Valentines Number Recognition Game

Create a Valentines day activity which will help your child recognise their numbers and count up to ten while spending some loving quality time with your little one.

Resources:
Material petals
Marker pen
Sequins or beads for counting
Coloured rice
A bowl

To set up this activity I dyed a 1kg bag of rice using rice food dye. We love rice play and you can find the instructions for how to colour your rice here. Once cooled we poured it into a bowl adding a packet of heart shaped sequins from the super market and numbered petals.

Little man is due to start school this coming summer and there are still a few things I would like him to have confidence with before he starts school such as his number and writing skills. This activity was one I put together to help Little man to recognise his numbers, gain confidence in counting objects and sorting. 

First of all I asked J to help me sort out the number in order on the table. I was surprised to see he knew all but two of the numbers but needed some helping in counting to remind him where they should all go. Once arranged we moved on to look for the sequin hearts placing them on the table. 

Little man found it easier to remove the hearts from the rice first before sorting them and placing them under the numbered petals. 

After playing together J went on to play with the rice and using the petals as plates for his fairy friends. He placed the matching number of hearts onto the plates as food to share out. I hope to get this game out a few more times on the lead up to valentines day before letting him take it into preschool to share with his friends.