Festive Learning Fun: Christmas Counting Cards
These Christmas counting cards, featuring numbers 1-20, are the perfect Christmas preschool activities to keep your little ones entertained and learning during the holiday season. Each card displays the numeral at the top along with its written form, providing a clear, easy-to-understand representation of each number.
But that’s not all! With ten frames already filled in, these cards offer an excellent opportunity for preschoolers to hone their one-to-one correspondence counting skills.
So, why wait? Make counting fun this Christmas with our colorful Christmas counting cards and watch as your child’s number skills flourish amidst the holiday cheer!
Our Christmas counting cards are not just about numbers; they’re also about nurturing a love for learning in the most joyous season of the year.
As an integral part of our Christmas preschool activities, these cards serve as a fun and interactive tool to reinforce early math concepts.
They’re designed with vibrant colors and cheerful Christmas-themed images that will surely capture your child’s attention. The hands-on aspect of using the ten frames helps to solidify the concept of quantity and foster a deeper understanding of numerical values.
These cards are a wonderful way to incorporate educational activities into your holiday festivities, making learning a delightful experience!
So, embrace the spirit of Christmas and make counting lesson plans more exciting with our Christmas counting cards. Your child’s smile will be the best gift you’ll receive this season!
What is a Ten Frame?
Ten frame counting cards are simply a way of organizing quantities while counting into sets of ten.
A ten frame consists of two rows of five boxes, thus making a total of ten boxes. When counting, a single manipulative or printed dot sits inside each box to demonstrate quantities up to or less than ten. When counting above the number ten, more than one ten frame box is used.
Counters can be arranged in different ways to represent different numbers, which visually help your children develop strong number sense.
Try out these other Christmas Number Identification and Counting Activities, too!
Why Use Ten Frame Counting Cards?
Ten frame counting cards are a valuable tool in preschool education because they lay the foundation for essential math skills in a manner that’s both fun and effective.
Since our math system is based on sets of ten, teaching number sense by use of ten frames makes sense. Ten is the building block of our Base 10 Number System.
Ten Frame Help Develop Number Sense Skills
Ten frames are instrumental in developing number sense skills as they allow children to visualize quantities, understand their relationships, and grasp the concept of ‘ten-ness’, which is fundamental in our base-ten number system.
They also help preschoolers develop number sense skills like:
- one to one correspondence
- quantification
- composing and decomposing numbers
- subitizing
- part-whole relationships among quantities
Christmas Ten Frames Printable
These FREE printable Christmas ten frame counting cards are a festive addition to your preschool math activities for Christmas. They are perfect for teaching preschoolers to count in a hands-on way.
And, you can always use these counting cards with Christmas playdough. Just slip them into a dry erase sleeve.
What’s Included
The free printable includes ten full-color pages, with two counting cards on each page. This means you’ll get a total of 20 counting cards, perfect for helping your child learn numbers from 1 to 20.
What sets these cards apart is that the ten frames on each counting card are already filled in. This unique feature allows your child to visually understand quantities and their relationships, effectively aiding in the development of their number sense skills.
Materials
- free Christmas counting cards
- Christmas themed counting manipulative (or any other counting manipulative)
Make Any Ten Frame Christmas Themed!
This is absolutely not necessary, but having some cute Christmas themed manipulatives to do ten frame counting makes it all the more fun! These are some of my favorites.
- ❤️Safe Material: Made from top-quality food-grade acrylic, these gems are safe and durable for…
- Contains: 180 pieces christmas acrylic gems; there are a total of nine styles, each with 20 pieces….
- 🎅 100PCS Resin Ornaments Set: 100pcs resin flatback Christmas craft charms with different styles,…
Christmas Counting Activities
Using these Christmas counting cards is easy.
- Download, print on cardstock and laminate (optional) the counting cards.
- Next, set them up on a table or in your math center with some Christmas themed manipulatives.
- Once you have it set up, invite your preschoolers to practice counting to twenty using the manipulatives and cards.
- Preschoolers will choose a ten frame card and then use the manipulatives available to fill in the ten frame while counting to the corresponding number.
- For example, if the number nine card is selected, your preschooler will then fill the ten frame with nine stocking erasers or whatever manipulative you are using, leaving the final square blank.
The main way to use these Christmas counting cards is simple…but of course I share more ideas at the end of this post!
Remember that young children develop at their own pace and some preschoolers might have difficulties with this counting activity.
If your child is having a difficult time understanding this concept work with them on the smaller numbers until they feel ready to work on their own.
Using the ten frames depicting the numbers have your young learner point as they count. Then have them count while covering the ten frame with the manipulatives.
More Ways to Use Christmas Counting Cards
You can easily add these Christmas counting cards to your preschool math centers, but they’re not limited to just that. Try some of these other ways of using this exact printable.
- Use alternatives to math counters or manipulatives such as balls of playdough, dot markers, stamps and ink pads, or stickers to fill in the ten frames.
- Encourage fine motor skills by having preschoolers pick up the manipulatives with tweezers or tongs.
- Hide the manipulatives in a simple sensory bin for additional fun and sensory input.
- You can even add these cards to the sensory bin.
- Make it a game!
- Two children can roll a die and use different manipulatives to work together to fill the ten frame with the corresponding number.
- Turn snack time into a counting activity by having the children count out their treats using the ten frames.
- Hang these on the bulletin board or use them in circle time.
- They aren’t limited to only math center or small group time.
Christmas Picture Books
Incorporating Christmas-themed picture books into your child’s learning routine can greatly enhance their early math skills.
These books often introduce concepts such as counting and sequences in a fun, visually engaging way, making it easier for children to grasp these foundational mathematical concepts.
- Hardcover Book
- Willems, Mo (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Hardcover Book
- Guendelsberger, Erin (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Wright, Maureen (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 34 Pages – 10/08/2013 (Publication Date) – Two Lions (Publisher)
- Hardcover Book
- Barry, Robert (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Hardcover Book
- Sterer, Gideon (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- Hardcover Book
- Kilgore, Emily (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Christmas Ten Frame Counting Activities
These cards are a great set to add to your collection of Christmas math activities. Here are some other I highly recommend.
- Christmas Ten Frame Clip Cards
- Christmas Ten Frame Circle Time Game
- Ornament Ten Frame Puzzles
- Rudolph Ten Frame Counting Clip Cards
Get your Free Christmas Counting Cards Here
Think you need these free counting cards in your preschool Christmas lesson plans? Grab your free copy by clicking the image below.
I hope that I have helped you as you plan your preschool Christmas math activities. The holidays are a magical but BUSY time of year. It is my goal to help you implement fun holiday-themed learning with less time spent planning!
I hope that the Christmas ten frames and other suggested activities can open up some extra time for you to bake, shop, read by the fire….whatever your heart desires during this most wonderful time of year!
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
