Winter is such a delightful time of year (especially for early learners) with it being bitterly cold, and full of ice, snow, and wonder. This year, you can teach counting to preschoolers with this free snowman counting printable. What’s more: this printable can be used for 6 different winter counting activities!
Whether in the home or classroom, your little ones are sure to enjoy these snowman counting activities. Be sure to read all the different ways I use these counting cards to teach number sense skills to my preschoolers.
Winter Counting Activities for Preschoolers
With the days being shorter and the nights longer, and as the chilly weather sets in and the trees look bare…it becomes obvious that winter has set in. With this year being a little wonky (er…um…a LOT wonky), I’ve created a few new sets of printables to make the winter season a bit more bearable this year.
Plus, we just got our first snow of the season, so that makes these snowman counting cards even more fun!
These winter themed ten frame counting cards are a perfect addition to your winter math centers! They’re a great way for kids to work on counting, one-to-one correspondence, and even decomposing numbers.
Best of all: they’re winter themed and have the cutest snowmen on them!
FAQ About Ten Frame Counting
Ten frame counting cards are a simple 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 higher than the number ten, more than one ten frame box is used.
Counters can be arranged in different ways to represent different numbers, which visually helps your children develop strong number sense.
Since our math system is based on sets of ten, teaching number sense by use of ten frame makes sense. Ten is the building block of our Base 10 Number System.
Preschoolers and kindergarteners who have a solid understanding of the number ten can relate that understanding to all different areas of math. For example, a child who can “see” 10 as being made up of an 8 and a 2 can then start to see 100 as an 80 and a 20. It’s integral that young learners make these connections, and using ten frames really helps them do this.
Double ten frames are simply two ten frames stacked on top of one another. They serve as a strong visual representation of teen numbers.
You can use the double ten frame to develop a deep understanding of teen numbers, but also to build an understanding of the Base 10 Number System. Preschoolers and kindergarteners learn that a full ten frame has a quantity of ten, and therefore can use a double ten frame to learn teen numbers, as well as addition and subtraction strategies.
These winter counting cards include single ten frames from 1-10, as well as double ten frames from 11-20.
You might also like these snowman crafts:
Snowman Counting Cards
These free printable snowman counting cards are a wonderful way to add to your other snowman printables and fun math activities to your winter theme lesson plans. They’re perfect for teaching toddlers and preschoolers number recognition and counting in a hands-on way.
The cards feature ten frame numbers up to twenty.
Materials
- free winter counting cards
- winter themed counting manipulative (or any other counting manipulative)
Make Any Ten Frame Winter Themed!
This is absolutely not necessary, but having some cute winter themed manipulatives to do ten frame counting makes it all the more fun! You can use snowman buttons, marshmallows for snowballs, or even acrylic snowflakes.
These are some of my favorites. Just click the images below to learn more.
Related Winter Counting Activities for Preschoolers
How to Teach Counting Using Winter Ten Frame Counting Cards
These winter ten frame counting cards can be used to teach toddlers and preschooler to count, compare numbers, and sequence numbers, and can even be used for teaching addition to preschoolers.
To prepare, just print on heavy cardstock, laminate, and cut out. This only takes about ten minutes.
Place the cards on a table or tray with some winter themed manipulatives. Mini marshmallows make this counting activity extra fun. Or, chose one of the winter theme manipulatives from above.
Finally, invite your young learner to practice counting to twenty using the manipulatives and cards.
There are loads of ways to use these printable counting cards, so be sure to read all the ways to the end of this post.
To use the cards, have your preschoolers select 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 seven card is selected, your preschooler will then fill the ten frame with seven marshmallows (or whatever manipulative you’re using), leaving three squares blank.
Keep in mind that young children will develop skills at their own pace. Some preschoolers might be challenged by this counting game.
If you notice your child is having a difficult time understanding this concept, continue to work with them using small numbers until they have mastered it.
Snowman Counting Cards in Two Versions
These counting cards come in two versions. One set has blank ten frames on the cards. Those will be for your preschoolers who have a firm grasp on one-to-one correspondence and can identify numbers 1-20.
The second set of counting cards have small snowballs in the ten frames that correspond to the number on the card. These are for your preschoolers who have not quite mastered number recognition or who are still developing one-to-one correspondence.
Try These Printable Counting Lesson Plans
Daily Lessons in Preschool Mathematics is a complete and comprehensive curriculum designed to teach your preschooler all five disciplines of math without the boring worksheets!
COUNTING UNITS INCLUDED:
- Counting 0-5
- Counting 0-10
- Counting 0-20
Based on five and ten frame math, the provided lessons are fun as well as effective!
Teachers and homeschooling parents using this curriculum know:
- exactly what to teach in preschool math
- when to teach each skill
- how to teach said skills most effectively
And it is all done for you in Daily Lessons in Preschool Mathematics. Just open your teaching binder and teach the day’s lesson.
Keep Reading and Grab Your Free Winter Counting Cards
More Winter Counting Activities Using This Printable
These adorable winter ten frame cards can easily be added to your preschool math centers, but you can also use these winter math activities in other ways that preschoolers will love.
Below are 6 more learning activities using this printable.
- Use alternatives to math counters or manipulatives such as cotton balls or white pompoms, 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, tongs, or chopsticks for children.
- 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 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!
Don’t Forget Winter Picture Books!
These are some of our favorite children’s books to read in class. Just click the image to learn more.
Get your Free Winter Counting Cards Here
Think you need these free counting cards in your preschool winter lesson plans? Grab your free copy by clicking the image below.
Then keep reading for even more winter counting activities!
More Free Counting Activities for Preschoolers
Here are some more free counting activities for you! Just click the image and download each one from the post.
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.
