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May 30, 2013

Busy Bag Activities for Preschoolers: Ladybug Math Game

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Preschoolers love hands on math activities and need many opportunities to try out and practice new skills.  That’s why busy bag activities for preschoolers are so effective, they give kids a chance to play and have fun with math concepts.  This ladybug math busy bag lets kids work on number identification, counting and more.

Busy Bag Activities for Preschoolers: Ladybug Number Match and and Counting Math Game! #preschoolbusybag #preschoolmath #busybags #countinggame

Ladybug Math Busy Bag Supplies

  • 10 oval rocks 
  • red  and black acrylic paint
  • black Sharpie marker
  • Mod Podge acrylic sealer
  • hot glue
  • googly eyes
  • green cardstock

Ladybug Math Game for Preschool: Number Identification and Counting Busy Bag

How to Make the Ladybug Math Busy Bag

1.  Paint the rocks with the red acrylic paint and let dry.

2.  Add black dots onto each rocks representing the numbers 1-10.

3.  Seal the rocks with the Mod Podge.

4.  Hot glue on the googly eyes when dry.

5.  Cut out 10 leaves and write the numbers 1-10 on each one.  Laminate if possible to make them more durable.

Ladybug Math Number and Counting Busy Bag for Preschool

How to Play with the Ladybug Busy Bag

Count the dots on the ladybugs.

Match the dots to the corresponding number on the leaf.

Put the numbers in order.

Compare ladybugs to see which one has more.

Add or subtract the ladybugs’ spots.

Preschool Busy Bag Activity! A Ladybug Math Number Match and Counting Game perfect for quiet time!

Kids can even help you paint the ladybugs which is helpful if you want to make this busy bag for a Busy Bag Swap and Moms’ Night Out.  

About Megan Sheakoski

Megan is the creator of Coffee Cups and Crayons, a blog full of simple fun and learning. She believes that kids’ activities don’t have to be complicated to be fun and that learning is better with play.

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Comments

  1. Bethany @ No Twiddle Twaddle says

    May 30, 2013 at 7:45 am

    What a great idea! I think that my kids would love this. : )

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      May 30, 2013 at 11:38 am

      Thanks Bethany! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Lorie says

    May 30, 2013 at 8:30 am

    Those ladybugs are so cute!!!

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      May 30, 2013 at 11:37 am

      Thanks Lorie! My 3 year old loved them!

      Reply
  3. Carolyn @ Pleasantest Thing says

    May 30, 2013 at 8:50 pm

    Great math idea! I’m going to do this with my son. He will love making the bugs – and then he’ll have so much fun playing (and learning!!) with them.

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      May 31, 2013 at 8:19 am

      We made ladybugs because she was obsessed with the 10 Little Ladybugs book. You can do any kind of rock bugs or even a bunch of different ones!

      Reply
  4. Nicole says

    June 1, 2013 at 3:12 pm

    For those of us with boys who might toss the rock bugs :). Any suggestion for an alternative bug? Love this idea!

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      June 2, 2013 at 4:07 pm

      What about stink bugs or fireflies? Or even just a generic bug that they create themselves? You could even make toads or something similar too!

      Reply
      • Tanya says

        June 27, 2014 at 7:02 pm

        I think she was looking for an alternative to the rock. Maybe using some old milk jug caps- mine are already red so it makes it a little less work to put together!

        Reply
  5. Sam @ Thrive 360 Living says

    June 2, 2013 at 4:04 pm

    These are so adorable. I happen to be working on some right now. Hope they come out as cute as yours! Love that you did them with googly eyes. Pinning.

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      June 2, 2013 at 4:08 pm

      Thanks Sam! Have you seen the googly eyes with eye lashes? They would be even more adorable!

      Reply
      • Carolyn @ Pleasantest Thing says

        June 6, 2013 at 3:24 pm

        Yes! The eyelashes would be awesome!

        Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      June 5, 2013 at 1:38 pm

      Testing to see if the plugin has been fixed…:)

      Reply
  6. Pat says

    June 9, 2013 at 12:35 pm

    Matching dots to the correct numeral is a hard skill for little ones. You might add the correct dots to the back of the leaves to make the activity self-checking. That would add a matching game too (Matching dots to dots can be an equal game). I like when games can be self checking.

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      June 10, 2013 at 3:20 pm

      That’s a great idea! Thanks Pat!

      Reply
  7. MJ says

    September 4, 2013 at 12:17 am

    Wanted to let you know how much I loved this idea. We made our own and I just posted it to my blog. Thanks so much for the inspiration!

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      September 4, 2013 at 11:08 am

      YAY!!!! How wonderful! Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      September 9, 2013 at 9:09 am

      Yay! I’m glad you liked it! It’s a fun one!

      Reply

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