Letter Crafts

 

Watching young learners light up as they discover the alphabet is truly magical. With my Alphabet Trace and Make Letter Crafts, students can do more than just recognize letters—they can create them! These 26 engaging crafts not only teach the sounds of each letter but also integrate tracing, coloring, and cutting to build essential fine motor skills.

One of my favorite crafts in this collection is the letter H for House! 🏡

First, students trace the internal pattern lines to practice pencil control. Then, they shade the house pieces in bright colors before cutting and pasting them to form a cheerful house. This simple yet powerful activity helps reinforce the letter sound while also boosting their pre-writing skills.

Here are some of the other exciting crafts included in the packet:

• F for Fox 🦊
• N for Nurse 🩺
• P for Penguin 🐧

And many more, covering the entire alphabet!

Each craft provides students with hands-on learning and makes it easy to integrate both phonics and fine motor development into your daily lessons.

Looking for more ways to practice the alphabet in your classroom?
Here are three ideas to keep your students engaged:

• Alphabet Sorting Games: Create letter cards and have students sort them by sound or match them with objects that begin with the same letter.
• Letter Sound Hunts: Hide letter cards around the room and have students find and identify the letters and their sounds.
• Alphabet Movement: Assign each letter an action (like jumping for J) and let students act out the alphabet while saying the sounds.

With so many ways to make learning the alphabet exciting, your students will love exploring letters every day!

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Alphabet, Tracing

Leaf Hunt Math Game for Kindergarten 🍂

If you’re looking for a simple and interactive way to help your kindergarten students practice counting and sorting, try this Leaf Hunt Math Game! It’s a perfect warm-up or mini-lesson to reinforce foundational math skills such as number recognition, counting, and sorting. Plus, it ties beautifully into the season of autumn, with a chance to take learning outdoors!

How to Play the Leaf Hunt Math Game:

Set Up the Leaf Cards:

• Start by laying out leaf cards numbered 1-5, using standard dot patterns, on the table. 
• Together with your students, identify each number and place them in forward counting order from 1 to 5.

Flip and Sort:

• Shuffle the remaining leaf cards (featuring dot patterns 1-5) and place them face down in the center. 
• Students take turns flipping a card, identifying the number (encouraging instant identification when possible), and placing it in the correct pile under the corresponding number in the 1-5 row. 
• Some students might count the dots by pointing to each one, while others will instantly recognize the number—either way, it’s great practice!

Finish with Sorted Piles:

• By the end of the game, you’ll have 5 neatly sorted piles of leaves, all organized by number. 
• No winners, just lots of leaf fun and number exploration!

Extend the Fun with an Outdoor Leaf Hunt!

To make this activity even more engaging, start your math lesson with a real outdoor leaf hunt. Take your students on a nature walk to collect leaves, count them, and bring them back to the classroom. They can sort their leaves by size, color, or shape—helping to reinforce sorting, which is foundational for addition. Encourage students to use math language like "more than," "less than," and "equal to" as they describe their sorted leaves.

To add a movement-based brain break to your day, I recommend We're Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger. It’s a fantastic book that involves action and singing, similar to the beloved We're Going on a Bear Hunt. It’s the perfect way to bring energy and fun to your math lessons!

Check out the printable Leaf Dot Cards in my Math Kit for a ready-to-use resource that pairs perfectly with this game. 

Happy counting! 🍁

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Autumn/Fall, Math Kit, Subitizing

Creative Place Value Practice with Mushroom and Ladybug Cards 🐞🍄

If you’re looking for a fun and engaging way to help your first graders grasp place value concepts, try this simple math game using my Mushroom and Ladybug Math Kit Cards! It’s a playful and interactive way for students to recognize tens and ones in two-digit numbers.

How to Play:

• Pair up students and give each pair some ladybug cards with three two-digit numbers (e.g., 13, 14, 15), a mushroom play mat, and some place value blocks.
• One student secretly chooses one of the numbers from the ladybug card and builds it using the place value blocks on the mushroom mat (e.g., 13 would be 1 ten block and 3 one blocks).
• The second student’s job is to look at the blocks and determine which of the three numbers has been made!
• If they guess correctly, they earn a small counter to track their wins.

Students reverse roles after each turn, and play continues until one player has collected three counters. Teachers can extend the game if needed.

This game is perfect for small groups or pairs and offers an easy, hands-on approach to understanding that the two digits of a number represent tens and ones.

Want More?

You can find the Mushroom and Ladybug Counting Cards in my Math Kit, along with other resources designed to support foundational math concepts.

And for more ideas on place value activities, check out my detailed blog post here!

Follow some fun updates on all-things-MathKit in my dedicated Instagram channel - find it in my profile from the app on your device. 

Happy teaching, and I hope your students love learning with these cute math cards!

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Math Kit, Place Value

Math Game: Climb the Tree and Feed the Lion!

 Math Game: Climb the Tree and Feed the Lion!

Looking for a fun, hands-on way to help your students practice ordering numbers? This game works with 2-digit numbers, but can be easily adapted for 1-digit or 3-digit numbers too. 

All you need are the Tree Cards, Big Cat Play Mats, and Number Cards from my Math Kit Bundle.

Here’s how it works:

Materials Needed:

• 3 Tree Cards
• Big Cat Play Mats (I used the lion cards)
• Number Cards (I pulled out the 2-digit numbers)

(All available in the Math Kit Bundle)

Game Instructions:

Set Up:

• Split the number cards into 3 facedown piles.
• Place one pile at the base of each Tree Card.

How to play:

• Students take turns flipping the top card from each pile, revealing three random 2-digit numbers (e.g., 83, 68, 76).
• Their task is to order the 3 numbers from smallest to largest.

The Lion’s Turn

• The largest number gets placed on the Lion Play Mat. 
• This means the lion "takes" the biggest number!

Repeat:

• Continue flipping, ordering, and feeding the lion until all cards have been used.

Adaptations:

• 1-Digit Numbers: Perfect for younger students practicing basic number order.
• 3-Digit Numbers: Challenge more advanced students by using larger numbers.

Why This Game Works:

It combines number sense practice with a fun, hands-on activity. Kids stay engaged as they compete to correctly order numbers and see who feeds the lion the most!

Try this out in your next math lesson to build number sense and keep your students motivated! 

All the materials you need can be found in the Math Kit Bundle.

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2 digit numbers, Math Kit, Ordering Numbers

Fun Friday Math: Apple Roll & Color Game

Happy almost-Friday, teacher friends! 🍎

Let’s make math practice fun and engaging with a super simple game that’s perfect for little learners. This week’s game is all about rolling dice, coloring apples, and reinforcing those essential early math skills—number order, subitizing, and counting!

How to Play: Apple Roll & Color

Download the free printable Apple Mat where students will see 5 apples in a line, each featuring a standard dot pattern (dice patterns) for the numbers 1 through 5. 

Here’s how to play:

• Print and color: Print the mat on plain paper and have your students grab their crayons.
• Roll & color: Each student rolls a dice, finds the matching number on their mat, and colors the corresponding apple. Start by rolling a 1, then a 2, and so on, reinforcing number order as they work through the apples.
• Independent or group play: This game can be done independently, with each child rolling their own dice and coloring as they go. Or, make it a group game—take turns rolling, and everyone colors the matching apple on their own mat at the same time!

For an extra challenge, you can use a 9- and 6-sided dice. Students roll both, find the difference between the two numbers, and color the apple with the corresponding dot pattern. For example, if they roll an 8 and a 3, they’ll color the apple with the number 5!

This simple game is a fantastic way to practice number recognition, subitizing, and number order—all while having fun with crayons! It’s the perfect activity for a Fun Friday math session.

Grab Your Free Printable!

You can find the Apple Roll & Color Game Mats for free in the Pond Coloring Club. It's perfect for math practice with a creative twist. 

Also, for just $9.99 a year, you can join the club and access more printable pages like this one to keep your students coloring and learning all year long!

🍏 Download the Free Apple Five Mat
🎨 Join the Pond Coloring Club


Find more games and activities for essential practice with numbers to five on the website!

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numbers to five

The Power of Green: Exploring Shades and Creativity in the Classroom

When we think of the color green, we often picture grass, trees, and lush, vibrant landscapes. But green is so much more than just one hue—it’s a world of different shades waiting to be discovered! 

This week, as you and your little learners dive into our tropical leaf coloring craft, take the opportunity to explore the power of green by using various shades and textures. This simple activity can introduce your students to a rich world of artistic expression, color theory, and fine motor development.

1. Introducing Green: Beyond Just One Color

When children hear “green,” they often reach for just one crayon, but green is a versatile color that can be light, dark, bright, or muted. For this activity, encourage your students to explore all the greens in their crayon box—lime green, olive, emerald, sea green—anything they can find! Show them how layering and blending different shades can create depth, mimic nature, and add texture to their artwork. It’s not just about filling in the space, but learning how to work with color to make the leaf come alive!

Pro Tip:
Try tracing the leaf with a brown crayon first to give it definition, then use green crayons to color in small sections. As they move from dark to light or vice versa, they can see how different greens work together to create a natural, blended effect. This gives their little hands a stretch and a break between coloring sections, while also introducing them to the concept of gradients.

2. Fine Motor Focus: Coloring with Purpose

As students color, they’re not just having fun—they’re building important skills. Small, intentional movements help them develop fine motor control, which is critical for handwriting. By breaking the coloring into small sections, they strengthen their grip, increase hand-eye coordination, and practice patience as they switch between colors. It’s a wonderful opportunity to show them that art and learning go hand-in-hand (literally)!

3. Color Theory in Action: Making Green

Before starting the leaf activity, consider leading into it with a discussion on how green is made. For this, a book like "Little Blue and Little Yellow" by Leo Lionni is a perfect companion. It tells a sweet story of two friends who come together and—spoiler alert!—turn green. This could spark a conversation about primary colors and how mixing them results in new colors. Your students can even experiment with mixing blue and yellow paint or crayons to create their own greens.

4. Bringing the Jungle to Life: The Very Brave Bear

As your students are busy shading their jungle leaves, you can immerse them further into the theme by reading "The Very Brave Bear" by Nick Bland. 

Set in a lush jungle, this story offers a fun, adventurous narrative while giving you the chance to highlight the illustrator’s use of green throughout the book. Not only is it a great way to engage your class in a jungle-themed activity, but it also supports social-emotional learning through its themes of bravery and friendship.

5. Exploring Art Techniques: Shading with One Color

Once your students have mastered their green leaves, consider taking the lesson a step further by exploring shading with one color. 

"Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey is a classic example of how one color—brown, in this case—can be used to create depth, texture, and contrast. As you flip through the pages, point out how the artist uses different pressures with a pencil to make some parts of the drawing dark and others light, creating a sense of realism and form. This could inspire your students to try something similar with their green crayons!

Books for Your Jungle-Themed Week:

• The Very Brave Bear by Nick Bland – Adventure in the jungle, community, and bravery with plenty of greens in the illustrations.
• Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni – A charming introduction to color theory and the magic of green.
• Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey – Explore shading and depth using one color.

By the end of this activity, your students will not only have created beautiful, colorful jungle leaves, but they’ll also have a new appreciation for how versatile and powerful green can be. Whether you’re discussing the science of color mixing, strengthening motor skills, or diving into the world of illustration, this simple coloring page offers endless opportunities for creativity and learning.

Let me know how your students enjoy this activity, and don’t forget to download your free jungle leaf coloring page from the Pond Coloring Club! 

You may also like:

• a tiger drawing project
• more jungle animal drawing projects
• a Turnaround Tiger math craft

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Art Ideas for Kids, Craft for Kids

Tiger and Bee

New Game: Tiger and Bee – Addition, Subtraction, and Place Value Fun!

If you’ve been following along with my newsletter, you already have the Tiger Play Mat ready to go, but now it's time to bring it to life with a brand-new math game: Tiger and Bee! 

This playful activity helps students review basic addition and subtraction facts while deepening their understanding of place value and trading.

How to Play:

• Start with 20: Give each student or group 2 ten blocks to place on the tiger's play mat.
• Flip a Bee Card: Use the Bee Fact Cards from the Math Kit (featuring addition and subtraction facts like +3, +2, -5, etc.).
• Act it Out: Each time a card is flipped, students follow the math fact on the card by adding or subtracting. For example, if they draw "-2," they trade one ten block for 10 ones, then remove 2 ones from the tiger.
• Get Close to 30: The goal is to get as close to 30 as possible by the end of the game time. Keep flipping cards, modeling with cubes, and practicing those trades to see how high they can go!

This game not only reinforces addition and subtraction facts but also helps students grasp the concept of place value—seeing ten as made up of ten single ones. It’s an engaging way to introduce trading while keeping math playful and interactive.

You can try this game with the Tiger Play Mat you received in my recent newsletter or with any of the six new Big Cats Play Mats from the Math Kit! 

Whether it’s a tiger, cheetah, or panther, your students will love working with these fierce friends while mastering important math skills.

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Math Kit, Place Value

Day or Night Brain Break for Math

Math Brain Break: Day or Night Activity Stretch!

Teaching time can be so much fun, especially when it’s interactive! If your students are becoming more aware of time—particularly day and night—this quick math warm-up or brain break is the perfect way to review these essential concepts while getting them moving.

How to Play:

In this action-packed game, the teacher calls out different activities, and students respond by thinking about whether the activity happens during the day or at night.

• Day Activity: Students stand up and stretch their hands up high, like the sun shining in the sky. ☀️
• Night Activity: Students sit down, curl their legs to the side, and rest their head in their hands, pretending to sleep. 🌙

This listening and action game not only reinforces the concept of time in math but also gives students a chance to stretch and have fun!

Activity Examples:

Here are some day and night activities you can call out:Go to school 🏫

• Wake up ⏰
• Have breakfast 🍳
• Get dressed for school 🎒
• Clean teeth 🪥
• Play outside 🌳
• Go shopping 🛒
• Watch TV 📺
• Go to bed 🛏
• Have a bath 🛁
• Eat dinner 🍽
• Wash the dishes 🧼
• Get ready for bed 🌙
• Play inside 🎲
• Late-night shopping 🛍️

Feel free to add your own ideas based on what your students do during the day or night!

Why This Game Works:

This activity allows students to move while reviewing important math concepts related to time. It helps them think critically about everyday routines and gives them a way to connect the concept of time to their personal lives. Plus, it’s a fun way to stretch, reset, and refocus between lessons.

Give this quick game a try in your next math warm-up or brain break—it’s a great way to sneak in a little review and make learning about time more interactive and engaging!

Find some printable math games and activities for teaching time in Kindergarten here too!

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Language and Listening Games, math warm up

Dice Friends Math Visuals and an Addition Introduction

Bring Math to Life with Interactive Math Wall Posters!

A math wall is a fantastic option for kindergarten classrooms, helping students visualize and engage with key math concepts. But what if your math wall could do more than just display numbers? With my Cute Dice Friends Math Wall Posters, the possibilities for interactive learning are endless!

These cute dice character posters feature standard dot patterns for numbers 1-10 and come in two styles:

• Shaped Characters: Perfect for using as puppets in games and role-play!
• Standard Page-Sized Posters: Featuring a lovely soft rainbow pastel background, great for wall display.

The beauty of these posters? You can pull them down to use in games, warm-ups, and hands-on play, then pop them back on the wall for easy reference. It’s a dynamic way to reinforce math concepts throughout the day.

Warm-Up Game: When 2 Friends Meet

Here’s a quick and fun game that’s perfect for introducing addition in a playful way!

How to Play:

• The teacher flashes two dice characters at random, one at a time.
• Students use counters to make the numbers they see.
• When the two numbers (friends) "meet"—the teacher can act out how they spot each other and run together—students combine the two groups of counters and call out the total. For example, when 4 and 2 meet, they make 6!
• The teacher can dramatize the meeting by holding up the posters and acting out their "addition," helping students visualize the combination.

This game, “When 2 Friends Meet,” is a fast, engaging way to introduce addition while using the interactive math wall visuals. Plus, when the posters are back up on the wall, students will be encouraged to refer back to them, reinforcing what they’ve learned in a fun and practical way.

Get Your Math Wall Posters Today!

You can find these adorable dice posters in my TPT store. They’re perfect for adding interactive math moments to your classroom—whether it’s during a lesson or in playful math warm-ups!

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math posters, math wall, Subitizing

Addition Warm Up

Small Group Math Game: Learning Addition with Colors! 🌈✏️

This fun, hands-on math activity is perfect for addition in kindergarten or first grade. After plenty of play where students combine 2 groups of objects (and describe the action of joining 2 groups) they will be ready to begin to use a more formal addition number sentence. 

These balance cards from the Math Kit bundle are practical and can be used in a huge range of activities. 

Here is just one quick warm up idea for using the cards. 

Count Up in Colors - Math Warm Up

How to Play:

• Pick a Number Card: Each student gets a number card from 1-10. They count out loud up to that number, placing one counter down with each number spoken.
• Switch Colors: Partway through counting, students switch to a different color counter. For example, if they count to 6, they might use yellow counters for the first 3 and green for the last 3. This helps students visually see the two groups they are adding.
• Identify the Addition: After placing all the counters, they can say, “3 and 3 makes 6,” or whatever their numbers are.

Extend the Learning:

These cards show two boxes where students place their counters, making the two groups easy to compare. Alternatively, you can use a simple piece of paper divided into two sections to achieve the same result!

Keep It Simple, Then Grow!

• Start with small numbers (1-5) before extending to larger numbers as students become more confident.
• Encourage students to use terms like put together, join, add, makes to describe the addition.
• Have students record their work in their math journal by drawing dots in two colors and writing the total—this makes learning visible and fun!

More Ways to Explore: Mix it up with other materials! 

Students can:

• Join cubes of two colors together to model the groups
• Thread beads onto a string to make colorful patterns representing their two groups
• Use dot pattern cards to find out how many altogether by combining two cards

This game not only builds counting and addition skills, but it also helps students visualize how two groups come together to make a total. Plus, it's simple to modify based on what materials you have available!

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Addition Within 10, Math Kit, math warm up

Turnaround Tiger Addition Within 20

Tiger Turnaround Facts: Building Confidence in Addition for First Graders

Addition facts can be tricky for young learners, but once they get the hang of it, it opens up a world of flexibility and number sense. One of the most essential skills to work on with first graders is understanding turnaround facts—the idea that when adding two numbers, it doesn't matter what order you add them in. For example, 5 + 4 is the same as 4 + 5.

This skill helps children not only compute faster but also think more creatively about numbers, eventually using this flexibility to solve more complex math problems later on. It’s more than just knowing that two numbers can be added in any order—the goal is for students to experience the concept and internalize how number order can change yet still lead to the same total.

Playful Exploration Before Structure

Before formal strategies are introduced, give students plenty of opportunities to explore. Invite them to make number sets, combine them with others, and model addition in a variety of ways. Play games that encourage students to discover the turnaround concept on their own. Loads of repetition, hands-on combining of numbers within the range of 1 to 10, and fluency-building within 5 can help them grow confident with the turnaround strategy naturally.

Tiger Turnaround Cards: A Fun Way to Teach Turnaround Facts

Now that they’re familiar with addition, teach turnaround facts in a more structured way using my Tiger Turnaround Cards from Math Pack 22. These are such a fun addition to math activities! Each card shows a tiger-shaped domino with two dot pattern numbers. The students record the addition fact shown on the domino, then they turn the tiger around to record the alternative addition sentence. For example: 6 + 5 = 11 is also 5 + 6 = 11

This simple, visual activity helps students solidify their understanding that these two addition sentences are the same, no matter the order.

A Crafty Way to Review

After recording 9 of these turnaround facts (which gives them a total of 18 individual addition sentences), your students can work on a craft. They can choose one of their tiger dominoes to color, cut out, and record their addition fact. It's a creative and engaging way to wrap up the lesson.

Display these tiger crafts in the classroom, showcasing their work and reminding them of the different addition facts they’ve learned. It’s also a great tool for future reference! You can revisit this display in the coming weeks, asking students to recall their experiences with turnaround facts. Call on a few students to read one of their “tiger stories” aloud during brain breaks or transitions between lessons!

If you'd like to try this lesson with your own students, you can access 

• the Tiger Turnaround Cards in my TPT store
• more ideas for math and addition on my Math Pack page
• the tiger math craft HERE

Basic Addition Review

For students who are still developing their understanding of basic addition, joining two groups of objects together is a critical step. To support these emergent learners, I’ve included a cute tiger play mat and a fun math rhyme in the Math Kit bundle. 

This activity allows students to practice addition in a playful way—rolling a dice twice to generate two groups of cubes to add to the tiger’s tummy. As they combine the cubes, they’ll quietly "roar" the total (no actual tigers allowed!). This hands-on activity helps students grasp the concept of addition in a concrete way, building their confidence before moving on to more advanced strategies like turnaround facts.

I hope these activities help your students experience the flexibility and fluidity of numbers and have a roaring good time!

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Math Kit, math warm up

Puppy Chases Butterfly to 10

Puppy Chases the Butterfly: A Fun Math Warm-Up for Counting and Ordering Numbers!

What happens when a puppy chases a butterfly? A fun math adventure that helps students count and order numbers, of course!

Try this playful Puppy Chases the Butterfly activity, which brings a touch of imagination and movement to your math lesson.

In this warm-up, we use 

• number cards from the Math Kit and 
• a butterfly wand (a pencil with a butterfly topper) to help students order and count numerals in a small group setting. 

How to Play Puppy Chases the Butterfly:

Set Up the Numbers: 

• Place the number cards (0 to 10) in a scattered arrangement on the small group math table.

Introduce the Butterfly Wand: 

• The teacher or a student will be the “puppy” chasing the butterfly as it flutters from one number to the next.

Count Along: 

• Use the butterfly wand to “fly” in order from 0 to 10, touching each card. As the butterfly lands on each number, students can count out loud along with the teacher.

Take Turns: 

• Give each student a chance to take the role of the puppy, guiding the butterfly to each number in order.

Collect the Cards: 

• Once all the numbers are in order, the puppy takes them back to the Puppy House (if you have the play mat from my newsletter, this is a great way to incorporate it!).

This activity is perfect for helping young learners strengthen their number sense while having fun. By turning math into an interactive game, students stay engaged and motivated as they practice forward counting.

If you’d like a copy of the Puppy House Mat to use in your classroom, simply join my newsletter community and I’ll be happy to send it your way!

Why Use the Butterfly Chase?

• Hands-On Learning: Movement and visual aids help students grasp math concepts in a memorable way.
• Turn-Taking Practice: Each student gets a turn to “fly” the butterfly, encouraging participation and collaboration.
• Reinforces Number Order: By collecting the cards in the correct sequence, students build confidence in ordering numbers.

Join my newsletter to receive more exclusive printables and activities for your math lessons. Plus, you’ll gain access to the Puppy House Play Mat—a perfect addition to this activity. I can’t wait to share even more fun and creative teaching ideas with you! 

Sign Up Here

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Math Kit, math warm up, Ordering Numbers

Spider Webs to Six

Spider Web Counting: A Fun Math Activity for Kindergarten

Here’s a simple and fun small-group math game that your kindergarteners will love! All you need are some small plastic bowls, counters, and animal home pictures - spider webs, beehives, or flowers (they're in the Math Kit bundle). This activity helps your students recognize and remember numbers by counting objects and identifying where they saw them.

Spider Counting Game Setup:

• Upturn small bowls and place counters (1-6) under each one.
• Attach different animal home pictures (spider webs, beehives, flowers) to the bowls for easy identification.
• Lift a home and let students see the number briefly. 
• Students count the counters under a bowl and then recall the number and its location, describing the animal home picture.

This simple setup encourages memory and math skills while adding a fun, thematic twist with the cute animal home images!

Activity in Action:

• Start with a Spider Rhyme! There is one in the Math Kit bundle bonu sfile ready to print! 
• Your students can say this rhyme as they play or you can use it as an action rhyme before you start, rolling a dice at the end and having students call the number they see.

How it works:

• Show the counters under a bowl briefly.
• Ask students to remember the number and describe the bowl’s animal home picture.
• Repeat, taking turns so each student gets to practice.

Other Ideas for Practicing Numbers to 6:

• Visual Reference with Posters: Having visual cues on your math wall is a great way to reinforce counting. My Cute Dice Number Posters are perfect for this! They add a fun and colorful way for students to check and remember quantities. Find them here.
• Roll and Remember: Roll a die, show it to students for a few seconds, and ask them to remember the number they saw. They can either write it down or say it out loud after a few moments.
• Quick Flash: Use flashcards with dot patterns (like dice) and show them to your students for a few seconds. Ask them to recall how many dots they saw.
• Math Wall Posters:Having posters with numbers and quantities is a great support. Your students can reference them when practicing number recognition.

Want to play this game in your classroom?

You can grab the animal home pictures (spider webs, beehives, flowers) that I use on the bowls in my Math Kit bundle or individually from my TPT store. These are perfect for this activity and many other number and counting games!

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Finger Play, Math Kit, math warm up

Happy as a Lark - Craft and Writing

Create and Explore with Our Australian Bush Lark Craft!

Looking for a simple yet engaging activity for Friday? Our Australian Bush Lark Craft is the perfect choice for developing fine motor skills and sparking creativity in young learners. This easy, one-page printable is designed to encourage coloring, painting, and scissor skills—all essential skills for early kindergarten.

Crafting the Bush Lark: A Creative Learning Experience

After printing the page, children can choose between a pre-drawn Bush Lark with detailed features or a blank version where they can draw their own. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to explore their creativity while honing fine motor skills.

Why not make it an exploration of nature? Before starting the craft, take a moment to introduce the class to the real-life Australian Bush Lark. Show photos online or from books you've been reading together. You might even connect this craft to a recent reading session—perhaps you read The Poky Little Puppy during math time and noticed the line, "happy as a lark," leading to an exploration of other animals mentioned in the story, like the quick green lizard, fuzzy caterpillar, big grasshopper, little grass snake, and brown hop-toad.

Crafting Tips:

• Focus on Scissor Skills: The craft only requires cutting—no gluing—making it ideal for kindergarteners practicing scissor techniques.
• Encourage Observation: Have students use the colors they see on the Bush Lark in photos. This encourages careful observation and decision-making.
• Create a Display: Once finished, display the colorful Bush Larks in the classroom. This can later be paired with factual writing projects in first grade, making it a versatile tool across early years learning.

Facts About the Australian Bush Lark

Share a few fun facts about the Australian Bush Lark with your students:

• Great Memory for Sounds: Bush Larks have an incredible ability to remember sounds, much like how we practice hearing and counting in math. You can integrate instruments or rhythmic tapping in math lessons.
• Natural Camouflage: Their feathers are a blend of browns, creams, and subtle shades that match the dry grasses of the Australian bush—this helps them blend into their surroundings.
• Songbird Abilities: These small birds are known for their melodious songs. They often sing in the early morning, filling the bush with their music.

Quick Crafts for Fine Motor Skills

Our Bush Lark craft is just one of many engaging pages that you’ll find in the Pond Coloring Club! These simple projects are great for developing fine motor and scissor skills, making them ideal for the early weeks of kindergarten when young learners are still building confidence in their hand movements.

More Craft Activities to Explore!

Looking for more craft activities like this? Check out our collection of quick crafts available in my TPT store, designed to help students practice early drawing, cutting, and fine motor skills. These crafts feature large, easy-to-cut shapes, making them perfect for young learners who are just getting started with scissors.

By incorporating crafts like the Bush Lark into your classroom, you can foster creativity, observation, and fine motor skills while making learning fun and creating element for a classroom display too!

Note: the writing pages in the photos on this post are from our Kinder Writing About Animals pack!

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Australian Animals, Kinder Writing

Positive Posters for the Classroom

Brighten Up Your Classroom with Autumn-Themed Positive Posters!

As we begin to welcome the vibrant colors of a new season, it’s the perfect time to refresh your classroom environment with some positive and happy cheer. One of my favorite ways to keep the classroom lively and inspiring is by rotating fun, engaging posters with positive messages. Not only do these posters add a splash of color to the walls, but they also provide daily doses of encouragement and positivity for our little learners.

I’m excited to remind you of a delightful collection of Autumn-themed posters that are sure to bring a smile to your students' faces! Each poster in this set is designed to spark conversations, inspire positive thinking, and celebrate the spirit of the season.

Here’s what’s included in our Fall Poster Pack:

• Be Thankful (Fox): A sweet reminder to appreciate the good things in life.
• You Can Start Again (Sunflower): Encouraging resilience and the power of new beginnings.
• You're Ready (Acorns): Boosting confidence and readiness for new challenges.
• Anything Is Possible (Pumpkin): Inspiring students to believe in endless possibilities.
• Work Hard (Raccoon): Motivating students to put their best effort into everything they do.
• Include Others (Crow): Promoting kindness and inclusivity.
• Choose Wisely (Owl): Helping students make thoughtful decisions.
• Work Together (Apple Basket): Emphasizing the importance of collaboration.
• Be Brave (Bear): Encouraging courage and stepping out of comfort zones.
• Keep Learning (Deer): Fostering a love for continuous learning and curiosity.
• Let’s Be Kind (Scarecrow and Crow): Reinforcing the value of kindness and empathy.
• Be Grateful (Leaves): Cultivating a sense of gratitude and appreciation.

You can choose to print these posters in their colorful version or let your students add their personal touch by coloring or painting them. This not only makes the classroom more engaging but also sparks wonderful social learning conversations and encourages positive thinking.

Feel free to explore and add these cute and motivating posters to your classroom poster rotation. They are perfect for celebrating Autumn and creating an atmosphere where every student feels encouraged and valued!

Happy teaching and enjoy the cozy, colorful season!

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Classroom Decor, social skills

Before Counting: Sorting and Classifying

Engaging Kindergarten Students in Math Through Collections and Sorting

As we welcome our young learners into the world of numbers and counting, it's crucial to lay a strong foundation for their mathematical thinking. One exciting and effective way to introduce them to these concepts is through sorting and classifying activities. These foundational skills will pave the way for understanding comparisons, ordering, and more complex mathematical ideas. Here’s a fun and interactive math activity perfect for kindergarten students in the early weeks of school.

Math Play: Exploring Collections and Sorting

Objective:

Introduce students to the concepts of sorting and classifying by allowing them to explore various collections of objects. This activity helps build their understanding of attributes and sets the stage for future lessons on comparing and ordering.

Materials Needed:

• A variety of small objects such as math play equipment, shape blocks, cubes, counters, buttons, shells, and craft sticks.
• Play mats from The Math Kit (ideal for building mini collections or sorting objects).
• Three Trees from The Math Kit (for guided sorting activities).

Setting Up the Activity:

Free Exploration:

Begin by providing a range of objects for the students to explore. These could include shape blocks, counters, buttons, and shells. Arrange these materials in morning bins or set them up in a designated math center. Encourage students to interact with the objects freely, noticing their different attributes such as color, shape, and size.

Modeling Math Talk: 

As students engage with the materials, model how to talk about their observations. Use phrases like "I see a red block" or "This button is round." Encourage them to share their thoughts with each other. For example, if a student says, "This button is square," you might respond with, "Yes, and what other shapes do you see?"

Guided Sorting: 

After some exploration, introduce a more structured sorting activity. Select a collection of objects, such as buttons, and ask the students to describe one object. For instance, "This button is orange," or "Can you find a button that is square?" Focus on sorting by one attribute first, such as color or shape.

Encourage Independent Sorting: 

Provide each student with a pile of buttons (or similar objects) and ask them to sort them into groups based on their own criteria. They might choose to sort by color, shape, or size. After sorting, encourage them to describe their groupings to the class using math vocabulary like "big," "little," "same as," "not alike," and "group of."

Using The Three Trees: 

For a more structured sorting activity, use the Three Trees from The Math Kit. 

• Give each child a Three Tree play mat and a small collection of items to sort.
• Ask them to decide how they will sort their items and then place them into the three sections of their mat. 
• At the end of the activity, have students share their sorting choices and describe their groups.

Math Talk Vocabulary: 

Encourage students to use and understand math-related terms such as: 

• Like
• Alike
• Belongs
• Together
• Same as
• Group of
• Sort
• Big
• Little
• Long
• Short
• Heavy
• Light
• Not alike
• Not the same

Resources:

The Math Kit provides a fantastic assortment of materials and play mats for enhancing math play.

Three Trees Math Cards are ideal for structured sorting activities and can be used to support students in organizing and describing their collections.

By engaging in these sorting activities, students will develop essential mathematical skills while having fun. They’ll learn to observe, classify, and communicate their understanding, setting the stage for future mathematical concepts.

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Math Kit, Sorting