Bug Maths

I first got this idea from a brilliant post here on the wonderful Imagination Tree blog.  I stored the idea away for future use and here we are.

I googled for a "ladybird template" and a "bee template" and found these ones, which I've linked to their sources below.

fromCraftcore

from mathwire.com

I printed out the templates and laminated them and then gave them to the children with a lump of playdough.  I gave each child a number.  For the ladybird they had to divide up their playdough to the appropriate number of spots, and for the bee they had to make the right number of stripes.  We tried different numbers, and also swapped over the sheets.

Lots was going on here.  C can count for himself and is now getting the hang of starting top left and counting systematically to make sure that he doesn't miss any.  He was concentrating on the motor skills involved in rolling out bee stripes, and in dividing up the playdough so that all the spots or stripes were consistent sizes.  He was also beginning to understand that the ladybird should have the same number of spots on both sides.  Bug can count to ten, but hasn't quite got number/object correspondence yet, so as she made the stripes or spots, I would count with her to see if she had enough yet.  She quite enjoyed covering the whole insect with bits of playdough!