This little light table idea is a great one for fall. It's a great way for kids to build math skills by practicing counting and addition.
Now, while we did this pumpkin addition activity on the light table, it's certainly optional to do so. It's just that the light table is the preferred surface around here at the moment. Yet, this activity works great both off and on the light table.
Let's take a closer look at what you'll need for this fall math activity.
What You'll Need for this Pumpkin Addition Activity for the Light Table
Here's what we used for this simple fall inspired math activity:
- Acrylic pumpkins - You can find these at the dollar store or Michael's.
- Clear cups - We used individual sized applesauce containers for this activity.
- Permanent marker - To label the bottom of the clear cups with numbers.
- Clear container or plate (optional) - You could just use another clear cup in its place.
- Plus and equal symbols - These are from a set of number magnets (similar to these, but smaller). You could certainly draw them directly on the light table using a dry erase marker.
- Light table, light box, or similar
Label the bottoms of the clear cups with numbers using the permanent marker. We already had cups labeled from 1 to 20 (we originally made them for this activity here).
To set up the activity, arrange two numbered cups (pick any two you want to start), a clear plate or container, the pumpkins, and the math symbols on the light table. You'll want to create a simple math sentence such as 2+3=? (or whatever you choose). Then it's ready for learning and playing!
Pumpkin Addition Activity on the Light Table
Here's how the activity works. First, you count the corresponding number of pumpkins into the cups.
Then you dump both cups onto the plate at the end of the math problem. Then finally you count up all the pumpkins on the plate to find out the answer.
For example, cup one below had seven pumpkins and the second cup had five. Once they were dumped onto the plate, there were 12 pumpkins total. So 7+5=12.
There are obviously different ways that you could adapt this activity. For instance, you could work on subtraction or multiplication instead. Or smaller kids might just enjoy adding the pumpkins to the cups and dumping them. Or you could simply place all of the numbered cups out and practice counting out the correct number of pumpkins for each cup.
This pumpkin addition activity for the light table is part of the Light & Reflections series. Be sure to check out the other ideas from this month's theme from my co-hosts:
Pumpkin Patch Small World on the Light Table from Where Imagination Grows
