Monkey Race

I pretty much never come up with any ideas on my own. Apparently, I'm not that creative. But I do enjoy making other people's ideas a reality. This particular idea came from a preschool book that I borrowed from a friend a long time ago. I can't remember the name of the book or I would reference it. It is a great book though. If I ever think of it, I'll ask my friend to remind me of the name of the book and then I'll come back and fix this post with correct information.  Until then...

Monkey Race is an enjoyable math activity. It is a game in which you spin a spinner or roll a die and move your monkey up the trunk of a palm tree to the number that you rolled (or spun).  First monkey to the top wins! The great part about it is that children at all levels of number learning and development can participate in and learn from this game while working within what they know.

For older kids, or children who naturally grasp math concepts more easily you can move up the tree using addition.  For children who are just starting out learning their numbers you can play the game by counting up the tree. Kids become more aware of number recognition and get practice counting. Love it!

I cut out my palm tree from butcher paper and taped it to my wall. I then covered the trunk in clear packing tape, because it's what I had on hand. It worked out pretty well. I colored and laminated some monkeys, stuck a little tape on the back, and we were on our way.