Clothespins - Number Matching

Yesterday I shared an idea on how to use clothespins for color matching practice.

Today I want to focus on numbers. I found this idea on Pinterest and thought it fit perfectly with this week's theme.

Number Matching from Frau Liebe*

You could create several of these wheels with different designs and levels of difficulty. If you don't want to print it, you could either draw the pictures or use stickers.

Flashcard Style by Learning with Mom

This is another similar activity. Have little learners clip the correct number of clothespins to each card. To make it more exciting visually, you could have objects on the flashcards instead of dots.

Another easy idea I have is to prep number line cards and have students clip the clothespins in numerical order on the number line. (I don't have a picture but I will try to upload one soon!)

Do you have any ideas for using clothespins to learn numbers?

*Warning - The site is in German.

Clothespins - Color Matching

In a world filled with high-speed internet, Ipads, and SMART boards, who knew that clothespins could be the base of so many fun activities?

This week I want to share some ideas for using clothespins with your little learner.

Color Matching from Living Creatively

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This activity is so flexible depending on the age of the learner. You can add more or less colors as needed. For a challenge, you could have older kids match color shades (i.e. light and dark green). You could use mini-clothespins to increase the motor skill practice. See what I mean about it being flexible?

Stay tuned for more clothespin ideas.

Activities for Early Finishers

In my classroom, students are constantly finishing activities at different speeds. Sometimes I struggle to plan an activity to keep them occupied (yet still learning) while the rest of the class finishes.

Yesterday I stumbled across some great ideas at Babblin-Brooke to solve this problem and develop fine motor skills.

Take any container with a plastic top, add holes to the top, and keep little hands busy sticking pipe cleaners through the holes. I think when I make this I will cut the pipe cleaners small enough to fit inside the container for easy clean up and storage.

Similar idea, but this time with pom-poms.

These got me thinking and I can't wait to spin off these ideas and create other similar activities. Thanks Babblin-Brooke for the big ideas!

DIY Puzzles

As a teacher, I am always looking for ways to save money by making my own games and activities.

Here are some great DIY puzzle ideas to build your little learners thinking and motor skills.

Popsicle Stick Puzzles from FlipChick Designs

Paper Puzzles from the Moffatt Girls

Cereal Box Puzzles