Numbers & math
Feed the monster
- Builds: Counting out a number
- 10 min
- Ages 1–4
- Calm
- No mess
From the house
- A box or tub with a hungry face drawn on it
- Blocks or balls of scrunched paper
How to play
- “The monster is hungry!” Cut or draw a big mouth.
- Ask them to feed it 3 snacks. Count each one.
- The monster roars for more: “Feed me 2.”
- They make the monster’s yum-yum sounds.
Fit it to your child
- Easier: Just post blocks into the mouth together, saying “more”, and “all gone” when you tip it out.
- Harder: The monster asks for one more: “I ate 3, now feed me 1 more. How many is that?”
Words to use
- one
- two
- three
- more
- hungry
Why it helps
Counting out an exact number is a big step past reciting numbers: the last number they say tells them how many.
Grown-up eyes: Use pieces too big to fit through a toilet-paper roll, and skip the paper balls if they still chew things.