That said I don’t think that working with food is inherently bad especially food like marshmallows or candy. If using marshmallows is not appropriate for your class find an alternative like buttons, pom poms, or bingo chips.
![printable math games for kindergarten printable math games for kindergarten](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d1/b2/40/d1b240094f6c6e6602a65fb67d2b8c46--kindergarten-math-activities-preschool-games.jpg)
Part of developmentally appropriate practice is understanding and knowing your students. This is a BIG ( see my emphasis?) debate in early childhood education, there are children in our classes and in our care that have little food security and working with food can be especially upsetting. In case you missed up above PRINT THE GAME BOARD OUT HERE This game allows children to playfully work on all these skills. You are probably more familiar with why this skill is important, but what is even more important is not just naming the digit but connecting the amount to that number. When children are searching and finding the correct number they are working on number recognition. For more about subitizing this blog post explains it well! This skill is an important for higher math much later in your student’s or child’s development. You will see young preschoolers counting each dot on the die, and that is GREAT do not stop them from doing that, eventually, with lots of fun and dice games, they will recognize the amount without counting. Subitizing sounds complex but it’s pretty simple, it is the ability to recognize amounts without counting them. When children use dice, they are learning and practicing a skill called subitizing. This strategy has worked for my kids for years. I did this because I told my daughter if she plays without eating there will be extra for her to have at the end. I added four extra mini marshmallows into the container. The good thing is is that the game board is a free download so you can print out a bunch to play against each other or just one for solo play. My daughter always preferred to play solo working away quietly, and my son loved making it a competition.
![printable math games for kindergarten printable math games for kindergarten](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/85/93/13/859313ab32f1d4ad7c45b16e1b93013b.jpg)
The objective of the game is to fill Santa’s beard you can play solo or print two out and play against someone else.
![printable math games for kindergarten printable math games for kindergarten](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/70/89/8e/70898e87e8efe02cc1510f77a0471322.jpg)
I made more than one version of Santa if this Santa looks more like the one your child imagines Print it out here <- click to print. You will need a tray, a dish for the marshmallows, mini marshmallows ( of course buttons or bingo chips work too), and the printable game board <- click that to print it out!Īll children should have a Santa they recognize and connect with. Why do they have to grow so quickly? Ok back to the game… My youngest doesn’t even fit into those PJs anymore. After YEARS of readers asking me to make this into a printable I finally did. I made this Santa math game up a million years ago ( I think six really…), but it was way before I made printables or even had a color printer.