Lesson: Counting my Vegetables Dice Game
Concept: Counting/ One to One Correspondence / Number Recognition
Works Best for: Preschool-Kindergarten
This game (of which I’ve created countless versions) was a big hit with my kindergarten classes. I’ve since created several versions for my daughter, and she has loved them as well. With our backyard garden in full swing, I thought a vegetable version of this game would be lots of fun, and would incorporate nicely into our home-learning theme of “My Garden.”
Procedure: Print out one copy of the game board for EACH person playing the game. Take turns rolling a die. (Large foam dice work really well for younger children, still learning how to count/recognize the dots as numbers). If player one rolls a three, he/she chooses three vegetables on his/her game board to color in. The second player then rolls the die, and colors in the corresponding number of vegetables on their game board. The first player to color in all of their vegetables wins.
Extend the Lesson: Use this game as a springboard for other non-math related lessons. Talk about what the different vegetables are, as your child colors them in. Say, “You just colored in a zucchini. Zzzucchini. What sound do you hear at the beginning of that word? What letter do you think makes the Zz sound?” This would also be a great game to play prior to having your child help you prepare vegetables in the kitchen. (There are SO many learning opportunities to be had in the kitchen!)
Modify the Lesson: For younger children, allow them to manually count the dots on the die with their fingers. With time, (and with older children), they should be able to look at the die and determine the number represented in their head. Encourage older children to attempt to count in their head should they try to count with their fingers.
To make the game more challenging, if a player has 3 vegetables left, do not allow a roll of a 4,5, or 6 to work. If they roll a 1, ask them which number they would need to roll on their next turn to win. Work as many basic addition/subtraction problems into your game as possible! If your child colors 3 vegetables on their first turn, and 4 on the next, ask them how many vegetables they have colored altogether.
Simply click on the link below to download the printable version of this game board! Happy counting!
