For this game I'm using a page from the Pond Coloring Club (Pick a Flower) and flower cards from the Math Kit.
Sunshine in the Garden - a math warm up or small group activity
- remind your students that flowers need water (rain) and sunshine to grow
- have a pile of flower cards and a coloring page
- take a flower card and copy the pattern (raindrops) on any flower
- the aim to have a row with the largest number when the sun comes out - so students may like to put some mathematical thinking into action when deciding where to draw the dots from their card onto a flower on their page
- on your signal (the sun has come out) all players pause and find the garden row on their page with the highest total
- students may or may not have completed all the flowers - how much time you give them before the sun comes out is up to you
- this game can be played with a dice or other dot cards if you do not have the Math Kit cards
Math talking points:
- talk about the totals on each row
- have students label each row with a symbol (numeral)
- have students order their rows by comparing the totals
- talk about how some rows with 3 numbers may have a higher total than some rows with 4 flowers
- encourage sharing of counting and positioning strategies they used during the activity
If you're in my newsletter community I have sent to a Sunshine Wand to use as a prompt in the game. It adds an element of novelty and engagement for your students.
You can shine this above the playing space when time is up and totals must be calculated. If you'd like to join my newsletter community - find out about it here and just reply to the welcome email with a request for the wand and I'll send it to you!
I hope your learners enjoy math today and have fun tending to their garden while learning to count, compare and add numbers in a row!
After all that math work, your children will love to color and decorate their page too!
I think you'll also love to learn more about:
- the Math Kit bundle
- the Pond Coloring Club
- spring teaching ideas