Math games for your preschooler can be colorful and fun with these painted rainbow math counters using natural materials in your own backyard! Work on counting, sorting and patterning as you get them ready for Kindergarten with these math skills.
Here’s how to paint and play this math game!
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Painted Rainbow Math Counters with Acorns
This rainbow activity pairs well with the book is A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman. In the story a small boy imagines what it would be like to have his own rainbow to play with.
We’re going to do just that with our painted math counters! This Math Games Activity will focus on skills your child will need for Kindergarten plus some fine motor skills too.
So read the story and join along and try out a few of our rainbow themed activities for kids.
A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman
LISTEN to the story on Youtube
Materials for Painted Rainbow Math Counters
- 10 colors of paint from the rainbow
- small plastic counter
- paper towels
- acorns (shells or small rocks or large seeds would work too)
- paint brush (optional)
- book: A Rainbow of My Own
Directions for Painted Rainbow Math Counters
1. Read the story A Rainbow of My Own with your child. Discuss different ways to create your very own rainbow.
2. Collect 100 of one object. We used acorns for ours since there seemed to be an abundance of them around a park we had visited near the 100th day of school. You can use any object thought to paint. Small rocks, sea shells, large seeds etc.
The math skill we’re first working on is grouping objects into groups of ten to make ten groups to make 100.
3. Once you’ve collected all of your acorns or objects from your nature walk it’s time to sort them out into group of ten. Place each group of ten acorns onto its own paper towel. Each group of ten gets it’s own color in the rainbow.
You must be thinking hmmmm rainbows only have 7 colors so how do we get to 10 colors? This is where we add a little science fun by sharing how to add white to colors to make them different shades of the same color.
4. Now it’s time for some painting fun in a unique way! Add a drop of paint into your plastic counter. Put the lid onto the container making sure it’ snapped on tight and sealed! Now tell your child to SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE!
To get to make all sorts of movement and noise shaking the acorns all around the container to cover them completely with paint.
5. You can now remove the lid with your child and roll the acorns onto the paper towel you’ve laid down for each of the groups of ten acorns.
Allow them to dry here on the paper towel.
6. Continue this process for each of the colors you’ve selected for your painted rainbow math counters.
I used paper towels to wipe out the container each time we switched colors. It was a good lesson for us to pick colors made from the same color when mixing to choose which color to do next.
By the end of the process, my little one wondered if it was more effective to shake the painted math counters so I let her test out her theory. We both found that shaking to paint the math counters was much more effective to get 100 Acorns painted in a short period of time.
Five Rainbow Math Games for Preschoolers
GAME ONE: Color Sorting
Have your child sort the colors that they’ve painted. This is teaching how to sort by attributes, a math skill that most Kindergarten curriculum start with.
GAME TWO: Rainbow One to One Correspondence
Place the painted rainbow math counters out for your child to select and draw circles with corresponding colors. Ask your child to take the counters to make one-to-one onto the circles for them.
GAME THREE: Rainbow Numbers
Write down the numbers 1 to 10 on a large piece of paper or even with chalk on your sidewalk. Ask your child to sort the acorns out by putting one red acorn on the number 1. Two acorns on the number 2.
GAME FOUR: Colors of the Rainbow Pattern
Have your child place the painted rainbow math counters into a rainbow pattern. If they need a little help you can create a copy pattern using additional counters or just draw out 7 circles and color them in for your child to make up to. This is great for one-to-one correspondence and fine motor skills too.
GAME FIVE: Rainbow Patterning with Warm Colors and Cool Colors
Start talking about warm colors and cool colors with your preschooler by sorting out the painted math counters into groups of these colors. Then ask your child to create a pattern with one or the other.
Looking for more acorn activities for kids? Take a looks at these…
BONUS GAME: COLOR WORD SIGHT WORD GAME Check out one of our favorite rainbow games
There are so many adorable Rainbow books for preschoolers to enjoy with our theme this week! They each would go perfectly with our Rainbow Themed Activities on The Educators’ Spin On It. My personal favorite is What Makes a Rainbow. Have you read it with your child yet?
Rainbow Themed Books for Preschoolers
A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
The Rainbow Book by Kate Ohrt
Curious George Discovers a Rainbow by H.A. Rey
What Makes a Rainbow by Betty Ann Schartz and Dona Turner
Rainbow Stew by Cathryn Falwell
Elmer and the Rainbow by David McKee
How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney and Feronia Parker-Thomas
Over the Rainbow by Judy Collins and E.Y. Harburg
My Color is My Rainbow by Agnus Hsu
The Story of the Kindness Elves by Anna Ranson
Penguins Love Colors by
You can visit our VBC Facebook Group to Print this Rainbow Book List.
Our Virtual Book Club for Kids Cohosts have created so many FUN RAINBOW ACTIVITIES just for you. Click on the links below to check them out!!
RAINBOW THEMED ACTIVITIES FOR PRESCHOOLERS
- Rainbow Alphabet Activity- Growing Book by Book
- Easy Rainbow Name Craft- Toddler Approved
- 5 Math Games using Painted Rainbow Counters – The Educators’ Spin On It
- How to make rainbow spaghetti – Sensory play for kids -Messy Little Monster
- Find the Unicorn Rainbow Sensory Bin – Inspiration Laboratories
- Taste Safe Rainbow Sensory Play – Adventures and Play
- Preschool Color Activities – Roll and Cover Rainbow
- Awesome Rainbow Experiments for Kids- Teach Beside Me
- Construction Paper Rainbow Craft from The Moments at Home
- Mixing Colors to Make a Rainbow – Mama Smiles
- CVC Word Family Rainbow Puzzles – Sea of Knowledge
- Rainbow Words – Rainy Day Mum
- Rainbow Preschool Music Craft & Song – Preschool Powol Packets
Want more? Get our list of Colorful Rainbow Books for Kids.
We’ll be sharing many more rainbow themed activities all week long over in our Weekly Virtual Book Club for Kids Facebook Group if you want to join and participate.
For more fall activities for kids you may also enjoy…
