Magnificent May Math Center Ideas!

Allie Magnuson, Scholastic Classroom Solutions blogger, has put together an incredible list of math activities, exercises, and games for the month of May! Her exciting themes, spanning from "The Price Is Right, Kindergarten Edition" to a classroom "Counting Party", are sure to get your kinders excited and ready to learn! We especially loved her frog themed center ideas and thought we'd share a few of the highlights along with some extensions {as always, you'll have to head on over to Allie's blog for the full scoop!}...

Catching Flies. Allie made fly counting cards, set them up as a "game mat" on the floor {or another hard surface}, and invited her students to take turns tossing a bean bag frog onto the mat, counting the number of dots on the fly counting card on which it landed, and collecting the appropriate number of plastic flies. As an extension, consider creating multiple versions of the fly counting cards {like our example} - dots, numerals, number words, tally marks, etc. - to help your students practice recognizing numbers and number words as well as counting!

Additionally, you might also consider having your kiddos use the fly counting cards to play a fun game. Create several yogurt cup frogs {like these at Suite 101}. The only thing you'll want to remember when crafting; do not flip the yogurt container over. Leave the opening at the top to create 'frog cups'. Provide each player with a frog and set the stack of fly counting cards face down in the center of the circle along with a bowl of plastic flies. Have students take turns drawing a card, identifying the number of dots, numeral, etc. and counting out the correct number of flies into their cup. To make the game interesting, add several extra cards to the stack. For instance, you might include:

• Give 2 flies to the player on your right.
• Three flies escape, place them back in the bowl.
• Another frog steals your flies, place them all back in the bowl.

Students continue play until one player collects 30 flies {or another number of your choosing}. For younger students, who may not prefer to keep a running total, add in one 'frog card' to the deck. The student who draws this card wins the game.

For more fantastic May math ideas, be sure to visit Allie's full post >> Merry Math Ideas for May!