Giant Holiday Dot-to-Dot Counting Games [Contributed by Play Learn Love]

This post was contributed by Jessica of Play Learn Love.

Make Giant Dot-to-Dot Counting Games!

Christmas is in full swing around here! Decorating, crafting, baking, you name it. But a midst the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we are still trying to squeeze in a little learning. For some fun and festive counting games, I decided to take my daughters latest fascination with dot-to-dot activities and make them larger than life!

These simple counting games are not only great for reinforcing number sequencing,but also an excellent way to build fine motor skills and coordination! The best part is, with movable magnetic pegs, the design possibilities are endless! This activity will keep your kiddos occupied as they use their imagination to create their own unique dot-to-dot designs.

How We Made Our Giant Dot-to-Dot Counting Games

To set up these counting games I dug out our dot magnets (pom poms hot glued to a round magnets) and cut up a few sticky notes into small squares. We used our metal garage door as our dot-to-dot board, but any magnetic surface ( refrigerator, chalkboard, white board) would work great! After mapping out the design with the magnets I numbered the sticky notes and stuck them next to each dot. You can jazz it up by adding some fun paper accents like we did here with the snowman!

I cut a length of yarn to size and and tied it to the number one magnet. From there, my preschooler took over, stringing yarn from dot to dot, anxiously awaiting the reveal of the grand design!

It took a few tries for her get the hang of it. The yarn must be wrapped all the way around each peg in order for it to stay. She quickly figured it out and was on a roll!

She is now on a dot-to-dot queen! For days we have had fun making making picture after picture and the excitement is still going strong. This seems to be an activity that will stick with us through the seasons!

Jessica, writer and creator of Play Learn Love, has a passion for all things messy, fun, and creative! As a former early childhood education teacher, she understands the importance of learning through play. Now a stay at home mom, she runs a small, part time preschool program out of her home and shares their daily adventures on her blog. Whether it be learning with lego s or exploring through messy play, they are always finding creative hands on ways to learn!

This is simply brilliant! And it can be used to make counting games for endless themes and holidays, too. Thanks for the awesome inspiration, Jessica!