Does your kid have a stash of sweets left over from Halloween that's so massive it seems to rival the candy section at your local corner store? Why not turn that pile of sugary junk food into a learning opportunity? Sorting, counting and categorizing candy has instant appeal to kids. All of those shiny, brightly-colored wrappers and trick-or-treating memories Halloween candy evokes will aid in the learning process. This activity is perfect for children who need practice with everything from counting and classification to description, tallying, and reasoning. Once your kid is all done, he can eat a few pieces as a reward for a job well done!
What You Need:
- Bag of candy
- Paper
- Pencil
What You Do:
- Help your child clear off a working space and grab some paper and a pencil.
- Dump an ample amount of candy in the middle of the space.
- First, have you child count the candy. Have him start by counting by ones, then fives, and then tens. He might want to use tally marks to keep track of how much candy he's counted.
- After he's finished the counting practice, give your child a little time to decide on three different ways he wants to categorize his candy.
- Encourage him to describe to you how he's decided to categorize.
- Help your child write the categories on the piece of paper.
- Let him sort and categorize his candy.
- Have your child explain his reasoning behind categorizing the candy the way he did.
- Finally, have him count, tally and write down how many pieces are in what category.
- If time permits, let your child discover new ways to categorize and count his candy.
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