During circle time:

Games with dice

• Use 2 dice (preferably a red and a blue one), 2 cards and some beads of the same size. Divide the group in two halves: One group will be the blue dice and one the red. Let the children take turns in throwing the dice. The number showing on the dice indicates the amount of beads they can add to the cord.
• You can play this game the other way around as well: The cord will be full of beads to start off with, the amount showing on the dice will indicate how many beads should be removed. The first group to empty the cord is the winner.

Short suggestions:

Counting games

• Let the children count the number of girls and boys in the classroom. Are there more boys than girls or not?
• Let the children count the number of laced shoes in the classroom, the number of velcro shoes etc.
• How many children have blonde hair, and how many children have brown hair? Which group is larger?

Chair count

Put some chairs behind each other. Call out one of the children and have him or her sit down on the number you say (e.g. “Please sit down on chair number 3”). Continue until all chairs are done.

 

Number games

You will need:

• Flashcards with objects and numbers (see downloads section)
• Counting materials (e.g. shells, beads, chips, pen caps, buttons)
• Small cords

Discuss the numbers with the children. Put a number on a mat, and have the children place the numbers from 0 through 10 in the correct order. Now, use the flashcards with numbers. Discuss these with the children. Have the children match the “number” objects with the correct numbers. This is a good exercise to see who already knows the number, who knows the correct order, who can relate the objects to the numbers etc.

Have the children place the numbers 0 through 10 in the correct order on a mat (This does not have to be a circle time activity, it can also be done individually). When the child is already familiar with the correct order, have him or her place the numbers in random order to make it more difficult. Now, let the child place the correct amount of e.g. beads under the cards with the numbers. When they are ready, you can also have them place the correct object card with the number cards. You can increase difficulty even more by asking the student to “add two more”, or “three less” to one of the piles.

Put the numbers 0 through 10 on a mat, but leave out 5 numbers. Ask the children which number is the first one missing from the sequence. Finish the row, and add the object cards to the correct numbers.

Again, make a row of the numbers 0 through 10. Turn around 5 numbers so the’re upside down. Now we will fill the empty spots with the object cards. So if number 4 is missing, the children will have to find the object card showing the same sumber. Have them place the correct object card on the upside-down number card. To check, turn around the cards.

Put the counting material on a mat. Make sure it’s enough, it can be anything (small) you want to. (Season suggestion: in autumn, use chestnuts). Now, give the children some small cords, and have them seperate the counting material into groups of 4 or 5 by placing the cords on the mat. The trick is that they are not allowed to touch the counting material!

Have a child place the numbers 0 through 10 in the correct order on a mat. When the child is already familiar with the correct order, have him or her place the numbers in random order to make it more difficult. Let them add the number in e.g. beads to the correct number. After this, ask them to add 2 more to each number (10 becomes 12, 4 becomes 6). They can use stamps to create the same number, and have them place it with the number card.