I’m trying something new this year, in an attempt to combine a little bit of a show-and-tell opportunity and a numeracy activity. I’m calling my experiment “The Number Bag”. You might want to try it out too, and let me know how it works for you!
My magical, mystical number bag is simply a cloth drawstring bag. The bag is sent home with a card with a number written on it (1-5 for starters), along with the activity instructions in case any parents need a reminder. The child can bring anything they want in that quantity. For example, for the number 3 they may want to bring three toy cars or three cool rocks. (I will let parents know that if their child has something really special they want to share, they are welcome to use some creativity to make it work for the number bag. For example, if the child has a new doll she wants to share, but has the number 3, you might put in three dresses the doll might wear, or a dress with three buttons, and then include the doll to share as well. Or send the doll along with two other dolls of some kind.)
Here’s a simple game that children love to play! With a group of children in a large area, have one child stand, at least 10-20 feet back, facing the other children as they stand against a wall, fence, or other object that can serve as the “safe zone”. The children standing against the wall chant, “Dinosaur, dinosaur, what time is it?” The “dinosaur” replies with any “o’clock” time. The time serves as the number of steps forward the children take. So, if the “dinosaur” says, “5 o’clock”, the children take 5 steps forward. The children continue in this pattern until the “dinosaur” says, “Lunchtime!” At that point, the children run back to the safe zone with the “dinosaur” chasing after them. If the “dinosaur” touches one of the children, that child becomes the next “dinosaur”. (Reinforce to the children, that they only need to touch the child they catch, not push or tackle.)
