Alphabet and Number Seek and Find Mats - Back to School Buses

It's that time of year when we all start going back to school.  One thing that goes on in many preschool and kindergarten classrooms around this time is an evaluation of what letters and numbers your students already know so you can begin instruction where it is most beneficial for your students.  These back to school mats provide a fun, hands on way to introduce letters and numbers, or for students who already have learned to identify letters and numbers, this activity provides an engaging way for students to review this material.

There are a variety of ways to use these alphabet and number mats.  One of our favorite ways to use these mats is to use dot markers to record the letters we find.  Once a card is turned over (or found if you hide them in a sensory bin or around the room) is for students to use the dot marker to record which letter or number they saw.

Students can also simply color the number or letter they turn over or find.  This makes a great fine motor activity for students to practice staying in the lines.  

Adding bingo chips makes this a great table top center for students to work on independently.  Students will turn over a card then use a bingo chip to cover the correct letter or number.

Instead of bingo chips, you can use magnetic letters or numbers.  You can place this page on a cookie sheet to actually have the letter or number magnets stick.  With this activity, students will turn over the card, find the matching magnet and then match it to the number or letter on the mat.

If you want just a simple matching activity, you can just use the mats with magnets or mini erasers to match the letters on the mat.  In this picture my toddler would grab a magnetic letter and then find it on the school bus mat and place it on top.  

Another activity is a write and wipe activity.  This can make a great writing center for students who need some handwriting practice.  Students will turn over a card then trace the number they found.  This can also be a write the room activity where students walk around the room to find the number then trace it on their mats.

Skills Practiced with these Mats:

• Letter Recognition
• Number Recognition
• Handwriting
• Fine Motor Skills
• Hand Eye Coordination

Back to School Seek and Find Mats for Letters and Numbers

FOR A LIST OF ALL THE THEMES AVAILABE FOR THESE MATS CLICK THIS LINK

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100th Day of School Activities

The 100th day of school is fast approaching and this post will show off some activities you can do with your classroom that is fun and engaging for your students.

There are several fun writing activities you can do with your students to celebrate the 100th day of school.  Some writing activities include: 

• If I had $100 I would buy...
• If I was 100 years old I would...
• I would like to have 100...

Dot painting is a lot of fun and allows students a hands on way to see the number 100.  These two pages are great templates for students to make their own 100 dot art work.  One already has dots for students to place their dots in, and the other has 10 areas for students to place 10 dots in each area.  

This activity has been one of my kids' favorite 100th day activities.  All you need is a coin.  You flip the coin and color one circle red if it lands on heads and one circle blue if it lands on tails.  Once all the spaces are colored in, you are done.

We love using mini erasers around here, and this sheet and the next one show ways to use mini erasers in your 100th day celebration.  

Besides mini erasers, you can use stickers, dot markers, bingo chips, and any other small manipulatives to fill in each square.  

Roll to 100 is another favorite activity.  Students roll a die and then color that many squares until they reach 100.  We like to use different colored for each roll so we can easily count how many rolls it took to reach 100.  

There is also a digital version of the roll to 100 game.  You still need a die, but with the digital version, students will click the number they rolled to work their way through the number chart to 100.  This digital version can be found here:  Digital Roll to 100 Game

All of these worksheets are part of my 100th Day celebration packet.  

100th Day Celebration Printable Activity Packet

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Turkey Math Game and Craft

Last November, I was sitting down, trying to come up with an idea for a fun activity to help my then 3 year old learn to count without skipping any numbers.  He routinely left out the number 4.  I had scrolled Pinterest for hours looking for fun counting games and activities, but none had seemed capture his attention.

On a totally unrelated search, I came across a turkey dot painting craft.  I was like, ah ha!  I can turn this into a game for my son to practice counting!   He loves crafts, especially dot markers, so this seemed like the perfect activity.

Fast forward a few days, and I set up the activity.  I drew a turkey on a large sheet of paper (My eldest decided to embellish the turkey to make it look cuter), drew lines where the feathers should be, then showed him what to do.

I gave him a die, instructed him to roll it then he dotted that many dots on the first feather.  We repeated this process until all the feathers were covered.  He thoroughly enjoyed the activity and it forced him to say the number 4 as he counted the higher dice rolls.  

You can also turn this math game and craft into a fine motor activity by using dot stickers instead of dot markers.  Students can get those little hand muscles working by peeling and sticking the stickers on the line.

If you do not feel confident in free handing the turkey, you can get your own turkey body template to use.  Simply sign up below to get it emailed right to your inbox!

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