Counting Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Roll the Dice

If you hurry, Target has this giant pair of dice for $2.50 in their bargain bins. It was a perfect tool for practicing our numbers.





I showed my three year old how to roll the dice and count the dots.
Then I showed her how to write that number on our white board.
(p.s. dry erase STAINS clothing. That's why my kids are naked.)

Hurry to Target!

Outdoor Actvities for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Egg Carton Nature Catchers

Oh the things you can do with egg cartons! I loved this idea when I saw it and it worked out really well with my three year old.

Materials:egg carton
paint
string
the great outdoors
We painted the bottom of the carton with different colors and tied a string on either side, so she could hang it around her neck. Then we headed outside and looked for treasures that matched our colors.

We found some flower petals, a roly-poly bug (I just looked up how to spell that), rocks, leaves, etc. that fit nicely into our "nature catcher." You can take a closer look at your treasures with a magnifying glass and talk about your favorite colors.

*This idea came from an activity called Trail Totes from Familyfun.com
(Um, I know I pull a lot of ideas from them. I'm kind of addicted.)

How to Teach your Preschooler their Numbers

I've been working on numbers with my 2 1/2 yr. old lately. She's been able to count for a while, but recognizing the numbers themselves is a new challenge. It's like teaching her a new alphabet. SO, we're trying a combination of pictures and rhymes to help her recognize numbers one thru ten.

First I had her decorate and draw pictures on the numbers
to see what she thought of when she saw them.
( I used paper plates because I was originally going to make a matching game.
Paper will do just fine!)

I combined what I learned from her and my own thoughts to make these pictures and coordinating rhymes:

1. When I point my finger at the sun,
it looks just like the number ONE.

2. When a big snake hisses at you,
his body makes the number TWO.

3. Two eyes that see
make the number THREE.

4. A fish that swims on the ocean floor
looks just like the number four.

5. Bees in a hive
make the number FIVE.

6. The little boy who's sick
gets tucked into bed with the number SIX.

7. Up in heaven
you'll find the number SEVEN.

8. The snowman who is so great
look just like the number EIGHT.

9. The tall tall vine
grows on the number NINE.

and

10. A stick and a hen
make the number ten.

So there's an idea for you. So far we've had some success; the rhyming helps even though my daughter will still say, "A stick and a hen, make the number....five." Hm.