1. Have your child put one item in each cup and count them up. (Try two in each cube, three, etc.)
2. Have him put items in half the cups and count how many are full and how many are empty. (Change the filled cups and empty cups and count.)
3. Have her sort by color, shape, and count.
4. Put items in all the cubes and count. Then empty some of the cubes and the recount. How many were taken away? Empty more cups - how many were taken away? How many are left?
5. Start with an empty carton/tray and add three in one cup. Then add two in the next cup. How many total? Add more and keep on adding them up.
A Counting Game
The Mankala Counting Game originated in Africa and has been played by children (and adults) around the world. The original game is written here; a suggestion to modify for a younger audience is below.
Materials: Egg carton, scissors, tape, paints, paintbrush, and small stones.
Step 1: Cut off the lid from an egg carton and tape an extra cup (cut from the lid) to each egg carton bottom. These end cups are used as banks, where players store their winnings.
Step 2: If you want, let your child use paints and a paintbrush to decorate their egg cups if they want, then let the paint dry.
Step 3: Have your child put four stones into each cup but leave the banks empty. The first player starts the game by taking the stones from any cup. Beginning with the next cup and moving counterclockwise, he drops a stone into each cup (not including the banks).
Step 4: Next, he takes the stones from the cup into which his last stone fell. He continues emptying and depositing stones until his last stone falls into an empty cup. (The first turn is the only time a turn ends this way.)
Step 5: The second player moves in the same direction, empties the cup of his choice, and redistributes the stones. If his last stone falls into a cup with three stones, he wins all the stones in that cup and places them in his bank. But if any stone other than the last one falls into a cup with three stones, the first player wins the stones from that cup.
Step 6: Players alternate turns until four or fewer stones are left in the carton. The player with the most stones wins.
**To make this game easier, modify by having the players drop one stone in each cup and keep the contents of the cup in which his last stone fell. The player with the most stones wins.**