This holiday activity is a great way for pre-schoolers to develop fine motor skills while learning to count and practice other valuable math skills. Try candy cane counting with the simple instructions below!

Supplies Needed:

• White pipe cleaners
• Red pony beads
• White tape or even clear scotch tape
• Permanent marker

Instructions:

1. Bend the white pipe cleaner into a candy cane shape.
2. Put a small piece of tape around the bottom of the pipe cleaner. Write a number on it.
3. Put the red beads in a bowl or container.
4. Have your child count the correct number of beads and place them on the pipe cleaner to fill the candy cane!

This is such a great, hands-on way for young children to explore one to one correspondence. For older children, you can try using different colored beads. Each bead can represent a value (red are one’s, blue are ten’s and green are hundred’s). With this more advanced version, you can ask your child to make four hundred and thirty-two with the multi-colored beads and give them a challenge.