Tree Maths Game

We had such an abundance of acorns this year and I wanted to use them in some activities especially to support M’s maths skills in a fun way. This would work with whatever you have to use as counters, conkers, leaves, pom poms.

Dice games are great for a range of maths skills including subitising, which is the ability to look at a small number of objects and instantly know how many are there. Looking at the dots on each side of the dice is a great way of practicing this skill.

Set Up

For this maths activity I drew two large, simple trees on two pieces of paper and then added the same number of ovals to represent where the acorn needed to go. I added a wooden dice and it was ready!

So the aim of this simple maths game was to see who could cover their oak tree in acorns first. Roll the dice, see what number you got and then add the correct number of acorns to the tree. So not only were we subitising but also counting out objects to a given number too. We played in teams; me and F vs. Daddy and M. It did of course get competitive but we all had so much fun.

This simple maths game was a great, fun way of practicing a range of maths skills. It didn’t require much set up and was a brilliant way of us engaging as a family. This fun maths game is perfect for preschoolers and older kids. I have since used it as an independent activity with M where I see if she can add the acorns in a given time of 10 minutes. Which is a great way of keeping her busy and learning if I need to get on with dinner!