an ink pad
  • List of words you can read
  • Numbers on grid paper
  • Pictures from a magazine glued to a poster
  • Gumball machine on a poster with 1oo gumball circles placed in it.
  • Piggy bank drawn or glued on paper with hundred pennies drawn in it
  • Leopard drawn on paper with 100 spots
  • The night sky on paper with 100-star stickers
  • Centipede on paper with 100 legs
  • Pizza on paper with 100 construction paper toppings

 

Activities for the 100th Day of School

Activities For 100th Day of School Celebrations

100th Day of School Songs to Sing

Fun New Twist on the 100th Day of School

100th Day of School I Spy Printable

 

Here is a printable list of the 100 Things to Send to School for the 100th Day

100 Things to Send in for the 100th Day of School Facebook

signature

Fire House Place Value Chart

By

These fire house themed place value charts with number trucks would be great to work with in a center or with your children at home. There is a two digit place value chart and a three digit place value chart in this set.

Kids love fire trucks! They really like all kinds of community helpers and their vehicles. JDaniel is working on place value at school so, I made a Fire House Place Value Chart for Kids for him to use. I thought you might want to use it with your children too.

These fire house themed place value charts with number trucks would be great to work with in a center or with your children at home. There is a two digit place value chart and a three digit place value chart in this set.

JDaniel is working on three digit numbers. I made him a place value chart with three doors. Since many of you have children that are focusing on two digit numbers, I made a second place value chart for you. (If you click on the link for either place value chart, you will get both charts and a set of fire trucks to place numbers on.)

You know how much alike using dice in math activities. This place value chart can be explored with dice. It can also be played with small cards that you have written the numbers 0-9 on. Let me share with you how each game could be played.

These fire house themed place value charts with number trucks would be great to work with in a center or with your children at home. There is a two digit place value chart and a three digit place value chart in this set.

Using Dice with the Place Value Chart

You will need to use as many dice at your place value chart has open firehouse doors.  What type of die will depend on your children’s comfort level with numbers?

Hint:

The link below is an affiliate link.

I like to start with dice with dots to start with. Children can count the number of dots to find the number they will need to put in each door. Older children like my son can easily identify numerals or dots.  I really like the ten-sided die. They include the numbers 0-9.

Using Numbers on Cards with the Place Value Chart

These fire house themed place value charts with number trucks would be great to work with in a center or with your children at home. There is a two digit place value chart and a three digit place value chart in this set.

You can easily make number cards using sections of blank index cards or number flash cards. We made simple number cards on index cards.

The number cards can be stacked in one of the corners of the place value chart.  Children can select number cards of the stack. They can then arrange the number cards in any order they like.

Whether you use card or dice, the key to using the place value charts is knowing the number you are building. Children will need to know what place each number is in and how to say the number.

Example: 389 has three hundred, eight tens and nine ones.

Being able to read it as three hundred eighty-one instead of three, eight, nine is important. Building seven to ten numbers would be helpful in helping your kids build an understanding of place value.

Here are some other fire truck or firefighter themed math activities we have enjoyed :

Fire Hose Counting Numbers

Fire Truck Counting Game (This game has free counting truck printable.)

These fire house themed place value charts with number trucks would be great to work with in a center or with your children at home. There is a two digit place value chart and a three digit place value chart in this set.

signature

Community Helpers- Counting Numbers on a Fire Hose

By

Community Helpers Fire Hose- This is a great way to work on counting on. Children can see the numbers coming before and after the number they are pulling through.

This counting numbers firefighter could be constructed by an adult for a child or by a child themselves. This counting numbers firefighter was made my me for kids to use. It would look more organic if a child had made it, but I decided you would want to see a less organic version to get sense of what it could look like.

Creating the Counting Numbers on Fire Hose Activity

The crafty part of the project is to create a firefighter that is standing sideways on a small paper plate. The firefighter I made is made up of a hat, a little hair (I didn’t want the firefighter to look bald.), a fire fighter’s coat, two small hands, and boots. Outlines were drawn onto the hair, hat, and coat with marker. This will be laminated to use with children! I didn’t laminate it for the picture. (It would have added a glare to the picture.)

The fire hose was cut out of a file folder. A notch was cut into front of the file folder strip to make it look more hose like. The numbers and hose outline were drawn on with marker.
A small slit was cut into the plate after the various parts of the fire fighter were glued on. I placed the slit in front of the fire fighter’s hand to make if look like they were holding it. The fire hose was then slipped through the slit.

Community Helpers Fire Hose- This is a great way to work on counting on. Children can see the numbers coming before and after the number they are pulling through.

Number Hose Ideas

  • We place numbers one through ten on the hose. The goal was to work on basic counting.
  • If you wanted to work on skip counting by twos or fives, you could write those numbers on the hose.
  • You could place only even numbers in number sequence or odd numbers on the hose.

There are probably a number of other number concepts you could place on the hose. If you have one you want to share, please leave a comment below.

Here are some other wonder activities that work on counting numbers:

New Year’s Eve Counting Numbers

Weaving a Web of Counting Numbers

How to Make Interactive Math Games Focuses on Counting

 

Community Helpers Fire Hose- This is a great way to work on counting on. Children can see the numbers coming before and after the number they are pulling through.

I will be sharing firefighter themed activities all week. Please come back to check the rest of the activities. You can also find them being share on my Facebook page this week.

signature

LEGO Snowflake Patterns Activity

By

Building LEGO snowflake patterns on a simple snowflake outline gives kids the opportunity to explore symmetry.

It is truly amazing that snowflakes have six sides. It is equally amazing that each snowflake is unique! It is equally true that if children create snowflake patterns with LEGOS each should have six sides. Each of those snowflakes should also be unique.

To insure that each snowflake would have six sides stuck some masking tape onto pieces of construction paper in an asterisk shape. The pieces of paper weren’t big. A set of four was created by cutting an eight by ten piece of construction paper into fourths. (You could make your snowflake pattern work space bigger. You could make the tape asterisk much bigger too.)

We used only white LEGOS to construct our snowflakes. It might have been fun to create snowflakes that were multicolored. It would also allow your kids to think creatively.

Building LEGO snowflake patterns on a simple snowflake outline gives kids the opportunity to explore symmetry.

 

The plan was to create on snowflake section or arm. Then the design of that section would be replicated five times to fill in the snowflake pattern on the paper.  That will give you a perfectly balanced and symmetrical snowflake.

LEGO Snowflake Patterns Activity Building

It may not look perfectly symmetrical when it is done. The tape sections help you to keep it close to being symmetrical. We found that a brick or two might be a few centimeters off. Although we did try to set up each LEGO snowflake section in the same spot on the tape it was difficult to make it perfect.

An extension of this activity would be for one child to build a snowflake pattern and see if another child or their parent could replicate the snowflake pattern. Children would get to work on their visual discrimination skills as well as their eye hand coordination that way.

More LEGO Activities We Have Done

LEGO Reading Worksheets with Missing Color Words

Open and Closed Shapes- LEGO Polygons

LEGO Fraction Game

Bar Graph Made of LEGO

LEGO Pick and Move Building Game

If you like this snowflake patterns activity, you will find more learning activities with LEGO on my LEGO Learning Activities board.

 

 

signature

Snowflake Patterns with Blocks

By

Snowflake patterns can easily be created with blocks. What a fun way to explore shapes!

 

It can be hard to know what design  or shapes to cut into a snowflake. Wooden blocks are great for making snowflake patterns you can use to create a craft! Children just need to decide where they want to trace a shape on their snowflake.

We started by folding a piece of paper into a snowflake shape. The top corner of the paper is pulled down the opposite edge almost near the bottom of the paper. The strip at the bottom of the paper was cut off. The triangle shape was folded in half. We could have folded it over another time, but we wouldn’t have been able to trace the larger blocks.

Blocks were laid out on the snowflake paper to see what snowflake patterns could be made. It was much easier to try out different designs before we started to trace the shapes. Although we did use pencils to create our snowflake patterns.

 

Creating Snowflake Patterns

The links below are affiliate links.

Then it was time to start to trace the shapes. We used big chunky blocks that were easy to press down and trace around.  That made tracing much easier. If you have tangrams or pattern blocks, you could use them instead. They might be a little harder to hold in place for younger children.

Snowflake patterns can easily be created with blocks. What a fun way to explore shapes!

After we had traced all our shapes, it was time practice our scissor or cutting skills. Each shape needed to be carefully cut out. We found that some of the edges and corners disappeared when we cut out the shapes.  They actually looked fine that way we decided.

Snowflake patterns can easily be created with blocks. What a fun way to explore shapes!

With all the shapes cut out it was time to open up the paper and check out our snowflake pattern. I think the square and triangle shapes kind of made the snowflake look like a pattern found on a Native American blanket.

Snowflake patterns can easily be created with blocks. What a fun way to explore shapes!

Next time we will need to try tracing half circles and cylinders. They will create totally different snowflake patterns.

Here are some other winter crafts you will want to try:

signature

New Year’s Counting Game Printable

By

New Year's Counting Game Printable- Printable numbers and party celebration counters can be used in fun year ending or year beginning games.

This New Year’s counting game set of printable numbers and party hat counters is part of a holiday number series. The other counting game sets are Gingerbread Counting Numbers, Peppermint Counting Numbers, and Thanksgiving Turkey Numbers.

Each of these counting game sets can be used in a number of ways. Let me share with you some of the ways I have come up with to use them. If you come up with others, please leave them in a comment below or on my Facebook page.

Links below maybe affiliate links.

Counting Game Ideas

New Year's Counting Game Printable- Printable numbers and party celebration counters can be used in fun year ending or year beginning games.

  • Select a number and place the appropriate number of party hats on it.
  • Line up all the numbers 1-10 (You can make a 10 by placing the 1 card next to the 0 card.) Start by placing one hat on the one and then slide that hat to two and add a hat. Repeat this slide and add process until you have reached the 10.
  • Select a group of numbers in sequence and place the correct number of hats on each of the numbers.
  • Challenge another person to place the correct number of counters on a number you have selected.
  • Sort the numbers into groups of even and odd numbers. Place the correct number of counters on each set of numbers.
  • Select a number and turn it over. Give another person clues as to what your number is.
    • Example:
      • It is even.
      • A triangle has this many sides.
      • It is two more than one.
      • If I paid for a two cent item with a nickel, I would get this many pennies in change.
        New Year's Counting Game Printable- Printable numbers and party celebration counters can be used in fun year ending or year beginning games.
  • Create addition sentences with the numbers on a Carrollar Flexible Plastic Cutting Board Mats, Colored Mats With Food Icons, Gripped Back, Cutting board Set of 4or place mat. (You can draw the plus sign and equal sign with washable marker right on the mat. It is so easy to clean up.)

You will find more number games on posts for each of the other numbers sets. Please take a moment to check out those ideas too.

I love to tie learning activities into pictures books. Here are a few New Year’s Eve themed books you might what to read to your children before starting any of the counting games.

Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution

The Night Before New Year’s

P. Bear’s New Year’s Party: A Counting Book

Pete The Cat: A Groovy New Year

Happy New Year, Everywhere by Arlene Erlbach (2000-07-29)

New Year's Counting Game Printable- Printable numbers and party celebration counters can be used in fun year ending or year beginning games.

 

 

 

signature

Christmas Printables- Gingerbread Cookie Numbers

By

 

Christmas Printables Gingerbread Cookie Numbers - These numbers are a fun way to work on counting, number recognition, and adding.Earlier this week I shared with you a set of peppermint stick themed numbers that you could printout to use this your children. Today I want to share with you a set of gingerbread cookie themed numbers. This set comes with some color candy disks that you can use as counters.You might decide that you don’t want to use the printable counters. You may decide that buttons or pom-poms would be better. No matter what you decide to use I think you children will enjoy counting the numbers on these Christmas printables.

Christmas Printables Gingerbread Cookie Numbers - These numbers are a fun way to work on counting, number recognition, and adding.

Children can used the numbers in a number of ways. You may decide to have them work on one number a day or have them use all of the numbers at once. It will probably depend on the learning level of your children.

We have used the numbers all together while sitting at the kitchen table and on our deck outdoors. You may decide to use them in a center, with a small group or one on one.  There really isn’t a wrong way to use them. I  have shared a number of math games you could play in the post on peppermint stick numbers. A few more number games in a post called Fun Math Games with Turkey Numbers.

Christmas Printables Gingerbread Cookie Numbers - These numbers are a fun way to work on counting, number recognition, and adding.

If your children really enjoy doing math activities with a gingerbread theme, here are a few more activities to try. Some of them are Christmas printables and some are not.

Online Gingerbread Math Games

Roll and Graph Printable from Teaching Heart

Gingerbread House and Fruit Loop Graph from Pre-Kinders

Bake Up Array from Top Teaching

Gingerbread Christmas Printables from 123 Homeschool for Me

Christmas Printables Gingerbread Cookie Numbers - These numbers are a fun way to work on counting, number recognition, and adding.

 

If you use these with your children, please take a picture of your version of the activity you play. Then share it with me on Facebook. I would love to see activities you do with them.

 

 

signature

Categories

memberships

From the Past