Number Sculptures is a hands-on activity that builds fine motors skills along with counting, one-to-one correspondence (one number word for each item counted), and cardinality (know that the last number said is the number in the set). Plus it's creative, messy fun!
What you need: block made of styrofoam or floral foam and pokey things like bobby pins, craft sticks, golf tees, and pipe cleaners.
How it works: Children create a sculpture for a given number by poking the correct number of items into the block. For a 5 sculpture, the child pokes 5 craft sticks, 5 bobby pins, 5 golf tees, etc. Snap a pic and send it to grandma then have your child remove the items and make a new sculpture for a different number.
Where's the math? Number Sculptures gives practice with the counting sequence. Kids also learn one-to-one correspondence when they say one number word for each item them poke into the block. They also love that crunch sound and might count it too! They experience cardinality when you ask them, "What number did you create a sculpture for?" and they answer 5! Cardinality means the last number said is the number in the set. Cardinality is developmental, meaning it develops with age and experience. But you can hasten it by having your child count the golf tees and then ask them, "How many tees are there?" If your child has to re-count the tees, (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) that means they haven't yet developed cardinality. You can tell them, "You have 5 tees." or have them run into another room and tell a family member how many tees they have. I bet they won't run into the other room and say, "I have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 golf tees." Instead, they'll run in and say, "I have 5 golf tees in my sculpture," which helps them make that connection between the last number they said and the answer to the question, "How many do you have?"
For more fun math ideas you can do to build math-positive mindsets alongside your kids, check out my website
www.carriecutler.com or my book Math-Positive Mindsets: Growing a Child's Mind without Losing Yours (available on Amazon).
