A Counting Game

When Bear was learning her colors ages ago, I made her the die pictured above.  We often cover up the colored circles with post-its on which I've written actions for us to do. 

This particular day, I covered the circles with numbers.  Bear or I rolled the die and had to run across the room to collect the correct number of Duplo for our Duplo tower. 

What made this counting game so fun?

It involved more than one modality.  

First, you roll an enormous die, which uses your large muscles. What child doesn't love throwing?

Second, you run across the room, another much loved preschooler activity.

And third, you build with Duplo (or Legos, wooden blocks, counting erasers, or whatever you want to use for your tower).  This part refines those fine motor skills.

Oh, and did you know you also practiced counting?

Many children, especially boys, learn much better by being active.  This is a great example of how you can achieve learning while mixing in physical activity.

The great thing about the die is that once Bear easily recognizes those numbers, I can switch them to other numbers.  This game could be used with higher numbers too, although we wouldn't have enough Duplos for that at our house.