I made counting mats for my 3yo this past weekend and decided to go ahead and share them with MommyMaestra readers.
Yesterday, I mentioned the Halloween printables (bilingual) that I have in my TpT store. If you missed that post, take a look because one of my favorites is included: the Halloween Cumulative Tale.
Today's freebie is a pack of counting mats with three different designs for counting 1 - 5, and an additional two designs for counting 1 - 10.
We used orange pompoms to counting (shown above), but you can use anything or even have your kids stamp or draw their own items on the mat. The only problem with using the pompoms is that the static electricity builds up a little and they become attracted to each other which can make it a little hard to keep them in their rows.
We also improvised a little bit and made tiny pumpkin counters using orange beads and some pieces of brown pipe cleaner for a stem...
My 3 yo liked them, but still seemed to prefer the softness of the pompoms. However, BOTH of them were great for developing the small motor skills, namely the pincer grasp.
Just a reminder and word of caution: NEVER leave your young child unattended with small objects as they can be a choking hazard! If your child tends to put things in their mouth, use larger blocks (if the space allows), minifigures, or edible treats like crackers, cheese squares, goldfish, etc. (I had originally planned to use candy corn with them, but I just could never remember to buy them at the grocery store when I was there.)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy them! Save them for Halloween if you are assembling activities for your little to do on the holiday.
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