Tower Power number game

On the 100th day, my kids had so much fun stacking 100 cups. I knew I had to make a small group & workstation game with the same concept. But, of course, I would be "tricking them" into practicing a target skill.

That's the way things work around here. 

They think they're playing. I know they're working. Win-win.

At a district meeting, another kindergarten teacher recommended a game she called "Tower Power." It entailed writing letters/words on cups, putting the cups in an empty Pringles can, and stacking them up to make a tower. I knew my kids would love it.

I tweaked the idea to meet our needs -- no can (just a basket), labels are easier than writing, and I included a recording sheet. I have found that simple recording sheets really help increase the accountability while my students are at independent workstations. 

For the target skill, I used numbers over 100. All of my kids can identify numbers 100-109, but several of them were struggling with the numbers over 109 -- like 117, 125, etc. So, this was the perfect game to practice.

How to play:

1. Take a cup from the stack. Read the number/word/letter. [You can't see them, but I typed numbers 100-130 onto labels and stuck them on the cups.]

2. Add the cup to the growing tower. Be careful!

3. Write the number/word/letter on your recording sheet.

4. Repeat until the stack is gone. My kids relished in their "huge tower" using all the cups!

Click HERE or on the printable above for recording sheets (number, word, and letter version all included).

Bow Wow! - number comparison game

My kids love this game. It's simple, easy-to-learn, fun, and great for practicing number identification and comparison.

I played this game this week with some of my students at math small group instruction. It's quick enough to play multiple times -- and the kids love the simple competitive nature.

Plus, it's dog-themed. Winner in my book. :)

It's basically the old card game "War." There are 3 colors of number cards (easy sorting!) The kids simultaneously flip a card onto the game board, say the number, and decide whose number is the largest. This person takes all the cards! When there's a tie, players flip another card on top (their favorite part, of course!)

The number cards also have a matching number of pawprints for kiddos who are still working on number ID, or those that need to see a visual to decide which number is larger.

     

I hope you enjoy the game! Click on the pictures above... HERE for the game board and HERE for the game cards.

Number writing rhymes

My kinders seriously love these. They sing them all the time.

I absolutely love overhearing one of my students singing it quietly while writing a number independently. Just pulls at my heart strings. Too sweet.

Even better... we have been introducing the correct "technique" for writing each number -- one number each day. The kids beg for me to introduce another one. But nope. One per day. As I always say...

"I guess you'll have to come back to school tomorrow..."

I thought I'd share my personal version of the number writing rhymes. There are tons of versions out there, but here is the 0-9 set I have tweeked and made work for me. This is a *great* way to practice at home, too!

Click HERE or on the picture above for the printable. Enjoy!

Sorry! game -- revamped for kindergarten!

I love garage sales. They're a great place to find classroom treasures. One of my favorite things to buy at garage sales are board games. You can usually pick them up for $1 or $2 -- and I love turning them into educational games! They are perfect for small group practice... and way more fun than plain-old flash cards!



A couple weeks ago, I picked up a Sorry! game for $1. Keep reading below for 3 Sorry! games for the kindergarten classroom -- Sight Words, Double-Digit Number ID, and Over 100 Number ID.