Soooo... I love math. If you have read any of my other blog posts, you are probably beginning to realize that I love a lot of things. To put it into perspective, math falls somewhere above ice cream, but below the Sims 3. Today I created a super cool math center that could help your students, kids, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or whoever else you know, work on counting/skip counting.
Before I dive into all of the details of how to create this super cool activity, I want to talk about the purpose. The purpose of having kiddos count using numerals is that it takes the idea of one-to-one correspondence to a more abstract level. It is the foundation of addition, subtraction, and everything beyond that. That is why the counting by 1's activity is so important. Skip counting is important because it is one of the foundational pieces of multiplication. Learning to count by 2's, 5's, and 10's will really help your child when they start trying to multiply using those 3 numbers.
That is why this is useful. Now, here's how to do it!
First, I found 2 very plain, simple, black and white images. One of a fish, and one of a cupcake.
You can use any image your heart desires. Just Google "________ black white clip art". Fill in the blank with whatever your child is interested in. Or, download my fish/cupcake template at Teachers Pay Teachers for FREE! =)
Link Coming Soon! The link is here!
If you are using your own image, copy and paste it into PowerPoint. Do this so that about 20 copies of the image fit on a slide with space in between them. Then, using your favorite font, type the numbers you need onto your images. Here is an example of my finished PowerPoint slide.
Now comes the fun part! Print your slides and color them however you would like! I printed multiple sets, so I made my "Counting By 1's" green, 2's blue, 5's yellow/orange, and 10's red.
My coloring is not perfect. That's okay, because the next step is to cut out your pieces! This is the most time-consuming and frustrating part of the process. I would recommend watching and episode of whatever is currently your favorite TV show (*cough* Parks & Recreation *cough*) at this time.
Once you are done cutting out all of your 20 pieces, I would
highly recommend laminating them. I understand that not everyone has a laminator in their 2nd bedroom, but if you do, this is a must! Once they are laminated, cut them out again. This time it will be easier, because you do not need to cut on the lines. It only took me about 3 minutes to cut out the laminated fishes because I just made circles around them.
Fun fact of the day, multiple fish of one species are called fish, but multiple fish of 2 or more species are called fishes. That is why my 4-colors of fish are collectively called fishes. I am sure you were dying to know that. =)
After I laminated my fish, I also laminated a piece of cardstock for my background. Some people use file folders, some use other types of folders and really cool things... I am still working through left over cardstock from my wedding, so that's what I'll be using today.
Place your pieces where you would like them to go on the background. This is important, because if you stick before you space them out, you might find that they do not all fit!
Now you will need Velcro, or it's off-brand counterpart, hook'n'latch pieces. That is really what it's called, I did not make that up. I bought the strip Velcro which is a super huge pain to cut up and may ruin your scissors, but it is much less expensive. Since I use Velcro more than the average Joe, this made sense for me. If you are making one or two copies for your kids, I would absolutely recommend getting the Velcro circles instead. They are a little more expensive, but will save you a TON of work and headache.
Here are a couple of tips for using Velcro. These tips come from the inordinate amount of time I have spent Velcro-ing things in my life.
Tip #1 Always stick the soft part (the hook part) of the Velcro to your pieces, and the scratchy (latch) part of your Velcro to your background. Otherwise you and/or your child will be spending the first part of this activity reaching into a scratchy mess of pieces instead of ones with nice, soft backings. This is an extra big deal for kids with sensory issues.
Tip #2 Stick both pieces hook and latch pieces together, peel off the hook piece's backing and stick it to the piece. Then, peel off the latch's backing, and stick the entire piece to the background. This will help you center your pieces exactly where you want them on the background.
Tip #3 If you flip all of your pieces over and put the Velcro on them all, then stick them all, the process will go much more smoothly. And quicker.
Now that the pieces are Velcro-ed to the background, you need a place to store the pieces so your child can solve the activity. I have seen people do cute things with envelopes attached to the back, but I am using the cheapo method. I used a sandwich bag, a hole punch, and about 6" of ribbon I had left from the wedding.
First, I punched a hole in the top corner of the background.
Then, I punched a hole in the corner of the baggy, under the seam so it would not interfere with the seal.
Finally, I tied the two pieces together, and SUCCESS! You have just completed a re-usable math center that will help your child build the foundation for important math skills they will use forever. Congratulations!
Best Wishes!
-TheBusyLittleYellowBus
