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Pot of Gold Number Mats

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March is getting closer, and that means not only are we nearing spring, but we are also gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day with some fun, hands-on activities! One thing my kids always love is play dough. Another thing they love is dry erase markers. Put the two together and they are ALL IN! These free Pot of Gold Number Mats from our St. Patrick’s Day Centers and Activities Bundle are perfect for working on numbers and counting and also incorporate handwriting practice!

*For even more learning fun this month, grab the whole St. Patrick’s Day Centers and Activities BUNDLE in our shop or purchase it over on Teachers Pay Teachers!

These free Pot of Gold Number Mats are perfect for working on numbers and counting in a fun, hands-on way this St. Patrick's Day!

Pot of Gold Number Mats

Learning numbers is a lot more work than simply counting and recognizing the numeral. It is also working on reading number words and subitizing (instantly recognizing sets without counting) in ten frames too. These mats give us tons of hands-on practice with all of these skills!

How to Prep

Prep is easy for this activity. Begin by printing and laminating the Pot of Gold number mats. Laminating them allows for repeated use year after year!

Grab some yellow play dough to be the “gold” for counting. I have the mini containers and they are perfect for activities like this. Lastly, grab some dry erase markers and you’re all set to work!

Grab some play dough and pencils or dry erase markers for a fun, low-prep math center!

How to Use the Number Mats

I like to use these number mats in small groups but they are also perfect for whole group instruction or math centers. We start by using the play dough to make our “gold” coins and build the number on the ten frame. This is great fine motor skills practice!

We then move onto our handwriting practice by writing the number on the line below the pot of gold. This is a fun activity for any students working on writing their numbers and building sets!

Since many kids may be working on addition this time of year, you can differentiate this and make it an addition and decomposing numbers activity by adding in a second color of play dough. Have the students use the two colors to show an equation that makes the total number on the mat. They could even write the equation on the line provided!

RELATED RESOURCE: March Clothespin Clip Cards

Roll the yellow play dough into balls to make the gold coins for counting and adding to the pot of gold.

Grab Your FREE Copy

Ready to start counting some “gold”? Grab your free copy of the Pot of Gold number mats by clicking the large, yellow download button at the very bottom of the post!

Or, grab the whole St. Patrick’s Day Centers and Activities BUNDLE for an entire month of low-prep, hands-on math and literacy fun (including the Pot of Gold number mats)!

More St. Patrick’s Day Fun

Looking for more St. Patrick’s Day activities? Check out the fun crafts and learning activities from some awesome kid bloggers!

A great list of super fun St. Patrick's Day crafts and learning activities for kids!

St Patrick’s Day Preschool Potion Play from Crafty Kids at Home

Egg Carton Shamrock Craft from Play & Learn Everyday

Rainbow Rainmaker from Mum in the Mad House

Michael Finnigan Craft from Craftulate

Shamrock sun catcher craft from The Gingerbread House

Shamrock Stones from Sunny Day Family

Luck of the Irish Mickey Mouse Oreo Pops from Crafty Mama in ME

Kids’ Kitchen: Over the Rainbow Cupcakes from Sugar, Spice & Glitter

St Patrick’s Day Counting Worksheet from Larabee UK

Pot of Gold Number Mats from The Kindergarten Connection

St Patrick’s Day Playdough from Clares Little Tots

Rainbow Buttons Color Sorting & Craft Activity from Kidz Activities

Pot o’ Gold DIY Piggy Bank from Playground Parkbench

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With instant access to hundreds of printables by topic and skill (no more scouring the internet!), every TKC resource, video lessons, a digital games vault, “Super” Sunday Surprises, and much more – your planning time just got easier.

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Alex
Alex
Founder at The Kindergarten Connection
Alex is a Transitional Kindergarten teacher with a passion for making learning fun and engaging. She's earned a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education, and Masters Degrees in Special Education and Curriculum Design. Alex is a former night owl turned early bird and playful learning enthusiast. Alex lives with her husband and their beloved and high-energy cat, Fitz.
Alex
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lauren

    February 18, 2020 at 7:43 pm

    What an interesting idea! My children will be excited with this. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Michelle

      February 18, 2020 at 8:40 pm

      We hope that you and your children enjoy this activity! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Kiera

    January 16, 2020 at 10:58 pm

    Wow, these are perfect ideas for kids. I think a lot kids will love them.

    Reply
  3. Shasha Williams

    February 25, 2018 at 12:53 pm

    I am a huge fan!!! I absolutely adore your resources! Thank you so much for sharing your great work!

    Reply
    • Mandy

      February 26, 2018 at 12:42 pm

      Thanks, Shasha! We are so happy to hear you are enjoying our resources. Have a great rest of the school year!

      Reply
  4. Shannon

    February 26, 2016 at 4:21 am

    What a great educational printable – I love when we can theme the educational activities to the holidays to make them more fun. Thanks for allowing me to share this in my St. Patrick’s Day Roundup 🙂

    Reply
  5. Shannon

    February 18, 2016 at 5:40 am

    What a great post! I love Holiday themed learning activities. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  6. Emma

    February 18, 2016 at 3:19 am

    Love how these use play dough to visually show the numbers – great for many different learning styles!

    Reply
  7. Nicola

    February 17, 2016 at 12:16 pm

    This is such a fun tool to encourage kids with number work. We love to use play dough as a manipulative in our learning activities as well, so this would really well for us at home. Thanks so much for taking part and sharing these fun mats with us.

    Reply
  8. Leandra

    February 17, 2016 at 8:33 am

    Great printable, T is currently learning his numbers so this will be a great resource to add to our activities.

    Reply
  9. Jen

    February 17, 2016 at 3:23 am

    What a great activity. I know a number of kids that would love this.

    Reply

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Through the Print and Play Club, her Instagram community, and easy prep classroom resources, Alex shares her love of resources and activities that promote playful learning with other Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers around the world.

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