Your Pre-K or young Kindergarten students are sure to enjoy this fun, hands-on math game that will help them with their counting skills.
I love any game that can support the development of fine motor skills and an academic skill at the same time.
Importance of Playing Games in Preschool and Kindergarten
As I mentioned before here, embedding academic skills into a game allows children to practice those skills and also supports their psychomotor and social learning at the same time.
This math game can easily be made using things you probably already have on hand.
Supplies
- Pony Beads
- Pipe Cleaners
- Blank Wooden Cubes
- Permanent Markers (variety of colors)
How to Prepare the Fine Motor Math Game
Start by using permanent markers to color a circle on each side of one cube; on the other cube write numbers.
Be sure to select colors that match your pony beads, you may need to sort them out first.
Next, place the pony beads in the middle of the table and give each child in your small group a pipe cleaner.
Students will take turns rolling the cubes and placing the correct color and number of beads on their pipe cleaners.
Skills Supported by the Fine Motor Math Game
As children roll the dice they are practicing color identification, numeral recognition, and one-to-one correspondence skills when they count the correct number of beads.
As they pick up each bead and thread it on their pipe cleaner they are practicing hand-eye coordination.
Picking up and grasping the beads also provides opportunities to develop fine motor skills which will help develop the muscles in the fingers and hands that are necessary for holding a pencil.
The pony beads are small and can be a choking hazard so take the ages and habits of the children in your classroom into consideration before using this activity.
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