Monday, December 5, 2016

Cookie Jar Play Dough Math Mats

Use these Cookie Jar Play Dough Mats to combine fine motor and math skills in a fun way. You can find many more Play Dough Mats here.

Cookie Jar Play Dough Math Mats

To prepare these mats, print them and either laminate the mats or slip them in clear page protectors. I like to to put them in page protectors and bind them together with metal binder rings so the kids can flip through the mats like a book. That keeps them neat on the table in the child’s area, so they don’t spread them out all over the table.

Each mat says, “Put [#] cookies in the jar.” There are mats for numbers 1-10. Kids will identify the numeral on each page, and count of the correct amount of “cookies” to place in the jar on the mat.

To make play dough cookies, have your preschool kids pinch off a small piece of play dough, roll it into a ball, place it on the mat, and smash it flat.

Cookie Jar Play Dough Mats

You can also use Cookie Crunch cereal instead of play dough:

Cookie Jar Counting Mat with Cookie Crunch Cereal

Here are more alternatives to play dough:

Cut circles out of tan craft foam and draw dots on them with a permanent marker to make little cookies.
Use flat marbles (floral marbles)
Draw circles (cookies) with dry erase markers
Use colored plastic bingo chips

If you want to save ink, you can print only one mat (the one I refer to as the “toddler” mat). Print it once, and then write the numerals on the mat with dry erase marker or place small number cards on the mat for children to count.

The toddler mat can also be used with younger children who need fine motor practice, but are not ready for counting. That mat says, “Put cookies in the jar.”

Cookie Jar Play Dough Math Mats