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THOUGHTS: simple, can use before going into counting. colour matching, practice fine motor skills

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I am loving plastic Easter eggs this time of the year! They are everywhere and so inexpensive. We have a slew of early learning play activities to check out! Make sure to see our Top 10 Easter Activities for all of the best ideas! What will you make first. Try this super simple Easter fine motor and color matching activity using eggs and pompoms! Turn color matching and fine motor skills into a festive and novel experience!

Easter Fine Motor and Color Matching Activity Set Up

Grab some Easter eggs, pompoms or beads, and a pair of kid friendly tongs or chopsticks! We have a few varieties I will link to below! These are fun chopsticks for eating and fine motor activities! We used a tray from our {real} eggs and two containers, one for pom pots and one for the other half of the plastic eggs.

Preschool age children love novelty! Plastic Easter Eggs have so many uses for fun activities that help fine motor skills! We are getting ready for a strong pencil grasp! Plus we are practicing color matching too!

Easter Fine Motor Skills Play and Color Matching

This easy to set up Easter fine motor activity is perfect for little hands. I love these kid friendly chopsticks while I encourage using the thumb and first two fingers to work! He thinks capturing the pompoms is exciting play and I see great skills work. If your child is a bit young for fine motor tools have him use his thumb and first finger to pinch the pompoms. Still great Easter fine motor work!

The pompoms were a little tricky to pick up in this Easter fine motor game. He had to take his time to get each one. For some it was best for him to hold the pompom with one hand and use the chopsticks with the other! Patience make this Easter fine motor game great practice.

Additionally, the Easter fine motor activity involved color matching! Not only did he have to concentrate on picking up the pompom, but he also had to drop it in the correct egg! Learning about colors and color recognition with this simple color matching game is a great activity to keep them entertained and engaged.

To finish the Easter fine activity, he simply had to pick the right color egg top and close the egg back up! More great opportunities for color matching and fine motor skills practice!

Practicing fine motor skills and color matching can be fun and simple to do anytime!

We love simple to set up activities like this Easter fine motor and color matching activity at home, but I bet it would be perfect or school and day care too!

More Fun Egg Play Ideas {Click Photos for More}

Join us for the Fine Motor Fridays Blog Hop

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Easter Fine Motor Activity Color Matching Activity

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DIY color matching activity for Easter using plastic eggs! We love games like this color matching fine motor game! Early learning can be fun and playful!

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THOUGHTS: fun, sensory. can be substituted with different things to link to theme (e.g. flowers, leaves). also working on matching, fine motor

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This was a simple little Valentine sensory bin I put together last year to help my kids work on fine motor skills, color recognition, and one-to-one correspondence. I actually designed it with XGirl in mind, but QBoy was more than eager to have a turn with it as well. 🙂
Note: For more Valentine activities, see my Valentine Activities for Kids page.
The bin itself was really simple. I had a package of heart erasers in three different colors. I buried the hearts in a bin of plain, dried rice. I added a printable (you know I love printables!) with five hearts in colors matching those in the bin. I added a pair of kid-friendly tweezers for a fine motor component, and voila! I created a Find the Hearts Valentine sensory bin!

QBoy dug right in, using the tweezers to locate and pick up the hearts.

He then placed the hearts from the bin onto the matching colored hearts on his printable.

Then back to the bin to find another heart.

He continued working until he had placed all 15 hearts onto his printable sheet.

Simple, fun, full of learning, and great for Valentine's Day.

Note: Because everyone will be working with different colored hearts, I did not create a printable for this activity to share with my readers. However, you can easily make a printable to match the hearts you have using crayons or markers!

More Valentine's Day learning resources

More Valentine posts from Gift of Curiosity:
For more Valentine ideas, check out my Valentine Activities for Kids page and my Valentine's Pinterest board. Follow Katie @ Gift of Curiosity's board Valentine's Day on Pinterest.
Products mentioned in this post:

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Find the Hearts Valentine sensory bin - Gift of Curiosity

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This simple Valentine sensory bin works on sensory, fine motor, color knowledge, and one-to-one correspondence.

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THOUGHTS: simple and fun. work on small numbers. short waiting time, so children can practice turn-taking. practice fine motor. can be linked back to cookery class when honey is used.

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We are constantly amazed at the ingenuity of others and fell in love with this pollen counting exercise over at The Adventures of Bear! If you're planning a spring insect unit, we highly suggest checking out the full feature. There are tons of fabulous bee themed activities, but our favorite is still the pollen counting exercise! While there's nothing inherently fancy about the activity - the bee jars and flowers are created with simple sheets of construction paper, while the 'pollen' is created with yellow pom poms - we love that the activity mimics a bee's important job as pollinator while strengthening counting and one to one correspondence skills at the same time!
For the full rundown of awesome bee themed activities and crafts, be sure to visit The Adventures of Bear!

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We are constantly amazed at the ingenuity of others and fell in love with this pollen counting exercise over at The Adventures of Bear! If you're planning a spring insect unit, we highly suggest...

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THOUGHTS: again, link to theme next term. can use dot dice instead. practice pincer grasp. also can have parents bring a real apple, cut up, count the seeds and then have the children eat the apple.

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This apple seed counting activity is a simple, yet effective way to each one to one correspondence in a thematic manner, and it pairs perfectly with other apple themed preschool activities, as well as fall or autumn themes.

If this is your first time, please join me regularly via E-mail in the right sidebar, Facebook, Twitter @StayAtHomeEdu, and Pinterest. For your convince, I have included some of my favorite products and resources I have used with my preschoolers. Any purchase of these products goes directly to maintaining this blog.

All you really need is a simple cut out of an apple, a die, and some black counters, such as buttons or dried black beans, to act as the apple "seeds", (make sure they will not pose a chocking hazard for your little one). I cut my apples out of felt, but paper apples will work just as well. If you plan to keep paper apples from being damaged by little hands, then I certainly recommend they be laminated. (I have the Scotch Thermal Laminator 2 Roller System and love it. It is perfect for the desk, and does a nice job laminating my preschool materials.)

To execute this activity, invite your preschooler to roll the die and identify the number. I purposely chose not to use a dot die because I wanted my preschoolers to become more familiar with numeral names. Once the numeral has been identified, your preschooler can then count out the corresponding amount onto the apple, thus counting the "apple seeds."

For more advanced version, challenge your preschooler to compare two sets of seeds. If working alone, he can compare two apples he has rolled for, or a partner can roll for the second apple. Once the seeds are set out on both apples, preschoolers can identify which apple has more seeds.

Another option is to use a die with a higher set of numbers, say 11-16, or use two dice and the total from both dice must be added to the apple.

Really, there are several possibilities. Even at it's most basic form, this activity is a wonderful one to teach or reinforce one to one correspondence skills.

For more ideas on how to teach one to one correspondence, take a look at these posts:
Apple Drop Counting: a One to One Correspondence Math Game One to One Correspondence Cards Egg Carton Counting: Teaching One to One Correspondence It's a Zoo! A Preschool Counting Game Dot Counting Cards
If you are considering this activity as part of an apple theme in preschool, consider the following books. They are some of our favorites.

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Apple Seed Counting: A One to One Correspondence Activity

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This apple seed counting activity is a simple, yet effective way to each one to one correspondence in a thematic manner, and it pairs perfectly with other apple themed preschool activities, as well as fall or autumn themes.

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THOUGHTS: links to theme next term. rolling of dice and then counting is also used in other possible activities so far (e.g. rubber ducks). Colourful, attractive and interactive. can also work on same and different. also can work on colours.

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Dice games always seem to be a hit with kiddos, no matter their age. Add in some play dough and flowers, and this spring math game for kids is sure to a crowd pleaser.
Originally a contributor post for B-Inspired Mama
A colorful math game for kids to welcome spring

1. Give each player a terra cotta pot and some play dough to act as a base for the flowers.
2. Hand out flowers to each player, ensuring that everyone has the same amount. We started with 12 each.
3. Player one rolls his die, then adds the appropriate number of flowers to his flower pot.
4. Player two does the same, rolling her die and adding flowers to her ceramic pot.
5. Play continues until one person has "planted" all of her flowers.
6. Challenge each other to another game, or just have fun creating with the play dough and flowers!

Other Ways to Play
There are so many ways to change up how this game is set up and played! Here are just a few ideas:

Have each player use two dice instead of one. This would allow the kiddos to work on their addition skills.

Incorporate a scented oil (lavender or rose) to the play dough for a different sensory experience.

Knead seeds into the dough for a different texture.

Play with real flowers instead of fake.

Create number cards to use instead of dice. This would let the kids work on their numeral recognition and one-to-one correspondence skills in a different way.

Learning with a flower math game for kids

This is a very simple game, but so much learning can take place with "simple" activities! Here are a few skills touched on:

Do you have another math game for kids to recommend? Any favorites that you play at home or at school?
Originally published on March 4, 2014
Preschool Flower Lesson Plans

Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we've provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.

Get your copy here >>> Home Preschool Flower Plans | Preschool Classroom Flower Plans
More spring ideas for the kids

Flower Garden Play Dough from Fantastic Fun and Learning

Art for Kids: Invitation to Create with Spring Colors from Buggy and Buddy

Homemade Puffy Paint Recipe with Flower Sun Catchers from Nothing if Not Intentional

Easy Butterfly Art Activity for Toddlers and Preschoolers from Twodaloo

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Simple and Engaging Plant the Flowers Spring Math Game for Kids - Fun-A-Day!

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This spring math game for kids is easy to set up, fun to play, and touches on important early math skills. Math games for kids are fun ways to learn!

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THOUGHTS: This group of children loves waterplay, they will be able to engage in activity for a long period of time. practices fine motor.

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" One, two, buckle my shoe..." ~Old English Nursery Rhyme

When it comes to counting, children about 2.5 and up begin with memorizing the sequence of numbers; rote counting. As they get older, they will start counting with understanding; rational counting. In order to count with understanding, the smalls need to understand one to one correspondence.

One to one correspondence is the ability to match one object to one corresponding number or object. An example would be 2 feet to 2 shoes. 12 muffin papers to 12 holes in the muffin tin. Or even simply counting your fingers, matching the number with your fingers as you go.

You probably will notice in really young children, that they will hold up incorrect finger amounts as they count to five on their hands, or they will count all the way up to 10 when their are only 6 objects in front of them...they have not yet grasped the concept of one to one correspondence. This is quite alright, in fact it's perfectly normal. It comes with age and experience, just like any other skill.

One to one correspondence can be practiced ANYWHERE! You can count cars with your child as they pass, count bites of food as they reach their mouths, count their little toes in the bathtub, count the animals in the story books you read together. There are so many opportunities...you will see them the more you look for them.

To help the smalls practice their one to one correspondence, I made a little fishing game for them. I am a huge believer that learning should be colourful and fun, and should not feel so much like work, so I gathered a few simple things from our toy shelves and we got started!

MATERIALS NEEDED: *You can use any fish you have on hand, or frogs, or shells, or whatever you like. We used the Safari Ltd. mini clownfish because they are so bright and colourful and easily distinguished from the numbers. I purchased them here at T.G.F Toys.

The children first fish for a number with the tongs and place it on the towel beside the plastic tub... This in itself is a tricky task!

Once they have a number, they can start fishing for the corresponding amount of clownfish... Using the tongs is such a great way to practice their small motor skills and eye-hand coordination. The smaller children may even need to use two hands to navigate the tongs... The children are always so pleased with themselves when they catch a fish!

They can practice one to one correspondence while they drop each fish on the towel, counting them as they drop. You can also help them work out how many more fish they will need to complete their task. Once they have all their fish caught and on the towel, have them count each fish. It is important that they touch each fish as they count it, reinforcing the point that the object corresponds with the number they are saying aloud. When I could tell the smalls were tiring of the fishing and counting expedition, I allowed them time to freely play with the fish and the numbers as they pleased. When learning becomes frustrating, we turn to playing...after all, these kids are just 3 and 4 years old! They have lots of time to learn and grow!

*You may have notice I added a little pitcher for pouring and scooping. This was added to the list of materials needed simply as an option for free play.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy counting!
~Arlee, Small Potatoes

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1 Fish, 2 Fish, 3 Fish, Clownfish! A One to One Correspondence Counting Game for Small Children...

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"One, two, buckle my shoe..." ~Old English Nursery Rhyme When it comes to counting, children about 2.5 and up begin with memorizing the sequence of numbers; rote counting. As they get older, they will start counting with understanding; rational counting. In order to count with understanding, the smalls need to understand one to one correspondence....

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THOUGHTS: links to theme next term. Sensory will be good for this group of children. Practice fine motor. can link back to story of hungry caterpillar.

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A photo on Friday, because sometimes, all you need is the picture! Making caterpillars with fingerprints is a great way to practice one-to-one correspondence (counting while pointing), patterning, skip counting, a ton!

I just drew on caterpillar heads, but you could use these neat printables from Fun Handprint Art Blog.

Thank you for reading, have a wonderful weekend!

Please consider liking us on Facebook and Pinterest for more creative learning ideas!

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Fingertip Caterpillars {A Photo on Friday} - How Wee Learn

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A photo on Friday, because sometimes, all you need is the picture! Making caterpillars with fingerprints is a great way to practice one-to-one correspondence (counting while pointing), patterning, skip counting, a ton! I just drew on caterpillar heads, but you could use these neat printables from Fun Handprint Art Blog.

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THOUGHTS: We've been doing a lot of cookery in class (lots of picky eaters), so if we make cupcakes, we can link it this. For higher functioning children, we can also work on same and different (picking out buttons that are the same size or same colours). If done with actual cupcakes, can also practice one-to-one correspondence by having a tea party? (one plate and one cup for each person) No self-correcting mechanism here. Child will need to be able to recognise printed numerals.

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Today I'm sharing a cupcake themed "busy bag" learning activity that is not only great for preschoolers, but is also quick, easy and inexpensive to put together on the fly!

To assemble this Cupcake Counting Game all you need to do is download the free printable files below - then print, trim and laminate.

To play, simply add some colorful buttons to the cards and help your child decorate the cupcakes with the appropriate number of "sprinkles."

This busy bag game is not only great to keep kids "busy" but you can also teach them numbers along the way. Throw in some other twists and focus on colors, shapes etc! The possibilities are endless. I just provided the basic frame work for this busy bag idea - so I hope you take advantage of it! Enjoy! #gluedtomycrafts

* First download and print the THREE cupcake files above in color on white cardstock {this will give you the numbers 1-10 with two blanks}
* Trim each out and laminate each cupcake piece.
* To play - identify the number on the cupcake and have children decorate them with the corresponding number of buttons. For added fun, have children only choose colored buttons that match the bottom half of the cupcake. Since these are laminated, you can also skip the buttons and have children decorate them with dry-erase markers.

If you are looking for MORE busy bag ideas - be sure to check out these post!
Fall Tree Busy Bag Idea & Free Printable
Pumpkin Pie Felt Pretend Play
Fruit Tree Busy Bag Idea
Christmas Busy Bag Game Printables

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Cupcake Counting Game - Busy Bag Idea & Free Printable

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Today I'm sharing a cupcake themed "busy bag" learning activity that is not only great for preschoolers, but is also quick, easy and inexpensive to put together on the fly! To assemble this Cupcake Counting Game all you need to do is download the free printable files below - then print, trim and laminate.

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THOUGHTS: I like this because there are stitches to guide the children to place the 'seeds' instead of just numbers: self-correcting! (since their number recognition is something that we still need to work on). They are also working on fine motor skills (pincer grasp). Coincides with theme next term.

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Hi friends!

Since we've been talking about watermelon this week at Twodaloo central, I wanted to continue the fun today and show you the newest magnetic play set that I made for the twins- a Felt Watermelon Counting Set! This activity targets one-to-one correspondence, matching number symbols to quantities, and fine motor practice in a playful way.

*This post contains affiliate links for your convenience*

This set is a lot like my much-loved ladybug counting set, but I decided to create it with felt instead of card stock. I have a bit of a felt fetish, so I've been looking for some projects to reduce my stash a bit. For the pattern, I just traced a large bowl on some card stock and then cut it in half.

I used my sewing machine to stitch on a few fun details- a satin stitch for the light green line, a wavy stitch on the watermelon's rind, and some star stitches to show where the "seeds" go. However, if you don't sew, these could easily be made with liquid stitches, hot glue, or some of the type of adhesive. I added thin strip magnets to the back to stick the watermelons to our magnet board, which is made from an automotive drip pan
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To make the magnetic "seeds," I took some black glass gems(found in the floral department of your local craft store) and glued button magnets to the flat sides. *As with any activity, please supervise young children carefully when playing with small objects, especially magnets, which can damage the digestive system if swallowed.

Younger children will be occupied by just placing the "seeds" on the watermelon. If you are introducing numbers, you can add a set of magnetic numbers to match with the correct quantities.

You might also like:

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A colorful felt magnetic counting set for little hands! Targets fine motor, one-to-one correspondence, and number recognition with fun watermelon shapes.

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One to One Rubber Duck Counting
This activity is so much fun for kids! They could play this game for hours and hours and it’s great for 1:1 practice too. First, start by reading a book about ducks to your kids. 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle or Five Little Ducks by Pamela Paparone are both perfect for young children. Place a shallow bowl of water in the middle of the table. Give the kids one foam dice and have them take turns rolling it. Children will count the dots on the dice and place the corresponding number of mini rubber ducks in the “pond”. If counting to six is too hard for your kids, tape a piece of paper over the higher numbers and put one or two dots on the paper instead.
THOUGHTS: Did 5 little ducks song in class, can extend further with this activity for numeracy

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One-to-One Correspondence Activities for Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten

What is One-to-One Correspondence

One-to-One correspondence is a foundational math skill for preschoolers. It can take months or even an entire year for preschoolers to master this skill. For this reason it is important to provide your students with plenty of opportunities to practice one-to-one all year long.

Objective
Use one-to-one correspondence to solve problems by matching sets and comparing number amounts and in counting objects to 10 and beyond and to recognize the number of objects in small groups without counting and by counting ( NCTM)

One-to-One Activities

One to One Rubber Duck Counting

This activity is so much fun for kids! They could play this game for hours and hours and it's great for 1:1 practice too. First, start by reading a book about ducks to your kids. 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle or Five Little Ducks by Pamela Paparone are both perfect for young children. Place a shallow bowl of water in the middle of the table. Give the kids one foam dice and have them take turns rolling it. Children will count the dots on the dice and place the corresponding number of mini rubber ducks in the "pond". If counting to six is too hard for your kids, tape a piece of paper over the higher numbers and put one or two dots on the paper instead.

Spill the Bears

Place a certain number of teddy bears in the plastic cup and put the lid on. Have students sit around a table or in a circle on the floor and take turns shaking the cup and "spilling" the bears out. Students count the bears each time they are spilled using their fingers to touch each one. This game sounds very simple but you would be surprised how many children don't know how many bears there are in the cup until they count them, even though it's the same amount each time and several kids had a turn before them. We play Spill the Bears once each month with a different number of bears. In September we used only two bears to play the game, in October we used 3 bears, and in November we used 4 bears etc. If you use Teddy Grahams instead of plastic bears the students may eat the bears after counting them correctly.

Ice Cube Tray Games

The erasers pictured here are flowers to go with our spring theme. To play this game each child gets an ice cube tray. Students sit around a table and take turns rolling the dice. Students must place the correct number of erasers in the ice cube tray that correspond with the dots on the die. The object of the game is to fill your tray with erasers.

Muffin Tins

You can use metal, plastic, or cardboard muffin containers, whatever you prefer or can find easily. I found cardboard muffin containers at my local grocery store that work great for this activity. Write a number in the bottom of each muffin space with a permanent marker. Next, provide a large variety of different buttons for the students to count and place in the correct muffin spaces. For example, four buttons would go in the space with number four written in the bottom.

Thematic One-to-One Activities

You can find more one-to-one activities on the individual Theme Pages.

Math Resources
Disclosure: Pre-K Pages is a participating member of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.
Don't Miss the Best of Pre-K Pages
Tips for Teaching Scissor Skills
Teaching Names in Preschool
15 Fabulous Fingerplays and Facts
How to Teach the Alphabet with Lego Duplo Bricks

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Pre-K Math: One-to-One Correspondence Activities for Preschool

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One-to-One Correspondence Math activities for Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten. Ideas for teaching children how to count with one to one correspondence.