It is big enough that children can stand or sit on it, move around on it, or line up on it. The numbers are large and easy-to-read.  Odd numbers are red and even numbers are blue, giving additional context clues to support the children’s concepts.

Begin introducing the mat when children are transitioning from one activity to another. Have each child pull a number out of a basket and go stand on that number.  Make sure the numerals you draw on the cards look exactly like the numbers on the line, so if needed, children can match their numbers easily.

You can also use the number line as a place to play a game like Simon Says.

Simon says, “Everyone find a blue number.”

Simon says, “Move to a red number.”

Simon says, “Change places with one of your friends.”

“Stand on one foot.”

Use the number line like hopscotch. Have the children line up at the zero spot and ask them to jump on each number and call it out as they go.  Switch it up by asking the children to hop on one foot, or to only step on the even (or blue) numbers.

If you have older children in your program, the number line can be used for counting on or taking away.  These skills are much more difficult and I would not recommend introducing them until the children have a strong and developed number sense.

Adding gross motor movement to any activity is more inclusive of learning styles and definitely enhances learning.  Leave this mat out during free choice time and see how the children choose to play with it.  Let us know what you find out.

I had an opportunity to observe a wonderful teacher use the children’s classic Caps For Sale as the foundation for a graphing activity.

She first read the story with the large group.  The children knew the book well and read along with her.  They acted out the monkey parts and tried on all sorts of different caps.  They had a blast.

She then told them that during free choice they could come over to the table and vote for their favorite colored cap. She created this wonderful board so they could vote.

Once the votes started rolling in, some of the children stayed at the table so they could watch the results.  There were a couple of children who wanted “blue” to get the most votes, and a couple of children who wanted “red” to win. This became very exciting as the votes for blue and red were neck and neck for a time.  The children had loads of opportunities to talk about which color had more and which had less.  The graphing exercise itself became a vehicle for a lot of conversation about more and less, favorites, counting, counting on, and one-to-one correspondence.

Later, once all of the votes were in, the teacher brought the graph to the rug so the group could revisit their data.  You can see how this all played out in the video below.

After watching the video, do you have any suggestions for improving the activity?  Tell us what you think.