It’s All the Same (a Math Puzzle Game)

I wanted a fun way for my son to see how that the same math problem can be written in different ways. And I wanted him to be able check his work independently, similar to the Lock and Key Math game I made.

So I created a series of 12 puzzles for my son to play. 

Each puzzle has three pieces: 1) a multiplication problem, 2) an addition problem, and 3) groupings of dots.

Download 12 puzzles and the game board here.

To keep the pieces from slipping around, I spray glued sheets of felt to the back of the puzzles (printed on cardstock) before cutting them out and used another felt sheet as the game board. It worked perfectly!

I wish you could have heard the “YEESSSSSS” my son shouted after each puzzle was assembled. It was thrilling to see him catch on and enjoy this so much. 

These puzzles would be great for preschoolers and kindergarteners working on numbers. One piece could have the numeral, another with the number spelled out, and the last piece could display the equivalent number of dots. To make these, download the blank puzzles here.

Jumbo Stamp Art

My son really enjoyed our Postage Paid coin-counting activity. To capitalize on his interest in the stamps, I thought I'd help him design a jumbo one.

Before he started the craft, I reminded him what stamps were – that they are like receipts to prove we’ve paid to mail our letter or package. Then we read a fun fiction book about delivering the mail: Tortoise Brings the Mail by Dee Lillegard.

In this book, Tortoise loves delivering the mail but many other animals think they can do it just as well but faster. After several take a turn at it, they discover that there is no one better for the job than Tortoise. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is heartfelt. As usual when I check out books from the library that my son loves, he asked, “Do we have to return this to the library?”

After we finished the story, we read Mir Tamim Ansary’s book about collecting stamps. The book shows lots of real stamps from all over the world and gives suggestions for different types of stamp collections kids can start. My son was excited to see a stamp with a familiar face on it – Abraham Lincoln’s!

When we were done reading, I handed my son a piece of cardstock with a rectangle in the center. I told him it was time for him to design his own stamp and determine its value. He settled on 88 cents, and added the number and a Christmas scene depicting Ziggy, our Elf on the Shelf, inside the rectangle.

After his drawing was complete, he used my Martha Stewart Punch All Over the Page™ 1 ½-inch circle punch. I helped him line it up to punch half circles all around the sides to make the stamp’s perforated edges. I love the final result. Don’t you?

Replicating Monet’s Water Lilies (in 3-D)

My son’s art teacher exposed him to the mastery of Claude Monet. To piggyback on what he was learning at school, I thought we’d make our own impressionism replica of his gardens at Giverny, specifically the ponds with their spectacular water lilies.

First we read about Claude’s life, learned about what impressionism was, and discovered the artist’s infatuation with the way light reflected off of all the things in nature.

Then I gave my son some watered-down acrylic paints and a big sheet of art paper. He painted it blue with hints of lavender. He was discouraged that he didn’t get the whole paper covered. I reminded him that the lighter (or white) spots would just look like light reflecting on the water. Suddenly the very thing that he found frustrating was a source of pride!

I sped up the drying time with my hair dryer. Then he traced some lily pad shapes onto sticky-backed sheets of green foam. When they were cut out, he peeled off the paper backing and attached the pads to the water.

Next, I cut apart a cardboard egg carton. Then, with scissors he cut lots of V shapes out of their edges to look like the lily pad flowers.

All that was left to do was paint each, blow them dry, and glue them atop the lily pads.

This idea came from Judy Press’ book Around-the-World Art & Activities.

Postage Paid (a Coin Counting Activity)

For a little coin-counting practice, I created this fun activity for my son; not only did it work on money and numbers, but it taught him about the postal system too!

You should have seen his eyes light up when he saw our homemade post office box. He was SO curious to see how we’d be using it in our activity, he barely suffered through the book we read.

I have lost count of the number of books we’ve read by Gail Gibbons. Her book The Post Office Book: Mail and How it Moves didn’t disappoint. Like the other non-fiction gems she’s penned, this book simplified a complex subject in a way my son could grasp. He loved seeing all the ways the mail moves from its origination to its destination – including the historical references to the Pony Express.

When we were done with Gibbons’ book, I gave him:

• A dozen oversized and laminated stamps I had made (truthfully, I made twice this many but we only used half)
• 12 envelopes filled with coins.
• The DIY post office box.

Download a 2-page PDF of the oversized stamps I made here.

His task was simple: open each envelope, empty the coins, count them, and find the stamp with the same amount of cents written on it (I used a fine-tip dry-erase marker to write the amounts on each). After he’d bought his stamp, he set the coins aside. He stuck the stamp to the envelope (there were Velcro dots on each) and “mailed” the envelope.

Because the stamps are laminated, I can easily wipe away the old amounts and write new ones on. Using the velcro dots is another way to make this activity reusable.

This was GREAT practice counting money and my son loved it. Once all 12 envelopes were mailed, he even counted the number of each type of coin he had “spent” on stamps.

Spelling with Cheez-Its

I love the Scrabble Junior Cheez-Its. Whenever it’s my son’s turn to take a snack to school and I’m too busy (or lazy) to whip up muffins or trail mix, these are my go-to purchase.

Since my son often does his afterschool activities while eating a snack, using Cheez-Its for our activity was perfect! I created a worksheet with some blanks and a grid. 

Download the Cheez-It Spelling worksheet here.

Then I added the snack crackers to the grid, being careful not to include any letter more than once.

Next I told my son to look and see what words he could make with the letters. For now, I let him move the crackers to try-out different combinations but eventually, we’ll play this like Boggle, where he’ll have to find the words in the grid, without moving the letters.

 

This may be one of the simplest activities we’ve done, but it was deliciously fun and can easily be repeated over and over again without getting boring.

My son came up with some great words – including the name of his new LEGO Ninjago figure Zane.

Sometimes it’s fun to play with your food.

Just ask my son!