Fall is my favorite time of year! I love the cooler weather, the seasonal festivities, and I love doing fall themed activities in my classroom!
Sometimes it is fun to incorporate a bit of the season into our daily learning if we can! In addition to reading our favorite pumpkin books, we love activities such as these pumpkin number mats, which are perfect for young learners to practice counting and number formation in a fun way!
Using the Pumpkin Number Mats
To prepare these fun mats for your child or students, you will want to first print them out and laminate them for sturdiness.
Then, add playdough and a dry erase marker and you are set! Alternatively, you can use counters or other fun items in the ten frames instead of playdough, such as fun erasers or pom poms.
I like the playdough because the pinching and forming of the number is great for strengthening little fingers and builds up those writing muscles!
We pinched off the pieces of playdough and rolled them or formed them into balls for the ten frame. Then we put the number together with playdough.
Finally, we practice writing the number on the printing lines with a dry erase marker! We used the regular, larger expo markers, but I have also used the fine point ones when students are able to grip them comfortably like a pencil.
This is always a favorite – anything with a dry erase marker seems to be an instant hit!
Tip: Store a dry erase marker in a kid sock. Instant marker storage and eraser on the go!
The mats work with numbers 1-10, and are great for learning number formation, as well as understanding the concept of a ten frame and how it is used to show quantity and groups. Plus, they are fun!
Download the Number Mats
Ready to work on numbers this fall? Grab your free pumpkin number mats by clicking the yellow button below.
Then, check out some of my other free fall printables like apple ten frame clip cards and pumpkin dice addition clip cards!
More Fall Fun
For even more fall themed ideas, check out these fabulous posts from some amazing kid bloggers!
From left to right:
Halloween Words // The Pleasantest Thing
Fall Leaves In and Out Activity // Still Playing School
Pumpkin Alphabet Puzzles // Modern Preschool
Sunflower Playdough Mats for the Numbers 1-10 // Life Over Cs
Fall Leaves Quiet Book // Teach My Mommy
Pumpkin Count and Clip Cards // Playdough to Plato
Apple Fine Motor Play // Adventures of Adam
Free Fall Themed Mazes // Powerful Mothering
Free Pumpkin Colors Booklet // Stay At Home Educator
Fall Nature I Spy Bottle // Mama. Papa. Bubba.
Fall Alphabet // Preschool Inspirations
Fine Motor Spider // Coffee Cups and Crayons
Pete the Cat Pumpkin // Think Magnet
Fall Interactive Book // Liz’s Early Learning Spot
Free Pumpkin Number Mats // The Kindergarten Connection
Fall Playdough Busy Bag // Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
Counting with Acorns // Play and Learn Everyday
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So cute! Downloaded these to use with some of my younger students. Thanks!
Sarah
You are welcome Sarah! Glad you are able to use them with your students! 🙂
Love these mats. Will you be making apples or other seasonal ones. My students love these.