Christmas Theme Counting Activities for Kindergarten
Reigning children in for meaningful learning could be one of the biggest challenges faced by teachers, parents and caregivers. Add Christmas into the mix and, let’s face it, adults are on the losing end! But throwing in the towel is not an option! That’s when beautifully engaging number counting activities for kindergarten become magical tools for learning.
Christmas Theme Counting Activities for Kindergarten is super versatile because you can print it or offer this Christmas themed math digitally. It’s available for download on Google Slides, Seesaw, or Boom! Students will practice counting skills and number recognition for 0-10 while gaining fluency in quickly recognizing objects in an array.
Foundational Math Concepts for Kindergarten
Kindergarten math curriculum is jam-packed with important foundational concepts. For many children, it’s their first formal opportunity to delve into counting, skip counting, grouping, manipulating numbers and other number activities.
And we don’t stop with numbers! Kindergarten math prepares students for 1st grade math by introducing shapes, measurement, time, sorting, positional words, problem solving and more.
I’ve found the best way to teach these sometimes “foreign” concepts is through engaging, meaningful math centers, art projects, games, and songs.
Adding in Christmas crafts or other holiday themes keeps kids engaged and motivated when their little minds wander to parties, gifts, Santa, elves, and treats.
How to Use Christmas Theme Counting Activities for Kindergarten
Counting arrays in kindergarten introduce young learners to the idea that you can quickly recognize the number of objects in a group without counting them. However, it takes a lot of counting practice before students begin to fluently recognize arrays as specific numbers.
More Christmas Ideas to Build Number Sense in Kindergarten
Get creative and stay versatile with your Christmas themed kindergarten math fun! Christmas math crafts help build fine motor skills while reinforcing important concepts, while games and partner activities double as social/emotional practice.
There are always Christmas worksheets to print off when you’re in need of a quick, no-prep way to sneak in some math. Here are some additional Christmas activity ideas:
- Place red, green, silver or gold pom poms over each ornament on the tree to help children count objects in an array for kindergarten.
- Use candy canes to measure items around the classroom.
- Create a Christmas wreath and label bulbs with numbers 1-10, or skip count by 2s, 5s, or 10s.
- Make array Christmas cards using small cutouts of trees, bells, ornaments, or stars.
- Find the Elf is a fun Christmas math activity where you hide an elf/Santa/angel behind a number on a hundreds chart and the students have to guess where it is. You can extend this game to a lot of different levels based on the clues you give.
