As someone who has taught and worked with young children for a long time, I noticed that many preschool programs put more emphasis on reading than on math. To address this imbalance, I created hands-on math activities and worksheets that are both educational and entertaining.
One of my favorite activities is the roll and draw a bear dice game, which I created when I saw that my students were losing their ability to subitize after entering kindergarten.
In this blog post, you will discover the benefits of this free printable game, learn how to play it, and even be able to download it to use as a math activity!
Benefits of the Roll and Draw a Bear Dice Game
In this blog post, we will introduce you to the exciting Roll and Draw a Bear Dice Game, which offers a fun and educational experience for children. Here are some of the key benefits of playing this game:
- Improves subitizing skills: The game focuses on helping children understand the number of objects without counting, a crucial concept known as subitizing.
- Enhances visual discrimination: Through playing this game, children will develop their visual discrimination skills, which are important for identifying similarities and differences.
- Boosts working memory: The three-step process of rolling the dice, finding the matching number on the page, and drawing will improve children's working memory.
- Promotes cooperation: Playing this game with others can help build cooperation skills as children assist each other in finding the correct numbers on the page and take turns.
- Ideal for small group play: The Roll and Draw a Bear Dice Game can be enjoyed by small groups of children, making it a great option for playdates or classroom activities.
- Supports differentiated learning: The game is suitable for children with different learning styles, making it a great tool for differentiated learning.
- Improves fine motor skills: Children will also be able to improve their fine motor skills as they roll the dice and draw the easy sign on the bear's face.
- Children gain confidence as “artists” when they see their complete bear face.
Overall, the Roll and Draw a Bear Dice Game is a fantastic activity that can help children develop a range of important skills while having fun.
My favorite thing about the Roll and Draw A Bear Game: Differentiated Learning
Differentiated learning is a teaching approach that recognizes that children have unique learning styles and abilities. It acknowledges that while children may be the same age, they naturally learn differently.
For example, some children may be visual learners and have an innate ability to understand colors and shapes, while others may be hands-on learners who excel in fixing and building things.
The Roll and Draw a Bear is a great activity that teaches math concepts while also allowing for differentiated learning so that every child can participate, learn and enjoy with the group !
How to play Roll and Draw a Bear
Here are the steps to play Roll and Draw a Bear:
- Preparation: Pass out the free printable Roll and Draw a Bear worksheet to each student and make sure they have the game page and drawing tools.
- Starting the game: To see who takes the first turn, each student rolls the die. The player with the highest number goes first, and turns are taken in a clockwise direction.
- Taking turns: When a player rolls the die, they draw the parts of the bear's face that matches the number on the die, including the ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and bow tie.
- Passing turns: If the number has already been rolled, the student must pass their turn.
- Goal of the game: The goal of the Roll and Draw a Bear Dice Game is to complete the drawing of the bear's face, and there is no winner or loser. The focus is on having fun and learning while playing the game.
In conclusion, the Roll and Draw a Bear Dice Game is a great activity for students to have fun while developing their fine motor skills and practicing their math skills. Download the free printable worksheet and play the game today!