By Gigi on November 11th, 2017
This Thanksgiving turkey craft is a cute, fun art project. But it’s also a wonderful lesson in math, as it is completely made up of 2D and 3D shapes! There are so many learning concepts in this little gobbler.
The hat is made up of squares and a rectangle, the eyes are circles, and the beak is a triangle. We used the Fiskars large heart punch to make the wattle, and the tail is a paper plate cut into a semicircle. Square tissues were used as feathers, and everything was attached to a cardboard tube/cylinder.
As children assemble their turkeys, have them analyze, compare, and identify the shapes based on their attributes; facilitate conversation about the similarities and the differences of the objects. When working with older students (pre-kers and kinders) who are developmentally ready, take this opportunity to introduce the vocabulary words 2D and 3D, and talk about how 2D shapes are flat and 3D are not.
MATERIALS USED:
– Toilet paper roll
– Construction paper
– Fabric
– Tissue paper
– Googly eyes
– Stiff felt
– Paper plate
– Fiskars large heart punch
– Glue
– Scissors
By Zoey on November 1st, 2017
Let’s have some fun and count Mr. Turkey’s feathers. This colorful magnet tray activity is an inviting way for children to exhibit number sense.
Have children choose a wattle and identify it’s number (younger students may need help). Then prompt them to place the wattle and the corresponding number of feathers on Mr. Turkey. Instruct students to use one-to-one correspondence as they place their feathers on the bird; as they pick up each feather, they should say its number name.
Additionally, this activity may be used to reinforce color recognition.
I hope you find this counting exercise to be a useful addition to your fall curriculum.
MATERIALS USED:
– A metal tray
– Craft button magnets (glue to back of the turkey)
– Feathers
– Our printable turkey and numbered wattles
– Googly eyes
– Tacky glue
By Zoey on October 24th, 2017
Every year I like to take my class out for a nature walk to observe the signs of fall. On these walks, we often come across a busy squirrel or two. This provides the perfect teaching opportunity about why squirrels gather and store nuts and seeds for the approaching winter. To extend this lesson I developed this entertaining counting game which teaches number sense.
Line the squirrels up in a row, and provide the children with a pile of acorns. Then instruct them to place the correct number of acorns (the amount that corresponds to the number on the squirrel’s tail) in the cup. As children pick up and place each acorn, have them state the correct number. In doing so, they will strengthen their one-to one-correspondence skills. When all the acorns have been correctly placed, ask the students if they would like to count all the squirrels. This will increase their ability to count to 10 in an accurate sequence.
This game also helps to strengthen fine motor skills. As an added challenge, tweezers and tongs can be used to pick up the acorns.
I have found this activity to be very popular with the majority of my class. I hope that you find that your students enjoy it as well.
MATERIALS USED:
– Cardstock
– Plastic cups
– Our numbered squirrels
– Googly eyes
– Bird seed (filler for cups)
– Stapler
– Faux acorns
– Tweezers and tongs (if desired)
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