Bring counting to life with this free printable activity – using cereal as a math manipulative!
Do you have a child who thrives when given tactile or visual learning experiences? Using manipulatives (aka real life objects) in math is a great way to engage your visual/experiential learners.
Manipulatives build a bridge in a child’s developing mind between concepts that are abstract and those that are concrete. They provide children with a concrete representation of numbers.
All you need to harness the magic of manipulatives in your next math lesson is a sheet of paper and a bowl of cereal.
Supplies:
- Cereal Bowl Counting Worksheet
- Cereal of your choice in a small dish or bowl
- Tray to set underneath worksheet (optional, but it will help contain any mess)
Directions:
- Print off the Cereal Bowl Counting Worksheet and set it out alongside a small dish of cereal. It may be helpful to set a tray underneath the printable worksheet to catch any stray bits of cereal.
- Have your child distribute the cereal into the coordinating bowls on the worksheet. Your child will best benefit from this activity if they touch each piece of cereal that they move onto the paper, saying the numeral name out loud as they count along.
- After completing the activity your child can eat the cereal- celebrating math with a tasty snack!
This one-to-one correspondence math activity is quick, simple, and would be the perfect way for your kiddo to burn some time while you put breakfast on the table.
Looking for another creative math activity? Check out my full lesson plan for Botanical Suncatchers – an art project that teaches symmetry!
Intrigued by the idea of Morning Work? Read more about it here.
