Milk Cap Numbers & Animal Counting Worksheets

Sweet Pea is 32 months old.

From: Someone commented on my Milk Cap Letter page and asked for me to make a Milk Cap Number template.  I made up the Milk Cap Numbers, but then struggled with how I would use them until I came up with the idea for the worksheets listed below.

Materials:

• Several milk caps.
• Mod Podge.
• Basket or bowl for the finished Milk Cap Numbers.
• Milk Cap Numbers (.pdf file requires Foxit or Adobe Acrobat).
• MCN Animals 1-4, MCN Animals 1-4 pg 2, MCN Animals 1-4 pg 3, MCN Animals 1-4 pg 4, and MCN Animals 1-4 pg 5 (.pdf file requires Foxit or Adobe Acrobat).
• MCN Animals 5-10, MCN Animals 5-10 pg 2 (optional, for those tots that need bigger numbers). (.pdf file requires Foxit or Adobe Acrobat).
• Colored pencils or markers (optional).
• A laminator or press and seal lamination pockets (optional).

Procedure:

• Decoupage the numbers to the milk caps.

1. Cut out the numbers you wish to use from the Milk Cap Numbers worksheet.  Most of the worksheets only use the numbers 1,2,3 and 4.
2. Paint a thin layer of Mod Podge on the top of one milk cap and set aside.
3. Paint a thin layer of Mod Podge on the back of one of the numbers.
4. Stick the number to the top of the milk cap and paint a thin layer of Mod Podge over the top.
5. Repeat for the remaining numbers.
6. Let the numbers dry overnight and then put them in a basket.

• Create the Animal Counting Worksheets.

1. Print the worksheets.
2. Use the colored pencils to color in the animals on the worksheets if desired.
3. Optionally laminate the worksheets and round off the corners with scissors if they are sharp.

• Introduce the Numbers to your Tot

1. Put one of the worksheets on the table and put the 1,2,3 and 4 Milk Cap Numbers next to it.
2. Point to the block that contains 1 fish (or whatever animal it is) and say, “This section has 1 fish.  I’m going to put the number 1 on the circle next to that 1 fish.”  Then pick up the number 1 milk cap number and place it on the appropriate circle.
3. Point to the the block that contains 2 dogs (or whatever animal) and say, “This one has 2 dogs.  Can you find the number 2 milk cap number to put in the circle.”  Give your tot a chance to find the correct number cap, helping if necessary.
4. Repeat with the 3 animal block and the 4 animal block.
5. Praise your tot for being able to match up all of the numbers.
6. Bring out the next worksheet and suggest your tot try it, helping him or her as necessary.

Observations: These worksheets worked really well for us.  Sweet Pea had a great time counting the different types of animals and I think it really helped her comprehension of numbers.

I am fascinated by toddler’s (lack of) understanding regarding counting. Sweet Pea seems to grasp the numbers 1,2 and 3.  However if she is presented  with more than 3 objects, she will start over again counting at 1.  (For example, if there are 5 objects she might say, “1… 2… 3…    1… 2.” )  We joke about how she counts in base-3.

I tried to take that lack of understanding into account when I worked with her.  Since there is only the option for the numbers 1,2,3 and 4 on each page, I limited the number of milk caps available to her to only the first 4 numbers also.  This helped make the worksheets somewhat self-correcting.  As stated above, Sweet Pea is a little fuzzy on the number 4, so at first I made sure that we went in order from 1 to 4.  After we had worked on these a little bit though, she did seem to start catching on to the idea of 4 and I was able to mix it up a bit.

Notes from the Trenches: I only had 2 worksheets the first time I introduced this. Sweet Pea finished the first worksheet and asked for another one. I gave her the second one. She finished the second sheet and asked for yet another one.  I thought I was being stealthy as I handed her the first one again. She said, “I did this already,” and refused to do it again and that was that.  So it may be in your best interest to print all of the worksheets out at once. 

Later I made more worksheets (which are all listed above now) but as I was making them, I realized that I really needed to create cards (instead of static worksheets) that will allow me to shuffle around the numbers.  So I ended up making yet another set of worksheets which I will convert to .pdfs and post next time.

Rating: 2 Stars * (Fun, Independent after some instruction)