Rainbow Counting Bears Activities for Kids
What’s your favorite math manipulative? If you’re like us, we LOVE our rainbow bear counters! ❤️ I use them to introduce a variety of skills with my preschooler. Let me share with you a bunch of our awesome activities that use counting bears.
Sorting
Grab your stash or rainbow counting bears and get ready for some fun sorting by colors activity!
I printed a picture of a bear on different colored paper. Then my little learner (LL) had to sort the bears by color.
|
|
|
To add some challenge, I also made bear caves… with doors! (What?!? Yes, our bears’ homes have doors.) I placed a number circle on each cave. I tell my LL “This is the number of bears living in this cave. Can you please bring the bears home?” So my little learner had to “open the door”, look at the number, and place the correct number of bears.
|
|
|
We also used counting bears to learn the alphabet. I printed the letters, and my LL had to sort the bears by color and place them on the alphabet mats.
|
|
Counting
Yes, bear counters are definitely useful for counting practice. I printed our bear number 1-20 mats. My LL had to copy and trace the number, color the bears, and place the correct number of bear counters on the grid.
Yes, bear counters are definitely useful for counting practice. I printed our bear number 1-20 mats. My LL had to copy and trace the number, color the bears, and place the correct number of bear counters on the grid.
|
|
|
Number recognition task? I covered that too. I printed number strips and clip cards which worked as task cards. (Tip of the day: These task cards are on-the-go activities. Bring them and use them on your trips.)
|
|
|
Patterning
The lovely bears are the best for learning patterns. I made task cards where my LL can place the bears on paw prints to create a pattern. And yes, simple patterns can have types (AB, ABB, AAB, ABC). So I made pattern printables for copying, identifying, extending, completing, and creating the different types of patterns. Extension activity - I also made patterns on a grid.
The lovely bears are the best for learning patterns. I made task cards where my LL can place the bears on paw prints to create a pattern. And yes, simple patterns can have types (AB, ABB, AAB, ABC). So I made pattern printables for copying, identifying, extending, completing, and creating the different types of patterns. Extension activity - I also made patterns on a grid.
|
|
|
Graphing
Learning about graphs should be filled with fun! In our graphing activities, we built a graph by using a bear cube and a grid. My LL simply had to roll the cube and add one rainbow bear with the matching color to the correct column on the graph. To add more fun, we gamified it! We bet which bear will win (reach the topmost box first).
Learning about graphs should be filled with fun! In our graphing activities, we built a graph by using a bear cube and a grid. My LL simply had to roll the cube and add one rainbow bear with the matching color to the correct column on the graph. To add more fun, we gamified it! We bet which bear will win (reach the topmost box first).
|
|
And how about a combination of “I Spy” and graphing? Yup, done that! We did a “find and graph” activity. My LL had to find, count, and graph the bears.
|
|
Here’s another fun tally and graph activity. I placed bears in a bag. We pulled a bear from the bag several times. My LL had to tally and graph the results.
|
|
|
Positional Words Activity
Time to learn about positional or spatial words. These words describe the position of an object in space, often in relation to another object. Here are some engaging activities we did to learn these words.
I printed our positional words task cards. My LL had to study the task cards and follow the instructions printed on them.
Time to learn about positional or spatial words. These words describe the position of an object in space, often in relation to another object. Here are some engaging activities we did to learn these words.
I printed our positional words task cards. My LL had to study the task cards and follow the instructions printed on them.
|
|
|
We also did some activities on following directions. Activity one is about placing the bears on their correct position by following the given directions. Activity two needs to be done in pairs. My LL had to look at the position of each bear and describe its position. I (as the partner) had to place the bears based on the given descriptions. In the end, we had to check if the bear positions on both of our pages are the same.
|
|
|
Visual Spatial Memory Activity
Yes, remembering the locations of objects is an important skill (especially for people getting older, ehemm). Kids benefit a lot from visual spatial memory practice. So we printed out some memory cards for our activity. My LL had to look at the card, memorize the positions of the bears (in a line, grid, or cup), flip the card, recall the positions, and recreate the sequence using the bear counters. That’s a lot of steps, huh? But it was fun and engaging, and yes, it exercised both our hippocampus. By the way, do you know what the hippocampus said during its retirement speech? “Thanks for the memories!"
Yes, remembering the locations of objects is an important skill (especially for people getting older, ehemm). Kids benefit a lot from visual spatial memory practice. So we printed out some memory cards for our activity. My LL had to look at the card, memorize the positions of the bears (in a line, grid, or cup), flip the card, recall the positions, and recreate the sequence using the bear counters. That’s a lot of steps, huh? But it was fun and engaging, and yes, it exercised both our hippocampus. By the way, do you know what the hippocampus said during its retirement speech? “Thanks for the memories!"
|
|
|
There you go, my friends. Those are our fun-filled activities with those cute rainbow bear counters. If you want to use the same printables we used, I am happy to tell you that they are available in my TPT store. ☺️
Bear Counters ActivitiesLooking for fun and meaningful morning work for your little learners? These fun-filled activities with bear counters are perfect for your morning work tubs, math centres, and busy boxes. They are low-prep; just print the pages, follow the instructions, and you are ready to go. This resource includes 25 activities. Activities include letters, numbers, counting, colors, patterns, graphs, and more. The skills included in this resource are designed to be just right for preschoolers or incoming kindergarten students. It is packed full of interactive, hands-on activities and is the perfect way to introduce your students to morning tubs or centers. |
|
|
Here is an outline of what you will find in this resource:
|
|
Thank you so much for reading. Please save, pin, and share. Choose one from the following images.
|
|
I appreciate your stay on my website. Have a lovely day!
With so much love,
Ruby ❤️
With so much love,
Ruby ❤️