1-2-3 Come Do Some Leap Day Activities With Me  

2016 is a leap year, and it falls on a Monday.  With that in mind, I designed some quick, easy & fun activities that your kiddos can do on leap day and still practice standards.

First up is a set of 60, Leap Day Number Puzzles, which sequence numbers from 1-10, count backwards from 10 to 1, as well as skip count by 2s, 3s, 5s & 10s.

There are over 60 in all. Some are vertical, while others are horizontal. 

Print, laminate & trim the full color options and use as an independent math center.  Use the black & white ones, so that students can color & cut up their own puzzle.

For an interesting “craftivity” have students glue their puzzle to a sheet of construction paper.

Remind them to leave a little bit of a gap between each numbered strip, to create an especially cool mosaic effect. Completed projects make a cute bulletin board.

To mix math with literacy, have students choose either the horizontal or vertical writing prompt puzzle.

Children complete the “If I could do anything on leap day I would...” writing prompt, then cut and glue their “poster prompt” to a sheet of construction paper, creating the mosaic picture mentioned above.

Besides the full-size puzzles, I’ve also designed a set of “Happy Leap Day!” 4-on-a-page mini puzzles, as an inexpensive little surprise that you can give your students.

There are two picture options, plus one is horizontal, the other vertical.

Choose the number 1-10 puzzle for PK kiddos and use the skip counting by 10s to 100 for K-1st. 

Print, trim, and put in a Snack Baggie, then attach one of 3 “Happy Leap Day” header options.

The “headers” can also double as a bookmark.  

Speaking of bookmarks, I've also designed some that are a super-fun math “craftivity”.

The Leap Year Bookmark Mathtivity, a “growing” packet. So that you can continue to use it each leap year, I’ve included center bookmarks through the year 2028, and will continue to up-date.

Run off the middle bookmark section on a variety of colors of construction paper.  There are full-color as well as black and white "color me" picture options for the top and/or bottom of the bookmarks as well.

Have students analyze the list of leap year dates that are listed in that middle section. Do they see a mathematical pattern?

Using that data, ask them to venture a guess as to when they think the next leap year will be.

I’ve included necessary background information for you to use, as well as an answer key through the year 2400, should you want to do more math extensions and data analysis.     

I designed The "Leapin' To 29" money-math game specifically for leap day, but you can really use it any other time as well.

The object of the game is to be the first one to spin all of the coins needed in your column, that will add up to 29.  The strategy comes in with the column children choose.

Students can play with a partner or in small groups of 3-5.  For more math practice, and a fun data analysis activity, I've included 2 graphing options. 

Another game that you can play on leap day is "Leapin' Lizards!", which reinforces telling time to the hour & half hour with Lizzy Lizard.  As with the game above, this is also suitable anytime, but especially cute for leap day.

The packet includes a large and small set of 48-traceable time cards + a blank set to make additional times, or program with whatever.

I’ve also included covers and blank clocks if you’d like to make an Itty Bitty Time-Telling booklet.

Children can play as a math center activity with a partner, or you can use this as a whole-group game in small groups of 3-5. 
The cards are also suitable for Memory Match and “I Have; Who Has?” Games.

There’s a blank-clock worksheet that you can use for an individual or whole-group assessment. Simply fill in the template with whatever times you want to practice/evaluate.

You can also use the lizard clock like a flashcard. As a whole group game, show a time and have children raise their hand to tell you what time you’ve displayed.  The clock also words as a one-on-one, manipulative assessment tool. 

Today's featured FREEBIE also has a leap year theme.  It's a set of 5 Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme Posters that have to do with leaping and jumping. 

As a quick, easy & fun way to get the "wiggles" out, read them to your kiddos and have them leap and jump when that happens in the rhyme. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. We are having a flurry of winter weather right now, and it's snowing to beat the band outside my window.

So much for spring coming early! You just can't depend on those groundhog prognosticators!

"The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it." ~Patrick Young