• Home
  • About Me
  • PR Friendly
    • Site Statistics
  • Copyright, Disclosure & Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Kid Crafts
    • Valentine’s Day Crafts & Activities
    • Easter Crafts & Activities
    • Summer Crafts & Activities
    • Halloween Activities & Crafts
    • Thanksgiving Crafts
    • Christmas Crafts & Activities
  • Dr. Seuss Activities
  • STEM Activities
  • Games for Kids
    • Shark Games for Kids
  • Shop

Teaching Counting Skills with Pennies

August 4, 2014 by OneMommy

 

 

Several months ago my daughter decided to empty her piggy bank, all over the floor.  Somehow the pennies got put into a bucket instead of back in the pig, and they’ve been dumped a number of times since.  I decided this week it was a good time to wrap up those pennies.  And it just seemed natural to work on counting skills with the pennies, too!

 

Teaching counting skills using pennies -- a simple way to teach skip counting

 

I started off by showing her the penny wrappers.  I explained that we were going to put 50 pennies into each one.

Because she learned to count by 10’s in kindergarten, I decided to have her first count out the pennies into groups of 10.

She counted most of the pennies out one at a time, but I did show her how we could count them out by 2’s as well.  (That’s a skill we will work on this year in first grade!)

 

Practicing Counting Skills with Pennies

 

Once we had our groups of 10, I asked her to count to 50 by 10’s, moving our piles in a line as she counted.

I started the roll off for her.  Those things can be tricky!

And then she placed the rest of the pennies, one at a time, into the roll.  (Great practice for fine motor coordination!)

 

improving counting skills using pennies

 

 

Once we had several penny rolls filled, I showed her how many rolls made 100 pennies.  Then we talked about the fact that there are 100 pennies in a dollar.

I love that she thought she was rich when she saw she had two dollars worth of pennies!

 

Counting skills with pennies

 

 

We counted out five dollars worth of pennies before she lost interest.

That’s a lot of counting!

 

using pennies to work on counting skills

 

 

I did try counting pennies out with the 5 year-old, but he wasn’t quite as interested.  He did count out one roll’s worth, though, with some help.

It was great practice for one to one correspondence when it comes to counting.  (Which he needs to work on!)

 

Keep in mind if you choose to count with pennies that they can be a choking hazard for little ones that still put small objects in their mouths!  From what I observed with my own children, it may work best for those who are in kindergarten or are older.

 

When counting you could try counting by ones (working on that one to one correspondence), or you could count by 2’s.  Then use your piles of 10 to count by 10’s.  You could even count by 10’s to 100 and divide the piles in half to fill the rolls!

Feel like doing extra math?  Take a couple piles and add them together!  What’s 10+10?

Keep it fun and they won’t even know you’re sneaking in some math practice!

 

Happy counting!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Math Tagged With: counting activity, kindergarten, math activity

Comments

  1. The Dose of Reality says

    August 4, 2014 at 2:48 pm

    This is *such* a great idea! Pennies always do the trick and you can do groupings etc so easily because they stack, too! (and you are not making a huge monetary investment). Fantastic!! –Lisa

    • OneMommy says

      August 5, 2014 at 9:46 am

      I think next time we will work on stacking them — a whole new skill to add to the learning!

Connect with me

Link to my Facebook Page
Link to my Pinterest Page
Link to my Twitter Page

Check Out My New Book & Popular Posts

Engineering Activities for Kids

how to make egg geodes

Straw Weaving -- weaving craft

how to make vanishing ghosts by melting packing peanuts

Search this site

Recent Posts

  • Make Learning Easier with DIY Math Manipulatives
  • Engineer a Truss Bridge with Craft Sticks
  • Dragon STEM Activities
  • Fun and Foamy Elephant Toothpaste Experiment
  • Shark Party Games — Perfect for Shark Week or a Shark-Themed Birthday Party

Proud Member

Women Online
Blog Meets Brand

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in