1-2-3 Come Make Some Number Puzzles With Me

Learning to count can be tedious and a bit overwhelming for little ones.  If that isn't a big enough job, learning to count backwards, as well as skip count are also standards.

With this in mind, I designed number "strip" puzzles.  I call them that because I cut the puzzles into strips.

Number puzzles provide a quick, easy and fun way to help students practice counting & sequencing numbers from 1-10, and counting backwards from 10 to 1, as well as skip counting by 2s & 10s, plus my Y5s absolutely LOVE them.  

I usually make the puzzles on a full sheet of paper.  Some are vertical, while other designs are horizontal. I decided to make an apple and pumpkin "shape" strip puzzle for those units.

Simply run the templates off on red and orange paper.
Choose the number puzzle that best fits your needs, or give students a choice.

For a cool mosaic effect, children trim and glue to another sheet of paper after they have traced the numbers. 

I chose black to make the puzzle pop. Remind students to leave a small gap in-between each puzzle strip. To make it more of a keepsake, have students make a green hand print leaf.

Completed projects make an interesting fall bulletin board.
Laminate an extra set of all 8 puzzles, to use for an independent math center or for "early finishers". 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look: Apple & Pumpkin Number Puzzles.

The featured FREEBIE today is a Halloween crayon resist watercolor activity.  There are 5 patterns to choose from, with directions how to set things up. 

Children pick a picture and color it.  Remind them to press hard, and really fill it in. Afterwards, they paint over the entire picture with watercolors.  The waxy build up creates an awesome effect. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for popping in.  I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and creatively crazy at the moment, as October is filled with so many super-fun themes: fire safety, spiders, bats, scarecrows and Halloween. 

I have a zillion ideas buzzing in my head, and as many projects started or in the rough draft stage.  Hmmmm ... What shall I work on today?  Wishing you a happy and productive day doing things that you truly enjoy.  

"In crafting there are no mistakes, just unique creations." -Unknown