A Halloween Treat - Math Freebie

Commercially produced math manipulatives (Unifix cubes, base-10 blocks, etc.) have become so expensive that I am always looking for cheap alternatives. The Dollar Tree and Dollar Spot at Target have supplied many of the materials I use these days (particularly cute mini-erasers). Last summer (2012) I started using sand timers, rubber animals, foam beads, and more from Oriental Trading Company.

Here's the Halloween set I'm using for counting, graphing, patterning, multiplication, fractions and more. You get 500 of these beads in a package for $6.00. (That's about 1.2 cents each!) There are 5 shapes and each one comes in a large and small size.

Here are the pages I created to go along with them.

Download Halloween Math Activities.

If you don't have these shapes and still want to do the activity, here's a page with an assortment of images you can use. 

Download Halloween Shape Page.

These activities can be used to meet a number of following Common Core Standards including:

• K.MD.3. Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.

• 1.NBT.1. Count to 120, starting at any number less than 120. In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of objects with a written numeral.

• 2.MD.10. Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple put- together, take-apart, and compare problems using information presented in a bar graph.

• 3.NF.1. Understand a fraction 1/b as the quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is partitioned into b equal parts; understand a fraction a/b as the quantity formed by a parts of size 1/b.

I hope you get a chance to use these in your home or classroom. Please let me know if you try these and how you like them!

**BTW** - Faith over at 1st Grade Fantabulous has a terrific post on how she uses the fall foam beads and has some freebies for you! Here's what those pieces look like.

I hope you'll head over and check out her post entitled Winners and Fall Centers.