101 Number Activities

98
CAPS AND CANS
Motor Skills
Materials
Large coffee cans
Construction paper
Scissors
Transparent tape
Masking tape
Marker
Bottle caps
Activity
Collect five large coffee cans. Cut construction paper to fit around the cans and tape the paper in place.
Cover any rough edges on the can with masking tape. Number the cans from 1 to 5 with numbers and
dots. Collect fifteen plastic bottle caps. Place the bottle caps in a basket. Place the numbered cans in the
middle of a table. Invite one of the children to join you. Show the child how to gently toss the bottle caps
into the cans. Have the child identify the number on one of the cans and then try to toss that many bottle
caps into it. Let the child continue until he or she has tossed the corresponding number of bottle caps into
each can.
Variation: Instead of numbering the cans, leave them blank. Let several children work together to
toss the bottle caps into the cans. When they have finished, have the children count the number of
bottle caps in each can.
© School Specialty Publishing

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© McGraw-Hill Children’s Publishing
1-57029-488-7 101 Number Activities
79
Motor Skills
99
WRITING NUMBERS
Materials
Baking sheet with edge
Salt
Number line
Activity
Set out a baking sheet with an edge. Pour a thin layer of salt on the baking sheet. Set out a number line 
(or make one of your own with a strip of construction paper and a marker). Show the children how to
gently shake the baking sheet to spread out the sand and then use their pointer fingers to write numbers
in the sand. Demonstrate how easy it is to “erase” the numbers by gently shaking the baking sheet again.
Let the children take turns writing numbers in the salt and shaking them away. Encourage them to look at
the number line to help them form their numbers correctly.
Variations: Instead of using salt on a baking sheet, try sand in cardboard box, shaving cream on a
table, or fingerpaint on heavy paper for number writing practice.