Counting to 20 Thanksgiving Math Puzzles

As Thanksgiving approaches, why not add a festive spin to your learning or teaching materials?

Our Thanksgiving Math Puzzles are a delightful blend of holiday cheer and cognitive challenge, designed to engage young learners in counting up to 20.

By combining learning with a seasonal theme, we aim to inspire a love for numbers in children, making maths an exciting adventure rather than a daunting task.

So, download our free preschool printables to get your kids excited about Thanksgiving with this fun learning activity.

Benefits of Thanksgiving Math Puzzles

Engaging children in Thanksgiving math puzzles offers numerous benefits beyond the enjoyment factor.

By incorporating a festive theme into math activities, we create an immersive learning environment that captures children’s attention and makes math more relatable and enjoyable.

Here are some key advantages:

Reinforces Early Math Skills: Counting turkeys and matching sets helps solidify essential early math skills, such as number recognition, counting, and numeral association. These foundational skills serve as building blocks for more complex mathematical concepts in the future.

Enhances Problem-Solving Abilities: As students engage in the activity, they naturally develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They must analyze the number of turkeys on each card and determine the corresponding numeral, promoting logical reasoning and decision-making.

Promotes Visual Discrimination: Matching the correct number card to the set of turkeys encourages visual discrimination. Students learn to differentiate between various quantities and identify the corresponding numerals, strengthening their ability to visually interpret information.

Encourages Fine Motor Skills: Manipulating the turkey and number cards requires fine motor skills, such as grasping, pinching, and placing objects precisely. This aspect of the activity supports the development of hand-eye coordination and dexterity.

Thanksgiving Math

In this set of Thanksgiving printables for preschoolers, you’ll receive the following printables:

20 two-piece Thanksgiving puzzles

Preparing the Activity

I suggest printing these puzzles on cardstock because it’s sturdier than regular printer paper.

After printing the pages, I like to laminate the puzzles before cutting them apart. Laminating the pieces makes them more durable so they can withstand busy preschool hands.

Completing the Activity

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate and give thanks, and what better way to do so than by incorporating math into our festivities? Our counting turkeys and matching sets activity is an exciting and hands-on approach to reinforce number recognition and counting skills in preschoolers and early elementary students.

To begin the activity, provide children with a set of turkey cards, each featuring a different number of turkeys ranging from 1 to 20. Next, provide the corresponding set of number cards with numerals on them. The goal is for students to match the correct number card to the set of turkeys, reinforcing their understanding of quantity and numeral association.

For example, if a turkey card displays four turkeys, the student should find the number card with the numeral “4” and place it next to the turkeys. This activity not only enhances their counting abilities but also strengthens their visual discrimination skills as they identify and compare different quantities.

You can make this a self-checking activity by placing matching stickers or colored dots on the back of each matching pair. Then, kids can turn the puzzles over to check if the stickers or dots match.

Number Recognition

Number recognition is a fundamental skill for young children, serving as the foundation for all future mathematical concepts.

It entails the ability to identify and assign meaning to numbers, a skill that is honed through repetitive exposure and interactive activities.

Implementing tools such as our Thanksgiving Math Puzzles can provide a fun and engaging way for children to practice and master this essential skill.

Counting to 20

Teaching kids to count to 20 is a vital step in establishing their numerical foundation.

Engaging methods, like our Thanksgiving Math Puzzles, transform this learning process into an enjoyable game, promoting both excitement and understanding.

This interactive approach fosters a positive relationship with math early on, setting the stage for more complex mathematical learning in the future.

Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

Beyond our Thanksgiving Math Puzzles, there are a multitude of Thanksgiving-themed activities designed to make learning fun for preschoolers.

Turkey Feather Counting

This is a simple, hands-on activity that combines fine motor skills with counting. Provide children with a printable turkey counting mat and colored craft feathers. They can attach the feathers to the turkey while practicing their counting skills.

Gratitude Tree

Teach children about gratitude by creating a Thanksgiving gratitude tree. Children can cut out leaves from colored paper, write or draw something they’re thankful for on each leaf, and then attach them to a tree drawn on a poster board.

Thanksgiving Storytelling

Encourage language development and creativity by having children create their own Thanksgiving stories. Provide them with Thanksgiving-themed stickers or stamps to illustrate their stories.

Pilgrim Hat Letter Matching

For this activity, create pairs of matching lowercase and uppercase letters on cutouts of pilgrim hats. Children can then match the lowercase letters to their uppercase counterparts.

Each of these activities not only fosters academic learning but also helps children to connect with the spirit and tradition of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Math Puzzles provide an exciting and educational way to celebrate the holiday while reinforcing important math skills. By incorporating hands-on activities like counting turkeys and matching sets, we create an interactive learning experience that engages young minds.

The Thanksgiving Math Puzzles and other Thanksgiving-themed activities highlighted in this post are designed to cultivate fundamental skills—such as number recognition, counting, and fine motor skills—while also fostering gratitude, creativity, and a love for learning.

These activities can create memorable learning experiences that can instill in children a strong foundation for future academic success.

So, let’s embrace the festive season as an opportunity to inspire young learners and foster a lifelong love for learning.

Tara

Tara is the brains behind Homeschool Preschool, where her journey from preschool and public school teacher to homeschooling mom of three fuels her passion for early childhood education. With a blend of expertise and firsthand experience, Tara’s writings offer practical tips and engaging resources to support families in creating meaningful learning adventures at home.