Marshmallow Counting
Set out
marshmallows for the children to count.
Afterwards, let them eat their marshmallows.
Counting
Children
Ask
the children how
many campers are here today?
Let them each go around the room counting each child.
Graphing
Ideas
What's your favorite
forest animal?
Have you ever been in a boat?
Have you ever gone camping?
Which do you like better, hamburgers or hotdogs?
Have you ever gone fishing?
Stone Jar
For older children. Fill
a small jar with large stones. Ask each child to guess
how many stones are in the jar. For younger children, limit the number of
stones to less than ten. Record each child's guess. Count the stones
Gone Fishing
Cut out fish shapes (I
used silver coated poster board & a die cutter) and place a
paper clip
on each one. Give the child a stick with a string tied onto it with a magnet for a
hook.
Use blue masking
tape to create a pond/lake on the floor if desired. Simple math
facts
or letter recognition can be put on the back of the fish, so when the child catches
a fish they complete the
activity and throw their fish back in the pond.
Camping
Scavenger Hunt
Before the children go outdoors, instruct them to find things on
your playground
that you would see while camping. Sort them and count them when
they bring them into the
classroom (five twigs, three rocks, etc.)
Picnic
Ants
Glue magazine
and newspaper pictures of food to twenty paper plates, then label
the
plates with a large number in the center, from 1 to 20. Put the plates in a picnic
basket,
along with a box or baggie full of plastic ants. Children choose a plate at random,
read the
number, and put the ants on the plate so they can eat the food!
This is a great Language Experience
activity for younger children ... you could even
let them cut and paste the pictures to their own
plates, glue on the the ants, and
then dictate a story to you. Mount the stories and paper plates on
red-and-white
checked paper place mats (or weave your own) and hang them on the wall.
