1. Build Fine Motor Skills in toddlers
2. Support Counting skills and Develop
one-to-one correspondence understandings
3. Practice Patterning skills - With 2 colors, students
can make and name a variety
of patterns (AB, AABB, ABB, AAB, etc…)
4. Build Spatial Sequencing skills - Place different
colored circles in a design of your choosing in one row. In the next row, have
your child copy the design. In the row after that, have your child copy the
design backwards. In the row after that, have the child copy the design that
was made in the third row.
5. Letter Naming and/or Sound practice – Write the letters of
the alphabet on a piece of masking tape and stick it to the circle.
- Place the upper case on one side and the lower case letters on the other side. Place all the circles in the board game with all the lower case letters facing the same direction. Start at the top and move across the board having your child name the letter name and/or sound.
- You could practice matching upper case and lower case letters by placing the same letter on different circles. In the far left column, place 5 lower case letters. In the far right column, place 5 corresponding upper case letters. Have your child use wiki sticks to match the upper case letters to the lower case letters.
6. Shape Creations – Students can
create basic shapes like squares, rectangles, and triangles. Challenge them to
create 5 different triangles or make a rectangle using 10 circle pieces. Ask
them if there is more than one way to make a rectangle with more than 10 circle
pieces. Encourage children to transpose their work from the game board to a
piece of paper or their math journal.
Download the Freebie below for more Shape
Creation activities!
7.Number recognition – In similar
fashion to learning letter names, write the numbers 0 – 29 on a piece of
masking tape and stick each number to a circle piece. Have your child place all
the numbers in the game board in random fashion. Point to the number at the top
left and have your child name the numbers moving across and down the board.- You could also lay all the game pieces out on a table face up. Say a number aloud and have your child pick it up and place it in the board.
8.Number Order – This works great
for counting forwards or backwards!
9.Graphing – Have children display
the data they have collected by stacking the circles to represent the number
for each source.
10.Math Manipulatives
•Addition – (4 + 7 =) Students can place
circles in the board representing each addend and count the up to figure out
how many are all together.
•Subtraction – (10 – 3 =) Students can place
(purple) circles in the board representing the number they started with. Then,
have students use the second color (yellow) to show what was taken away to
determine how many are left.
•Multiplication – (5 X 6 =) Connect Four makes
great arrays!
•Division – (9 ÷ 3 = ) Have students place
circles in the board by 3s until they get 9 circles. This is a great way to
show the connection between Multiplication and Division!
Oh! I just thought of another one… I guess that makes eleven!
11. Practice encoding skills for spelling basic words – With the letters taped to the circle pieces, provide picture cards for the students to use of basic words that they need practice with. Have the child select the correct letter circles and drop them down into the game board.
•You can also do this to have your child practice beginning, medial, and ending sounds.
•This would also be a fun way to practice spelling sight words!
