Get your preschooler ready for kindergarten by helping him learn numbers 1-10 with pretty snowflake counting cards. Offering crafting, creativity, and math practice, this activity is packed with valuable learning. Cutting and gluing help build fine motor skills, and making snowflakes is great for boosting creativity. Gather a few sheets of construction paper and card stock to get started!
What You Need:
- 5-6 sheets of white construction paper, cut into 4" squares
- 10 8" x 10" sheets of cardstock or other thick paper in any color but white
- Safety scissors
- Glue stick
- Markers or crayons
What You Do:
- Before starting the craft, talk about snowflakes with your child. What are snowflakes? What makes them special?
- Hand him one of the white construction paper squares and ask him to fold it in half along the diagonal, and then in half once again. He should end up with a folded-up triangle.
- Help him cut shapes into the folded triangle using the scissors.
- Once he is finished cutting, unfold the paper to reveal a pretty snowflake.
- Repeat steps 2-4 with the rest of the construction paper squares. Make some of your own snowflakes to help with the cutting.
- Now make the counting cards. Each sheet of card stock will be one card. Help your child number the cards from 1-10 with the markers or crayons. If he has trouble, lightly write the numbers in pencil first and have him trace over them.
- Decorate the reverse side of the cards with the paper snowflakes. Encourage him to arrange the snowflakes on the cards as he likes, then glue them down.
- Set the cards aside to dry.
- Once the cards are dry, it's time to play! Hold the counting cards up one by one and ask him to say the number. Then practice counting by having him arrange the cards in order from 1 to 10.
Use your counting cards regularly to help your child with number recognition and counting 1-10.
By Erica Loop
Erica Loop has a MS in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education. She has many years of teaching experience working in early childhood education, and as an arts educator at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.
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