Egg Carton Games for Developing Number Sense

I am still on my developing number sense kick. These games have not only been fun to create, but have really helped my own son in developing his number sense. Here is a short series of games you can play with your students or children at home or at school.

Materials

12 ping pong balls

an empty, clean egg carton

a paint marker or Sharpie

a printer

scissors

optional: contact paper or laminator for durability

Preparing the Egg Carton

Print the FREE templates. Simply click on the image below to download.

Cut out the circles. Glue the dots and the numeral circles back to back.

Place the dots you are working with face up in the egg carton.

Preparing the Ping Pong Balls

I picked up these colorful ping pong balls at Target when they were in the Dollar Spot. You can also find white ping pong balls at your local Dollar Store. Using a Sharpie or paint pen (my choice), draw dots for the numbers 1-12 on the balls. One number per ball. Allow to dry.

How to Play

There are quite a few ways to play. Here are a few of the ways we tried.

1) Place the ping pong balls in a bowl or jar. Place the dot side circles in the egg carton. Have your child choose a ball from the bowl and place it with the corresponding dot pattern in the egg carton.

2) Play the same way as above only place the circles numeral side up in the egg carton. Try placing the number words in the carton and playing as well.

3) Remove all the circles but one or two from the egg carton. Have your child choose a ball from the bowl and place it in the right place/right order in the carton. Use the numbers still in the egg carton to “check” your child’s work as he goes.

4) Using any of the circles, place all the ping pong balls face up in the lid of the carton. An adult says a number and the player has to find that number as quickly as he can and place it in the carton. You may also want to print an extra set of the numeral circles to use for calling out the numbers.

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Other activities for building numbers sense from BMTM

(click on the image for post)

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