Materials
clear containers such as plastic mayonnaise jars or cupsitems to count, such as math counters, balls, toy erasers, or cubeschart paper
Instructions
1. Place 10 to 15 items (counter bears, for example) in a plastic jar (make it a simple enough number for the children to understand).
2. Gather the children in a large group. Tell them that they are going to play a guessing game.
3. Ask them to guess how many bears are in the jar just by looking.
4. Write the children's guesses on chart paper.
5. When all the children have guessed, count the bears as a group. See who was right or who was the closest.
6. Then, add more bears and ask the children if they think that there are more or less bears this time just by looking.
7. Count again. Compare responses.
8. Next, take most of the items out and ask the children to and estimate again whether this amount is more or less. Count and compare.
