Winter Counting Mats
These cute winter counting mats have subitizing, number recognition and fine-motor skills all in one. This activity checks ALL the boxes! They’re a great way to get little minds (and little fingers) learning this winter.
Scroll below to grab your freebie and then make sure to hop over and snag all of our winter math centers!
Getting the Counting Mats Ready
To prep the activity, I printed off the counting mats and slipped them through the laminator.
For the icy counters, I grabbed these blue glass beads I picked up from the Dollar Store. After all of the materials were gathered, we were ready to jump in and play.
Winter Counting Mats
I left the activity open-ended for the children to explore and practice numbers.
As a result, the students were left to get creative and innovative on their own! It was very interesting to watch what some of the children did with their counting mats.
For instance, a few kids placed the counters in the tens frames from left to right and traced over the words with their marker.
Some placed the counters on the snowmen’s mittens and counted those instead. I suggested placing the same counters in the ten frame to see what that looked like.
Some children even placed the counters around the number and word!
I loved that they were practicing the formation of each number and letter and were continuing to work on their pincer grip when they picked up the beads!
For the children who completed the counting mats with ease, I encouraged them to find different ways to show each number on the ten frame.
The extra step was such an easy way to stretch the activity for kids who were ready for a challenge and help them solidify the skill of subsidizing numbers.
Variations with Counting Mats
To switch up the activity a bit, you could use white or blue playdough and have children roll “snowballs” for counting in the ten frames.
Buttons or any other loose parts would also be really engaging!
For a fun twist, you could have children roll a dice, count the dots that land on top and grab the matching mat. After all, more number practice means more future mathematicians!
Grab Your Download
Snag your set below and then hop over and grab the jam-packed Winter Activity Pack in our shop or on Teachers Pay Teachers – it’s bursting with playful and hands-on math and literacy centers your kids will LOVE.
