Materials
- permanent marker
- bleached foam egg carton, or egg tray
- ping-pong balls or other small floating objects (plastic toys or corks)
- water table or a similar container to hold water
- water
- small fishing nets
What to do
1. Using a permanent marker, number the sections of the egg carton. Depending on the concept on which you are focusing or on the children's abilities, number the sections from 0 to 11 or 1 to 12, or number them by twos (2, 4, 6, and so on), fives, or tens.
2. Write numbers on the ping-pong balls or floating objects to match the numbers in the egg sections.
3. Fill the water table or container with water, and place the balls or floating objects in the water.
4. Encourage the children to "fish" for the objects and place them in the appropriate egg carton sections.
5. This activity can be easily adapted to practice letters, names, shapes, and so on.
More to do
- Books: Use books and songs to support this activity. For example, if you use floating items such as fish, read the book Swimmy by Leo Lionni.
-Bev Schumacher, Racine, WI
