There’s no doubt that kids love to count and they love to move. So putting them together to count and move is a natural. Over the coming weeks we’ll be scouring the internet for tons of different ways to count so stay tuned!
Count and move ideas
1. Count and hop
- Home made DIY frog hop game using green card and stickers from Toddler Approved.
- Raindrop hop from Deceptively Educational. Created with chalk on the sidewalk, kids can hop from number to number.
2. A number hunt
- A fall leaf number hunt from Toddler Approved. The kids can make this game themselves with coloured card and markers.
- Neighbourhood number hunt from Intentional by Grace. Looking for numbers around the neighbourhood. I’d also suggest counting the cars as they go past, or counting the trees or flowers or letter boxes!
3. Action counting
- Counting action dice from Buggy and Buddy. Easy to make if you have dice and a plain cube to draw on.
- DIY action cards from Teach Mama. Here kids make their own action cards, or mum writes and the little ones draw.
- Free printable action cards from Teacher Twinkle Toes. A free download from her store at Teachers Pay Teachers.
- Grab and move counting sticks from Toddler Approved. Write numbers on one set of sticks and write actions on another set of sticks. The kids pick one stick from each set and off they go!
4. Count and throw
- Newspaper basketball from Hands On As We Grow. Jamie specialises in creating easy activities that use things we already have in the house. This is no exception; all you need is old newspaper and a bucket!
- Bouncy balloon counting from Hub Pages. Count how many times you can bounce a balloon with your hand, or hit, spin around and hit into the air again.
5. Run and count
- Run and count from The Pleasantest Thing. Includes card with stickers to count plus pegs for fine motor practice.
- Roll, count, run and stick from Kid Minds. This one adds the novelty of beads and sticky paper!
6. Drum and count
- Drum and count from And Next Comes L. Music is such a great way to engage children, and counting is a natural side product of keeping a beat!
7. Count and Walk
- Count and walk from Adventures in Learning. Tape a number line on the floor to help kids understand that the numbers should be evenly spread. They’ll pick this up naturally as they count.
- Taped numbers in the hallway from How Wee Learn. Sarah presents different learning ideas for how to make the most of taped numbers in your hallway / bedroom / verandah…
8. Count with Chalk
- Animal tracks from Modern Preschool. Animal footprints on the footpath add a sense of novelty while hopping / jumping / running and counting.
- Run the number line from Coffee Cups and Crayons. A step up (academically speaking) from animal tracks, drawing a number line lets kids read the numerals while they’re moving, which is particularly good when getting into the teen numbers and 20s.
- Raindrop hop from Deceptively Educational (see Count and hop above)
- Hopscotch from Melissa and Doug. This post talks about 7 sidewalk games your kids might enjoy!
9. Counting Croquet
- Indoor counting croquet from Toddler Approved. A creative indoor game. If you have kid-sized plastic croquet mallets and ball, then all you need is some card, tape and perhaps a cardboard tube or two.
10. Hopscotch
- Cardboard hopscotch from Happy Hooligans. Recycle your pizza and jumbo cereal boxes to make this cute hopscotch set.
- Cloth numbers from Pieces by Polly. Create cloth number squares to prevent kids slipping and so they’ll last almost forever.
- No sew DIY hopscotch playmat from Kidsomania. Paint numbers on canvas for a simpler way of using cloth for hopscotch.
- Chalk hopscotch from Melissa and Doug. The old faithful, grab the chalk and start drawing on the sidewalk!
Want to see more counting roundup posts?
- 10+ Ways to Count with Play Dough
- 10+ Ways to Count with Fine Motor Skills
- 10+ Ways to Count with Snacks
Looking for more counting activities?
Pop over to my TpT store for more counting products: within 5, within 20, within 100 and introducing number lines 0-10.
What a great selection of active games for young learners! We are always looking for more ideas and I see a couple here that I haven’t thought of before! Thank you for including Roll, Count, Run and Stick from Kid Minds! We always have a lot of fun with it!
We LOVE sticky paper, Eva! And it’s such a clever way to expand a simple activity to make it more active and engaging! Thanks for sharing your idea!