My bigger little guy adores all things math and science.  He has never left a science experiment without suggesting more things to explore.  He was always happy when they have actually done math at school.  My little guy adored Kindergarten, except MATH.  I had to get sneaky with math practice. The kids loved this scavenger hunt exercise.   This concept is versatile, but I used it when my kids were smaller to help with number recognition and math facts.  This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.  You can read the full disclosure here.

Supplies

• bags (you could also use envelopes with chalkboard labels that would be reusable)
• counters of some kind
• index cards
• marker

Preparation

• Gather the supplies.
• Put an equation or dots on the outside of a bag
• Create a number card by writing that number on an index card.
• Put an index card with a different number inside the bag (I also put a number of counters that matched the outside).
  • In the 7 bag you would have 7 dots on the outside, 7 counters on the inside, and their next card with a different number like 8 inside the bag.
• You will have one bag without a card in it.  The last bag doesn’t get a new card put inside.  I like to have a snack or something fun in the last bag, but that is up to you.

The Scavenger Hunt

• I start by handing them each an index card with a number (this is a great afterschool activity).
• They go around and search for a bag with that number of dots on the outside. I have used math facts in place of number recognition for my older kiddo.
• To keep competition to a minimum, I assigned each boy a color.  This is great for burning energy and still getting active learning with math practice.
  
• Inside the bag are counters (the number of counters matches the number on the bag) and another index card with their next number.
• They should take the new number out and put the matching number in the bag.
• We collect all the bags and review them, while we eat snack.

This is a great way to engage them in learning at a time when they want to collapse and you do too! My little guy loved the search and was totally engaged (although he wasn’t too keen on checking them at the end).  My bigger little guy asked to do this every single day!  It took me about 10-15 minutes to get everything ready and we got some extra math practice in with a side of fun.

This is a STEAM activity.

This book has 50+ STEAM activities that are geared for kids ages 4-10.  They break each project down by difficulty with a materials list and step by step instructions.  If you are someone that is always trying to figure out something fun and educational to do with the kids, you need this book.  I was able to scan through and start projects immediately.  STEAM Kids makes these topics easier to digest and give parents and teachers the confidence to help their kids explore and create.

This resource is available as an ebook download or in print from Amazon.   Right now, they are offering two books for the price of one.  If you have any questions, you can email me at kim@learninghypothesis.com.     If you have any issues with PayPal you can check out here.