I didn’t really need an excuse to buy sweet, delicious candy pumpkins, but it sure was fun to validate the purchase by telling myself, “These are for an addition game! An addition game for my kid, of course.”
To play the candy pumpkin addition game, you will need:
- candy pumpkins
- dice
- 3 rings (metal canning rings, or plastic rings)
- 4 wooden popsicle sticks
Directions:
1. Arrange the rings and popsicle sticks into an addition problem.
2. Invite your child to roll the dice. The number he rolls is the number of candy pumpkins he places into the first ring. Have your child roll the dice a second time. The number he rolls is the number of candy pumpkins he places into the second ring.
3. Next, ask your child to count the total amount of pumpkins. Ask him to put the correct number of pumpkins into the last ring.
Eventually, my son began using the candy pumpkins as a manipulative as he wrote real addition problems. While he was doing that, I might have been brushing up on my subtraction . . .
This activity entertained Colin independently for about 1 hour (he really likes to learn and write!). I see more candy addition games in our future. (Perhaps with miniature chocolate bars! For him, of course!)
