Feed the sharks makes an epic counting activity for preschoolers!
Grab your dot stickers because this counting activity for preschoolers is a blast.
My three-year-old strengthened his counting skills and improved number sense through play which is exactly how we want children to learn.
RELATED: Have kids at home and need some quick and easy ideas? Check out our activity cards.
We all know that counting is important.
However, what is more important is that children are touching the objects as they count.
By Kindergarten, children will be asked to understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.
But what does this mean? This means is that we want preschoolers to practice pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object.
How we do, this is we ask our children to touch the object and count out loud.
RELATED: Sticker activities make an excellent addition to fine motor ideas.
This counting Breakfast Invitation was a HUGE hit.
In fact, we have played it 3 times since. Each time with more vigor for larger numbers and confidence in counting.
Breakfast Invitations are the best because they allow us all to use our brains in the morning rather than having to drag children away from the television. Been there, done that. It always drained their creativity for the rest of the day.
Let’s get counting!
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- White paper roll
- Markers – I keep this set for myself
- Dot stickers
Set up this counting game today!
Seeing some other quick and easy shark pictures on Google gave me a simple guideline to draw for myself.
I drew four sharks because I knew that I could add more once they were complete.
I also kept the numbers to the numbers my preschooler is working on or has already mastered.
Remember, there is a LOT OF POWER in counting with numbers 1-10 over and over again. We want kids to understand what each number name represents truly.
Sometimes, it can be tempting to shoot for the moon – Now, add 27 fish! Let’s wait for a second and dive deep into 1-10. Show that eight is still eight regardless of how the stickers are arranged.
RELATED: Looking for math supplies for your home? Be sure to check out this list of math toys.
Allowing some creativity and flexibility is key.
Children need to take ownership of their play and learning. The things my 3.5-year-old said as he was adding color and stickers on his own were so inspiring to hear. It was a creative explosion of storytelling!
Try these other counting activities to help practice grouping numbers.
RELATED: Want even more great number games for kids? You will love this number of games roundup from Red Tricycle.
The blog shared is really good read with such an interesting counting game for kids. What I personally liked is, setting up this game is very simple but the fun & learning involved for kids is immense. While they are enjoying this game, it helps in developing their counting as well as creative thinking in a fun way. I am so excited to involve my kids in such great learning activities. Thanks for making indoor play so much exciting for kids.