Number recognition with minibeasts is the perfect way to support our children to learn about their numbers at their own pace while using some hands on learning.
Learning through play is what preschoolers do. As a result was want to create activities like this take away the flash cards and the work sheet and replace it with hands activities to maintain interest and spark imagination.
Suitable For: 2 Years+
Set Up: it depends how long the paint takes to dry really! But, you can definitely do it in one evening.
Resources
. Egg Box
. Scissors
. Red Paint
. Black Pen (I used a Sharpie)
. A4 Sheet of Paper
. Paint Brush
Set Up
Cut out the cups from the egg box and trim them so they sit flat. Use the red paint to paint each cup, you can do this with your child if you want to!
While the paint dries draw 12 circles onto the A4 sheet of paper using the black pen and write a different number in each circle. We were working on numbers 1-3.
Once the paint is dry add the spots onto the ladybird using the black pen ensuring each ladybird matches a circle on the A4 sheet of paper.
Playing the Activity
Ayla is pretty good at counting and she can select the correct amount of items. However, recognising the actual numbers is something that just isn’t clicking quite yet.
Ayla did work really hard to match the ladybirds correctly and found it much easier when I was there to remind her what each number was.
Let your child lead as you go through this activity and ask questions that will extend their learning such as; “Can you count the spots on the ladybird?”, “That’s right, 3 spots. Where is the number 3?”, “Does this one have more or less spots than this one?”
Adaptions
It doesn’t have to be number recognition. For example you could match the coloured ladybirds or work on some literacy and phonics by covering big and small letters.
Activities Like This Are Great For;
– Encouraging number recognition as your little one counts the spots and matches them to the correct circle.
– Boosting engagement through making the activity interactive and interesting.
– Supporting problem solving skills as they count the ladybirds spots and finds the correct number.
– Builds on their creativity and imagination because these ladybirds are open ended you can use them in a small world scene.
So what do you think? will you be giving this number recognition with minibeasts activity a go?