Easy St. Patty's Day Math Activity to Teach Numbers, Counting and Much More

This is an easy activity to set up for the kiddos to do! It helps with number recognition, counting and even shapes and colors.

I cut out 5 pots of gold from black construction paper. Then I cut out some "gold" from yellow paper. I took some mailing labels that I had and wrote the numbers 1-5 on them. I also used a square hole punch to cut out green "leprechaun" squares. I told the kids that the leprechauns had left us a project they needed up to complete.

The kids glued the "gold" (yellow construction paper) on the top of the black "pots of gold". Each child had 5 pots of gold.

These are the green leprechaun squares (using square hole punch).

I wrote the numbers 1-5 on these "circle" mailing labels.

The kids glued green squares onto each pot of gold. Since they had 5 pots, one pot had one square, another pot had two squares and so forth up to 5 (it is hard to see the lime green squares on the yellow paper in this picture).

This is a better picture to show them gluing the squares on the pot.

The child then counted the squares on the pot and then had to find that corresponding number on the mailing labels and put it on the pot.

It really was a fun project for the kids and it took some time for them to do. I would love to hear what kind of St. Patty's Day activities you are doing with your kids!

Shape/Halloween Learning Activity

The other day, we were going over our shapes and I decided that I would draw some different shaped jack-o-lanterns on our big piece of paper. The kids loved this and they had a fun time looking through our "pumpkin patch" (that is what I called the drawing of all the pumpkins) to find the different shaped pumpkins. We read a pumpkin story and then headed to the art table to do our activity (pictured below).

I took an orange piece of paper and make dots in a pumpkin shape around the paper. The kids counted all the dots first.

Then, they took an orange marker and followed it along each dot.

I told them to take their time so they didn't miss any of the dots!

This is what it looked like when they were done.

Then, to add more "shape" review, I had black triangles cut out and a rectangle for the stem (and of course a mouth). They took their shapes and glued them to make their jack-o-lanterns face.

Aren't they cute! And,  it was a great learning activity as well! Love those!

Easy To Make Booklets to Help Teach Shapes and Colors

Color and Shape Booklets:
A Fun Tool to help teach your child shapes and colors!

These are two booklets I made to help teach colors and shapes to the kids. They were really easy to make and the kids love to do them! For both booklets, I cut white paper in half. For the "Color Booklet", I wrote the color word on the page and then made some blocks of that color at the corners of the pages. I cut out squares of colored paper to go along with the color of the pages. I lay the colored squares on the floor and the kids need to put the right colored squares on the corresponding color page. For the "Shape Booklet", I colored a different shape on each page. I cut out shapes from black construction paper and they play it just like the "Color Booklet". I put the shapes on the floor and they go through each page and put the right shape on its match. I put these books together with a brad so that the pages were easy to move back and forth. These are a cinch to make and the kids love them! I store them in gallon size Ziploc bags. Another great thing about these booklets is that the kids can do them on their own!!!

Teaching Your Child Colors, Shapes, Letters and Numbers

How Do I Teach My Child Colors/Shapes/Letters/Numbers?


At the age of two, I started teaching my kids these things. I started off just introducing them to these things, but before I knew it, they were picking up on it and telling me their colors and letters on their own! As I have said many times before, I am a huge believer in consistency and doing things over and over with your child until it is clear to them. I am also an advocate for trying out new things and making learning fun for kids. Mix things up! Get creative! Get them involved in a game and/or a project where these things are being used. This creates a situation where your child is learning and having fun at the same time !

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Go outside! What colors and shapes can you find in nature? Collect sticks and put them together to form letters, numbers and shapes.



• Field Trip! In the grocery store, how many different apple colors are there? What different shapes are in the aisles?



• Flowers! Try and find all the colors of the rainbow in the flowers?



• Reading a book to your child: What colors are on the pages? What shapes are in the pictures?



• Getting your child dressed in the morning: Talk about what colors he/she has on.



• In the car: Look at the passing vehicles - what color are they? What shapes are on the buildings? Can you find an "A"?



• Cooking: Talk about the color in the foods you are preparing. Cut the vegetables into shapes. Making pancakes? Make them into shapes and letters. Add food coloring to batters to come up with new colors.

Projects and crafts are another great way to get your kids having fun while learning!

Here are some ideas:

• Have your kids paint different letters, numbers, shapes - let them experiment and get messy!


• Have them cut out different shapes (great for scissor skills too) and put them together to make a picture.


• Have your kids mix paints together to see what colors they can make.


• Use letter, number and shape cookie cutters as stencils.


• Stickers are a lot of fun for kids. Make a sticker album out of a notebook and the kids can put the letters on the corresponding page.


• Use alphabet cereal to make words. Spell their name.

The project possibilities are endless! You just need to find out what your child enjoys doing and run with it!!



In every thing you do, try and attach a color/shape/letter/number to it. That way, you are making it fun and interesting and not such a bore to learn. As with anything, don't do it so much that your kids' ears start ringing when they hear you mention a "circle" or the color "blue". At first, it will seem like your child is not even paying attention and that he/she is not retaining anything you are going over, but then one day you will be somewhere and your child will say, "Look mom, that truck is green!" Sweet success!




















One thing about teaching a child something new, repetition and making it fun are two main components to them catching on. Repeating colors and talking about colors over and over is the perfect way for your child to understand and get the colors down. Making it fun The main thing is do it over and over and over again. You can teach colors wherever you are: grocery store, looking at flowers, reading books, flashcards, in the car, outside, etc. You just have to go over it all the time and soon, your child will be in the car someday and say that is a green truck! AAHHH - satisfaction.