Math with Mardi Gras Coins

What can we do with some colored Mardi Gras coins from the Dollar Store?

A LOT!

This is not a big year for us regarding Mardi Gras, but I came across some coins and mask at Dollar Tree and grabbed them up, more for the year that we do Mardi Gras as a theme.  But once we got them out, the children got very engaged, and we took off as we usually do...

COLOR SORT - First we sorted them by color, each of the preschoolers self-selected choosing their favorite one.

MULTIPLICATION/DIVISION - Then, we did some multiplication by grouping in different units of different colors, splitting them out and putting them back together. Worked on skip counting by 2s and 3s.

ADDITION/SUBTRACTION - I had each child count out just five chips from their stack to use, and each one was asked to put in ALL/NONE/SOME of their chips, and each time, they had to put in a new/different amount. We then added up the group, and then subtracted out one color at a time each round.


ROTE COUNTING/ COUNTING A DIE - We got out the die and each rolled and took that number of coins. Once all the coins were distributed, they had to count how many each one had. We compared amounts. No winner/loser aspect incorporated at all.

PATTERNING - We started out with an ABC pattern and moved on to more intricate patterns, such as this AABCC. 

GRAPHING - We took all the coins and mixed up the pile like maniacs, then they worked as a group to lay out the coins according to color and crown or $ side. After counting each column, we analyzed the graph as to most/least and how those two corresponded, and the purples being the same/even. 

Those plastic coins actually have a lot of value in them.
Tags: math, preschool, kindergarten, graphing, counting, numbers, games, Mardi Gras, coins, dice, multiply, divide, addition, subtraction, pre-k, early, learning, manipulatives