Ladybug Match

Ladybug Match is one of original and most loved kindergarten math centers. We have revised it several times over the years to give you even more options. 

Once prepared by laminating and snipping down the center, students will match numerals with number representations to complete the ladybug puzzles!


There are 3 sets included:
  • matching numerals 0-10 to dot patterns (subitizing)
  • matching numerals to number words
  • matching numerals to finger count pictures
subitizing dots to 10


math games for kindergarten
You can select the set that is most appropriate for your current math lessons, or use all 3 and mix-n-match! 

math centers

number games
Included in the printable pack is also a worksheet for students to complete when they have finished their activity. 

number sense activities

If you would like Ladybug Match you can find it in our TpT store!

FREE Dollar Match

Learning Australian money in kindergarten 

The concept of "money" can be tricky for little learners. After a brief introduction on all the Australian coins, it is handy to take tan in-depth look at the dollar coin.

A stand alone teaching unit on "dollar coins" links in nicely with addition, as students can begin to understand adding dollar coins together to make another total.

Look at the dollar coin and talk about its characteristics so that the students can identify them easily. Practice counting with dollar coins and writing the $ symbol. Students LOVE matching dollar coins with price tags, in a little toy shop you can set up on a table in the classroom.

Use the cards I have provided in the download here, to make a matching game by printing it on card, cutting and laminating. Your students will need to match dollar names, symbols and quantities. This will be a good way of revising the content.

Extend your more capable learners by showing them two price tags, and asking them how many dollar coins I will need to buy both. This will challenge them to use their addition skills.

Please download the matching cards by clicking on the picture above. It is a game for learning the Australian dollar coin.

Odd Tree


Math Center for odd and even numbers

I have created this cute number sort activity/game. Your students can help sort the number birds in the odd and even trees!
The number bird cards have 
  • numerals, 
  • number words and 
  • dot patterns from one to ten. 
A worksheet has also been included in this file. You can download it for fromTpT. Click on the image above to find it. I hope you like it.

I love making fun printable math activity, be sure to follow along for inspiration and support.


Too Cool Toadstool

A fun interactive game for multiplication in first grade

Do you need to make multiplication more explicit And visual for students? Understanding 'groups of' takes so much practice and the transition form understanding repeated addition to formal multiplication can take lots of practice.


We have just added our Too-Cool Toadstool game to our TpT store. It will help students to understand "groups of" when learning to multiply. Once printed and laminated, students can use dry-erase markers to attempt the multiplication problem on each card.



It is a good idea to continue to provide your students with concrete materials to practice 'making equal groups' as well as doing pictorial activities like this one.

As a teacher, you can support your students growing understanding of multiplication by:

  • asking them to point out any groups or rows (arrays) in the school or classroom
  • encourage their natural mathematical language as they try to describe groups
  • asking them to make some groups that are the same size and then describe them to you (e.g. I made four groups of two)
We hope you love these fun cards for making your multiplication lessons more interactive and engaging!

Odd and Even Numbers

Hi blog friends! Last Sunday I posted some printable cards to help teach children how to determine more/less and the concept of greater/fewer.

I am following on from these ideas to think about odd and even numbers.
  • First, explain the terms "odd" and "even"
  • get a few students to stand up in a group 
  • ask this group to hold hands with one friend in the group 
  • illustrate quite clearly that with an even numbered group - everyone gets a partner
Illustrate this even further with an egg carton - 
  • tear off individual cups and talk about even numbers having rows of two (or "partners")
  • show the students the cards used for your more/less lessons and point out that the even numbers all have rows of two, and the odd numbers have a square that is all on its own at the end (no partner)
This gradual progression from real life example to abstract concept will assist with their understanding and help them to make connections in their knowledge.

The class should enjoy using a range of concrete materials (shells, counters, plastic teddies, plastic dinosaurs) to make numbers. Ask them to put them in lines of two to determine if they are odd or even.

Use these feee posters that I have just made to talk about the number of eyes on the monsters. 
  • Are they odd or even? 
  • Ask a student to place pairs of colored counters, buttons or play dough on the eyes so that each pair is a different colour. 
  • Help the students see that with the odd numbers, there is one left at the end that does not have a partner.
I hope you will find these posters helpful, if not this week, perhaps at another time that you teach about odd and even numbers!

Odd Even Monster Posters

At the moment, I can't get enough of.....



1. Peppermint Tea - piping hot with a dash of sugar, it is warming up my cold winter from my top to my toes

2. A couple of wonderful, inspirational colleagues who help me to stay sane!

3. sunshineonline.com.au - my little treasure-muffins and I are LOVING this site! Great to have some interactive stories and games!

4. TeacherspayTeachers - Need I say any more!

6. Peppermint Freddos - chocolate fundraising boxes are out in force at school, and well.....they are the perfect accompaniment to my current favourite tea

7. Zog by Julia Donaldson 

8. My gorgeous daughter 'Miss 4", who can't stop "reading" me stories....am LOVING watching her literacy skills grow and flourish....and she is doing so much of it all on her own. And I still love the way she says 'crotodile' instead of 'crocodile'.


Comparing Groups Again

I have revised the free file that I posted on Monday for comparing groups. After using them in the classroom, I found a few glitches :) If you would like an updated version, click here. I have changed the orientation of a few of the numbers, so they are all consistent and so that they are suitable for beginning to teach groups of two.

Teaching the children to "see" the cards as groups of two will also help for when you want to start teaching odd and even numbers.

I used the large cards to model how to compare numbers. Hold two different number cards up and ask the students to tell you which card shows more. Then ask them to tell you how they could tell you how many more. Encourage a range of students to tell you how they would find out. Show the students how to hold up the two cards in front of one another to clearly show how many more squares are on one card. Repeat this a few times with a range of different cards.


Here is a worksheet to help your students consolidate their learning.



Popcorn Words Take Home Sheet - FREE

For anyone that has downloaded my free Popcorn Words digital lesson slides you may like this Popcorn Words Take Home Sheet.

Simply download it from Google Drive and write your 6 focus words on it for the week, before photocopying for your students. 

Using this take home page, students can read and play games with their families to learn the popcorn words for the week.

Popcorn Words Worksheet Game

  • Match them to the words in your digital warm up file. Flash them and say them each day with your class
  • Do an introductory lesson to teach your focus words explicitly first - this word is my - say my. 
  • Give each student a prepared Take Home Sheet - ask them to point to each popcorn piece and read the words with you.
  • Before they put it in their bag or locker, ask them to sit at their desk with 3 counters to play a quick class game.

Popcorn Bingo Game 

  • playing this game will familiarize your students with the words and layout of the page so they are confident to review it independently at home, even if limited support is available in the home
  • Ask the students to each put three counters on the popcorn pieces of their choice on their Take Home Sheet on their desk.
  • Shuffle the slides in your warm up file
  • Click through the slides and ask students to read them. 
  • If a student has a counter on this word on their Take Home Sheet, they may take the counter off. 
  • Keep revealing words (making sure you ask the students to call out the words as you pop them).
  • The first student to take all 3 counters from their sheet wins!

Sight Word Homework Sheet

This is a fun and simple way to link your introductory lesson to something that the students will take home. It will give them an idea of how they can play with their words at home. 

Find more resources for sight words in our store. Have some popping good fun!

Comparing Groups


I have just made some resources for my classroom and thought I would share them with you! this download is not as fancy as many of my other files....it is the Monday night of a holiday weekend here in Australia and I am busily preparing my lessons for the week.

Click on the picture above to download some cards  for a maths lesson on comparing numbers.

Print them, cut them and perhaps laminate them for durability.

Introduce your students to the language of "more", "greater", "fewer" and "less".

Use the enlarged number arrangement cards to use in your whole class lesson. Hold up any two, and ask your students to tell you the number represented by each card. Ask them also, which number shows more? Ask them how they know. Encourage lots of mathematical language - compare, more, less, greater, fewer etc. Repeat this with quite a few of the cards, for example, comparing 6 & 9, 3 & 5

Give all your students one of the smaller versions of the cards. Once all the students have had a chance to look at their card carefully, ask two students to stand up and tell everyone the number they are holding. Ask the rest of the class to decide if they have a card that shows a greater number or a number that is less. Repeat with a few different students.

Have your students now draw a picture of the card that they held and to draw a card that is less than, and a card that is more than this card.

Delicious Donuts


Have you read the book The Donut Chef by Bob Staake

In this story, a baker opens a donut shop on a small street - soon the line for his treats stretches down the block.

It's not long before the competition arrives and a crazy battle of the bakeries ensues. In the frenzy, both bakers' donuts become "quite bizarre - like Cherry-Frosted Lemon Bar, and Peanut-Brickle Buttermilk, and Gooey Cocoa-Mocha Silk!" 

But two-year-old Debbie Sue has a taste for something less fussy - and teaches the bakers a thing or two about keeping it simple.

What a great book for encouraging lots of delicious discussion! Ask the students to tell you lots of great new flavours for a donut of their own design!

Team this book up with our new Donut Duo phonics game and order your new donut flavours in alphabetical order - making a page for each letter A-Z.




Donut Duo requires students to match upper and lower case letters of the alphabet. 

As well as this game, you could use the alphabet cards for lots of other activities in your classroom. 

Write the donut flavour suggestions on index cards as they are given by the students. 

Once you have quite a few, have a small group of students line up the A-Z donuts from my printable resource, on the floor. The group can then sort the flavour-cards under each corresponding letter card to create a giant alphabetical list of new donut flavours!




FREE Digital Slides - Popcorn Words

Popcorn Words Digital Slide


I have just created my first digital file for TpT. The first school I worked in had the first electronic board in my state and I ran a staff training on how to use it! The school I am at now is slowly adopting them. I do like using the board for warm up and researching some high quality information but have to admit - for my kindergarten students, prefer hands-on and paper activities. 

I am giving it away this Popcorn Words (words that occur frequently in texts) for free - so head over to TpT to find it!

It is ideal just for a short introductory Sight Words lesson. I have an introductory lesson each Monday morning, where I introduce 6 focus words to my students. We talk about the letters in the word. I tell my students that even though we cannot sound out the words, the letters and letter-sounds in our sight words can give us some clues when we are reading. We sound-out some of them - like "was" and laugh about how silly they sound when we sound them out!

I normally do this introductory lesson with flashcards and an actual plastic popcorn cup (from Woolworths) or Jolly Phonics Tricky Word Hat. I have them "pop" out of the cup and up onto the noticeboard. This digital lesson will provide an alternative way to introduce the words.

Apple Tree Art Project



Apple Art Project For Kids


Do you love engaging new art lessons in your classroom? Do you struggle with the structure that is sometimes needed to guide your room full of learners through a focused lesson? Our Art Lesson printable packs might be just what you need!

Your students will love creating a bright 'apple tree' artwork to explore paint, color and line.


Simply model the directed drawing steps on your board at the front of the class (we've provided the steps, don't worry!) or print of the template for students to trace. We've provided photographed steps as well so you can see quickly how the lesson pans out.


Supply students with paint (we suggest watercolor), oil pastel or marker and a paint brush and you are good to go! 

Find this printable pack over in our store and more lovely apple ideas over on Pinterest!