Manic Monday: Counting Ants on a Log

So, we're doing Kindergarten with Kees. And one of the big things we want to learn before it's all said and done, is how to count to 100.

I went to the Dollar Tree, because I'm addicted and have a serious problem. They have their Halloween stuff out and I found 100 tiny spiders (I think they're actually ants...) in a package, for...you guessed it...$1!!!

And I also bought some popsicle sticks, just to add to my craft closet, but when I got home, I had a brilliant idea.  Okay, it might not be that brilliant, but I love making stuff and math, so this was super fun!

I took 100 popsicle sticks, divided them into ten groups of ten, and then drew 10 different colors of lines across the bottom of them.  I glued one spider to the top of each one, because that makes it FUN!

Now my plan is to start with 20, and add 10 sticks each week.  I'm sure we'll make up with all kind of fun ways to use these.  I'm already thinking I'll add the scratch side of velcro on the back and then I will use them with a black mat I bought at Dollar Tree a while back.  (I love Dollar Tree).

I'll keep you posted, in the Flashback Friday posts as we add numbers and make up new games, so you can get some more ideas.

Another addition I made at the very end, since they gave me 106 popsicle sticks (!!! :), was to make cheat sticks.  So, this week, with Kees's numbers 1 through 20, I turned a blank popsicle stick sideways and wrote 1-10 on one side, and 11-20 on the other, that way, he can look at the correct order when he's lining them up.

A couple of activities I'm planning for this week:

1.  I'll hold up a number (flashcard), show it to him, say the number a couple of times, and have him find the corresponding ant.  Then I'll transition to just saying the numbers and having him find them.

2. Another day, I'll have him match the flashcards to the ants, and I'll watch and make sure I say the numbers as he matches them.  (Re-iterating what each one is called.

3. Have him put the numbers in order, then count them together.

(The possibilities are truly endless, we like to make it up as we go along, and have fun with it!)

If you don't want to use spiders, you could use any number of things, stickers, fuzzy pom-poms, beans, noodles, those marble thingys that have a flat side, colored paper clips, popcorn kernels.  You have 100 of something that you can glue onto popsicle sticks.

I had Kees organize the ants on a log, and his number flashcards last night, so I could include a picture for this post. And before you feel sorry for him, look at that smile on his face. He was so happy about it!

If I were making these again, I'd use a felt tip pin, and not a Sharpie for the numbers at the bottom.  The Sharpie bled a little and some of the numbers are hard to read.  You can get the exact pen pictured above (the GripRoller) in a package of two at the Dollar Tree.   I LOVE them, I have a hoarding problem, and those pens are one of my favorites of all time!