Color Sorting and Addition Activity

L is sorting beads and adding the numbers together.

Materials:

1) different colors of beads (buttons, erasers, crayons, pom-poms, etc.)
2) sorting cups (I made mine from yogurt cups-I'll post a tutorial; egg cartons work great, too)
3) do-a-dot paints
4) paper
5) marker


Using the do-a-dot paints that correspond with your bead colors (or whatever your object is), make a color page like the one above. After sorting the colors L writes down the number of each color.



So far this activity reinforces the ability to sort/categorize and it also reinforces number recognition and writing.


I took the activity one step further. I made an addition page like the one pictured above. Using the same colors of do-a-dot paints I made up random addition problems.


L puts the two colors of beads that he needs to add together into the tray, counts all of them (adding them together), and then writes down the total number.


This activity is reinforcing addition skills and writing numbers. L loves when he gets to write certain numbers because he knows how to write them...others are more difficult and he needs me to show him first.

ABC Order

L is working on putting his letters in alphabetical order.

Materials: small sticky labels, marker, paper
To Make: Write the letters on the labels-make sure you mix them up.
Variation: Use lower case letters, or a mixture of both


L looks for the next letter and sticks it to the paper.


Easy and fun!
This activity reinforces letter recognition.

Workbook

L is proud of his workbook.

I decided to start a notebook of my own making for L to work in.
He practices writing his name, numbers, and letters. I let him use a skinny marker because it is more fun than a pencil, but I do like him to practice with a pencil. I think gripping the pencil correctly was the hardest thing for him to learn. It took a lot of practice with some tracing pages I printed off of www.lilbunnyhops.com.


I also have him complete other activities, such as stamping his letters in abc order. I have a set of ABC stamps that I bought from Oriental Trading Company. They are self-inking, but have dried out. So we just use an ink pad now.


Practicing his letters.
I use verbal clues that I made up: (I'm sure there are others out there)
A-up down across A
B-Straight down, top, belly, bottom B
C-Around and stop C
D-Straight down, top to bottom D
E-Straight down, hat, arm, foot E
F-Straight down, hat and arm F


I like to have L practice his gluing skills as well. Here he cut the paper and then glued each piece into the notebook. He wanted the pieces to match up.


I like to write the date as we go and the skills we worked on. This is a simple and easy way to keep track of his progress.

ABC Order

L is putting his letter tiles in ABC order.

L is singing his ABC's and finding the letter that comes next. This activity reinforces letter recognition.


Now that they are in ABC order, I had L use the second color of letter tiles to match to the first set, once again reinforcing letter recognition.



L said he was finding each letter's "friend"! I thought that was a cute way of putting it!

Cutting Activity

L is working on his cutting skills.

This is a simple activity to make yourself. You can buy the workbooks with the fat black lines (we've gone through several) for cutting, or you can draw your own on paper. Super simple and it reinforces his cutting skills.


Holding the scissors and the paper correctly is the hardest thing to learn. He's picking it up pretty well, though. I'm learning that he really feeds off of my encouragement.

Counting Game

L and I are playing a counting game.

Materials:
1) graph paper (I made mine with Microsoft Word)
2) do-a-dot paints (we've also used stamps)
3) one or two dice

To Play:
2 or more players take turns rolling the dice and stamping that number of boxes on their graph paper.
The first one to fill all their boxes wins.

This activity reinforces counting and one-to-one correspondence.

Number Punching

L is working on his addition skills.

Materials: 1 or 2 dice (depending on your child), paper, marker, and hole puncher (I found this easy-to-squeeze one at Office Max-I love that store!)

To Play:
1) roll the dice
2) count the dots
3) write each number in a box
4) add the two numbers together
5) punch the total number of holes

Pattern Painting

L is finishing patterns with do-a-dot paints.

If you have never used do-a-dot paints I highly recommend them! The uses for them are endless!   You can find them at any craft store.

To do this activity I simply stamped out a pattern and drew a line for him to fill in the next color. I had him say the pattern out loud and then decide which color came next. I have also had him stamp out his own patterns.

Patterns to use can be ABABABAB, AABAABAAB, AABBAABBAABB, AAABAAABAAAB, etc. Once he gets these types of patterns down I'll throw in a third and fourth element. I also use stamps for patterning. I purchased some shape stamps a year ago and we do the same type of activity with those. But you could use any stamps you want.

This activity reinforces sequencing (which one comes next).

Numerical Order

L is putting number cards in numerical order.

To make:
1) I used a calendar software I had to print out the numbers, but you can make your own by just cutting squares of paper or using a circle paper punch (or other fun shape) and writing the numbers on them
2) laminate for durability or use clear contact paper
3) mix the numbers up and have your child put them in order as high as he or she can

Color Matching

L is matching colors with clothespins and a paint stick.

To make:
1) paint your paint stick with stripes of each color
2) paint clothespins to match each color
3) write the name of the color on both sides of each clothespin

This activity reinforces color recognition, fine motor skills, and aides in recognizing the name and spelling of each color.

Letter Matching

L matched letters on clothespins to letters on a card.

To make:
1) write letters on clothespins
2) write letters on an index card
3) match away!

This activity reinforces letter recognition, name recognition, and fine motor skills.

Counting and Colors

L is counting out beads to match the number on each pipe cleaner flagpole.

To make:
1) cut pipe cleaners in half
2) wrap masking tape around the top
3) write each number on both sides of the tape
4) provide beads for each flagpole (bead color doesn't have to match the color of the pipe cleaner-we did for color recognition)

Have your child string the correct number of beads onto each flagpole.

This activity reinforces counting and fine motor skills.  If you coordinate the colors then it also reinforces color recognition.

Let the adventure begin!

I am re-entering the world of blogging and its gonna take me a while to figure it all out again! I wanted to start this blog as a way of archiving all the educational activities I do with my kiddos so that I would always have it on hand (in case the world of Facebook crashes down!) My posts will be random, depending on the activity we are doing, but I will always post pictures of the materials we use and of one or more of my kiddos doing the activity. I welcome any suggestions or comments that may help me be a better blogger!