Math & 123s
SpringPreschoolers15 Comments
Math is so much more fun when it's a hands-on activity. Try an easy outside math activity by counting flower petals!
I’m always on the look out for ways to mix learning in with fun. So we took our play time outside today!
We took a look around our house for flowers that were in bloom. I love a great nature scavenger hunt!
I asked Henry if he could count the petals on the flowers. Then I realized that he doesn’t know what a petal is!
So we had a little learning lesson about flowers and what part the petal was. I didn’t go into too much detail though, just about the petals.
As we looked at the flowers, I realized that this was a great time to work on counting!
Try an Easy Counting Flower Petals Math Activity for Kids
Once we established the concept of flower petals, we began counting.
We picked out one of each of a few different kinds of flowers.
I wish I had more types of flowers to choose from because we only had a few to choose from in our early spring yard.
Henry helped me count through all the petals of the daisies. Making it all the way to 35.
His counting has improved so much! He gets stuck now on 20, 30, 40, not knowing what comes next.
I plucked each petal of the daisy as we counted it, to make sure we didn’t count them twice. Then we just assumed all the other daisies had the same number of petals.
Henry easily counted the 5 petals on the other flowers completely by himself.
Go Beyond Simple Flower Petal Counting
Once we had established the number of petals on each flower, I tested Henry’s memory and matching skills, as well as his ordering skills.
I asked him a few questions.
- Do any of these flower have the same number of petals?
- Can you order them from the least to the greatest number of petals?
- Can you match up flowers with the same number of petals and group them together?
I think Henry thought I was dumb for asking. But he happily obliged.
What are your favorite ways to build learning into everyday play? We’d love to check out some new ideas!
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Scarlet says
I love how this counting activity includes nature and real objects for added sensory fun. Having them find the flowers to count is a fun idea too.
Rachelle | TinkerLab says
Jamie, this is such a fun way to teach and reinforce counting skills. You’re brilliant and I always learn so much from you. Thanks for being a big part of the creative challenge community.
Michelle says
Henry, next time head over to Jerry and Marie’s, they are bound to have lots of petals for you to count. :-) Michelle
Trisha @ Inspiration Laboratories says
Such a great idea for a counting activity inspired by flowers!