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      • activating schema
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      • inferring
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    • word consciousness
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    • counting
    • numbers
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    • science experiments for kids
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      • new for us foods
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we’re counting–hats, cats, and pumpkins: halloween grid games

home / Activities / holidays / halloween / we’re counting–hats, cats, and pumpkins: halloween grid games
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My kiddos are Halloween nutty.we're counting--hats, cats, and pumpkins: halloween grid games

They love our scarecrows out front, our pumpkins around the house, and the little plastic spider that hangs from a shelf in the kitchen. They sing Wee Sing Halloween songs all day long.

So I put all the objects of their affection together in a really basic grid game today and passed some time in the morning before we visited Maddy at recess.

Grid games are seriously awesome. Short, sweet, and so easy to play with very little cleanup.

The concept is the same as our last grid games, but I modified things slightly:

  • Hats, Cats, and Pumpkins Grid Game: Unlike our Sunny-Rainy Grid Games, this Halloween-ish one has pictures inside boxes. I wanted to keep the grids visable so that it would be easier for Cora to use.

The premise of this game is super-simple, but the early literacy skills it reinforces are really worthwhile.

The goal is just to fill your board with small objects–that’s it. The way players do that is by counting their way through each row, depending on the number rolled on a die or the number flipped on a playing card.

we're counting--hats, cats, and pumpkins: halloween grid gamesour hats board

Today, since I couldn’t find dice to save my life, I pulled out a deck of cards and used all of the 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s. I only chose 2 each of 6, 7, and 8, and I chose only one 9 and 10. With the lower numbers, the game lasts longer, and players can more slowly walk through the left-to-right progression through the line and return sweep to the next line.

Owen and I later played with a Joker in the mix and said that he covered all–an instant win!–and that added a new level of fun to the game for him.

we're counting--hats, cats, and pumpkins: halloween grid gamesour cats board

We used clear glass pieces–nothing fancy but very fun for little hands–just the ones sold at craft stores that are sometimes in vases or in the bottom of fish bowls. Anything will work, though–Cheerios, marshmallows, Foamies, beads, bingo chips.

For each number rolled or flipped, that number of objects gets covered, line by line, beginning with the top left and ending bottom right–just like reading words on a page.

we're counting--hats, cats, and pumpkins: halloween grid gamesour pumpkins board, complete with fun glass game pieces

And that was it. Owen loved it and wanted to play a dozen times, and Cora played for a while but really just wanted to play with the game pieces. She played a few games as my partner, and then she ran off to play with a handful of game pieces and her dolls.

we're counting--hats, cats, and pumpkins: halloween grid games

grid game hats cats pumpkins

feel free to download and share–but please link to this post and not the attachment page! thank you!

Grid games, as I’ve said before, are a super tool for teaching one-to-one correspondence which emergent readers need to understand that every single number and letter is important and that a group of letters is makes one word. Grid games also work on emphasizing the movement of left to right on a page and the return sweep–reading one whole line from start to finish before moving to the line below.

Math-wise, grid games work on counting–whether it’s dots on a die or a number on a card–and then translating that number to a specific amount on a page, or the number of objects that are covered by a game piece.

Like most of our games, Owen and Cora had no idea they were learning as they played. I created this game knowing that Owen is a lover of any number game and that Cora is getting to the age where she can start to learn and understand concepts of print and number counting. We’ll play it again in the next few days, maybe this time with plastic spiders or candy corn as game pieces. Yum!

Want a few more fun halloween ideas?

  • halloween class party ideas
  • halloween ghost cookies
  • boo! your neighbors
  • alternatives to halloween candy
  • halloween jokeย notes
  • halloween learning
  • hats, cats, and pumpkin grid game
  • dinner in a pumpkin
  • candy experiments

 

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

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Quick! Thereโ€™s still time to see if your area is registered to participate in this yearโ€™s National Civics Bee! #ad

Click the link in my bio to learn more and to grab a TON of free resources for families and educators. 

This yearโ€™s registration deadline is approaching, but you still have time! 

What better way to get students to engage in civics and contribute to their communities? 

https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

#CivicsBuzz #strongcommunities #middleschool #civicsbee #teachersofIG
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Have you heard of The National Civics Bee? #ad 

The National Civics Bee is an initiative aimed at encouraging more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. 

Organized in partnership with The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the competition in your community will inspire middle schoolers to become better informed about American democracy, to engage respectfully and constructively in the community, and to build greater trust in others and institutions. 

Learn how to bring The National Civics Bee to YOUR community now: https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

Iโ€™m thrilled to have partnered with @mom_select and @civicsbuzz for this exciting campaign! โ™ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ’™

#CivicsBuzz #middleschoolers #teachersofIG #communitypartners
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(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

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Here are the 3๏ธโƒฃ elements that reading instruction should contain in order to be most effective for students with dyslexiaโ€”

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #readingteacher #teachreading #dyslexiaawareness
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Lately when I find four leaf clovers, Iโ€™ve been leaving them. ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

So if youโ€™re in Maryland, and you happen upon a lonely, little 4-leafer with very little grass, weeds, or leaves around it, I donโ€™t know WHO tried to set you up for success.

#yougotthis #keepyoureyesopen #itsthelittlethings #kilpattyluck
View
Open
Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #teachreading #readingteachersofig
View
Open
What are some of the common signs of dyslexia?

Watch to learn and find out!

#demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading #dyslexia
View
Open
True โœ… or false โŒ?

#demystifyingdyslexia #dyslexiaeducation #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading
View
Open
What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia

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