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Children will go on an outside scavenger hunt to collect sets of items for each number 1-5.
Learning Area(s): Math; Science
MATERIALS
- foam/magnetic/plastic numbers 1-5
- items to be collected outside (leaves, flowers, pinecones, sticks, etc.)
LET'S PLAY
Show your children the numbers 0-5. Say the names of the numbers together as you point to each one. Then tell your child, “Today we are going to go hunt for some interesting nature items—like flowers, leaves, and sticks—outside. We will take each number and go out and find that many of the same thing. If we pick the number 4 and we go hunt for leaves, we need to find 4 leaves. Then we’ll move on to the next number and hunt for something different. We can collect anything we want that we see outside.”
While collecting items, talk about what the item looks and feels like, for example its color, size, and texture. You can also talk about its purpose: flowers make seeds, leaves make food for the plants, sticks and stems help hold the plant up, etc. Help your child notice where things grow and come from. Talk about how a pinecone that’s on the ground fell off the tree above it.
Group your found items around the number to count. Help your child learn to touch each item as he counts or as you count together. Compare how many nature items you count to the plastic number to see if they match. You can also talk about which group has more and which group has less.
TIPS
- If your child is older, you can collect larger numbers of items.
- If you don’t have foam or magnetic numbers at your house, you can also just write each number on a piece of paper.
- When searching for nature items, be careful to watch what your child is collecting, and only pick up plants you are familiar with.
- If you don’t have a backyard in which to hunt for items, visit a nearby park.
- Make sure this activity feels fun and playful. Follow your child’s lead on what they would like to collect and what they are interested in. If they want to collect all leaves, that’s okay! Point out differences between different kinds of leaves, and see what else your child notices about them.
- You can make a fun art project out of the items you collected by gluing the nature items on a piece of paper and either writing or gluing the number down beside them.