Ice Cube Game

E is still obsessed with the Hot Chocolate Game I made for him before Christmas and so I have been looking for ways to build upon the same concept.

So, while playing Don't Break the Ice after Christmas I thought to use the pieces as ice cubes in a new game.  In this one, rather than working on adding and subtracting, we worked on equal sharing (early division).

I found 4 see-through cups and made a die with multiples of 4 on each side (4, 12, 16, 20).  E rolls the die, counts out the number shown and then divides them among the cups equally.  

We simply practiced saying "1 in here, 1 in here, 1 in here, and 1 in here.  Now, 2 in here, 2 in here, 2 in here, 2 in here, and 2 in here."  We did this until all the cubes we had counted out were placed in cups.

At the end of each turn, we counted to make sure all the cups were equal (or matched as E says).  We then pretended to drink our drinks, dump the ice out, and do it again.

Several times E would have a pair that were not equal and it was a good chance for me to talk with him about how we could fix it.  By the end of the week, he was starting to grasp that you have to find the cup that has too many and move some ice to a cup that has too few.

E is currently 31 months old

Scarves for Snowman

Now that Christmas break is over and illness has cleared out of our house, we are finally back to our normal schedule.  Currently, we are doing some winter activities.

I received this pocket chart/felt board for Christmas and I was so excited.  I made a snowman with a set of different colored felt scarfs to go with him.  I then created snowman sentence strips that mimic the rhythm of Brown Bear, Brown Bear (see second photo for words I used).

I also made color word cards and had E practice putting the right word in the blank spot as we changed the snowman's scarf.

Hot Chocolate Math Game

This game was extremely easy to make and provided lots of entertainment for E.  It was, by far, his favorite this week.

I took a large mug, a small cup, and a scrap of brown felt and made it into fake hot chocolate.  I wrapped the small cup in felt and taped it in place.  I then slipped it into the mug.  Luckily, my cup fit perfectly inside my mug.  I added a bag of marshmallows and a homemade die (made out of a lacing bead) to the tray and we were ready to play.

Day 1, we simply rolled the die and practiced counting marshmallows as we placed them into the "hot chocolate".  E got to eat one after each of his turns (perhaps why he liked the tray so much).

Day 2, I made up a new game (on the fly) to make it a bit more challenging.  This time we took turns.  E rolled the die and counted out his marshmallows (without eating).  Then, I rolled and had to either add or take away (eat) marshmallows to make the new number.  We continued to go back and forth for quite some time.

I was amazed at how well this went.  E was very focused and actually got the concept.  He really liked the marshmallows and wanted to eat them.  It made him really think about whether he had to add or he could eat.

When he would add, I noticed him checking back to see how many he had and then counting on to the new number.  I really encouraged this.  This is a great skill for him to learn and was excited to see it happening so naturally.

As for subtracting, he would set aside the number he was supposed to keep and then look at me while pointing to the leftovers and ask "I eat these, Mommy?".  I had modeled this a couple times and thought it would be a stretch to expect it of him, but he surprised me.

I never dreamed the game would go this well.  I was going to be happy simply counting out marshmallows for the week.  The fact that it became much more made any guilt about marshmallow consumption melt away in my fake hot chocolate.

E blowing on his hot chocolate.

If you want to see some more of our Christmas activities click here.  I will be posting some new ideas soon.

E is currently 29 months.