Grid Games & A Manic Monday FREEBIE!

Today's Freebie: GRID GAMES!

It's nearly the beginning of the school year, and for you PreK-K teachers like me, don't you think it's amazing how we seem to forget just how little the children are in those first few weeks (okay, MONTHS) of school?! They come from all walks of life, all sorts of backgrounds and experiences...including no experiences, for some of them! 

So...let's bring them in, put them in a room full of 16, 18, 20+ other children their age and begin to form  a cozy little family! HA! Easier said than done, sometimes. 

There are a million little details, activities, games, and ice breakers that you will no doubt implement in order for you to get to know your students, and for them to get to know one another. One (of many) of my favorite ways to get children working together is to sit down and play a little grid game. If you are looking for a great small group activity in the beginning of the year, grid games are great for your youngest and most inexperienced students - AND play can be modified to meet the levels of your higher learners. As the year progresses, your students will be able to play these grid games in a center, at an independent station, in pairs, or other small groups. 

What is a Grid Game?

A grid game teach is a type of board game that teaches one to one correspondence, counting, numeral identification, and even work on addition. To play a grid game, children roll a game die, identify the numeral (or count the dots) and count out that amount of manipulatives. Each manipulative is placed over one picture in the grid. Each player gets their own grid mat. Children play until the whole grid is full. The first person to fill their grid wins/that round is complete. Continue play as long as time/interest allows.

Why Grid Games?Board games are the original turn-taking games, and a grid game is one form of a board game. They can be played without having to remember a lot of rules, they are fairly fast paced, and it does not take long to wait for your turn to come back around----perfect for little ones learning to take turns and build patience.

Go ahead and grab your grid game freebie here! I hope you give them a try if you haven't yet used them with your students. If you are familiar...you know kids love these games, and it's nice to have different game mats to play with!   

Your students can practice counting, 1:1, number recognition, addition, and taking turns with this fun grid game!  There are 5 game mats with 10-frames & 5 game mats with 20-frames to use with your students' various abiltiies/levels.

These are great for a small group/center activity. Laminate and cut out game mats.

What you need: Printable game mats & 1-2 dice (either with dots or numbers). That's it! With the 10 frames, students will only need 1 dice; with the 20 frames, students can roll 2 dice and add them together if you choose.

Cover the spaces with glass stones, pom poms---anything small enough to fit inside each box. First person to fill up their grid, wins! Play again and again as long as time allows! :)