Howdy friends!! So excited to share this really fun Test Tube Math, that will be perfect for the first few weeks back to school.
I am such a believer in hands-on math activities, so I am always scoping out my local stores for items that would be great in a math or literacy station. What teacher doesn’t regularly hit the dollar spot at Target or any one of the many $1 stores?! From tiny erasers, to die-cuts, to pom-poms, these stores are a gold mine for adding to your hands-on stations! So yesterday, I stopped by the Dollar Tree and found these adorable plastic test tubes. Immediately the wheels in my brain started to turn. How could I use these in my classroom? As I was thinking, I saw some large ‘kid-friendly’ tweezers and boom…I had my idea!! The beginning of the school year is filled with assessments and lots and lots of observation and direction, so I need activities that my students can complete independently, yet hit a variety of skills! So let me introduce you to my Test Tube Math!
Supplies:
- PLASTIC Test Tubes ( I purchased mine from Dollar Tree). Can’t find them anywhere? Here is a link to some similar ones on Amazon.)
- Kid Friendly Tweezers (I also purchased mine from the dollar tree, but here is a link to Amazon, if you cannot find any.)
- Pom Poms or other small objects that can fit into the test tube.
My first thought is that often my students come in to Kindergarten, with poor fine motor skills, which usually results in struggles with the mechanics of writing, cutting, etc. Tweezer activities are a great way to practice and strengthen their fine motor skills! Not only is picking up the pom poms great practice, but so is placing them into a ‘small’ opening, requiring more focus and steady fine motor abilities. (If you cannot find the test tubes from the Dollar Tree, try using clear plastic cups.)
Test Tube Math Activity: Place pom poms or other small objects in open container. Students take the lids off of the test tubes and use the tweezers to pick up specified objects and place into test tubes. When completed, student will count the objects placed into test tube and write corresponding number on line.
Other ideas are to have students create a pattern when placing in test tubes. Student can then use crayons/colored pencils/markers to recreate pattern in test tube on worksheet.
I am really looking forward to using this activity this next school year! This activity will cover the math standards:
K.CC.A1; K.CC.A3; K.CC.B4; K.CC.B4b
Head on over to my FB to join in the great conversation and get new ideas, plus fabulous FREEBIES, like this Test Tube Math!!
I can’t find the printable for this, how can I get a copy?
I will be posting it to the blog tomorrow! 🙂
I went to my local Dollar Tree store looking for these with no luck. Luckily, I have tons more stores in my area to check. 🙂 Where in the store did you find the test tubes and tweezers? Are they considered seasonal? Toys? School supplies? I would love some help- I love this activity!
Thank you!
Erica
Thank you! I found the test tubes and the tweezers in the teacher/school section. The pom poms were found in the craft section. Hopefully you find some soon! 🙂
Thank you! I’ll try another store and see what I can find! 🙂
Hi, your activities are very interesting and helpful. Do you know of any supplier (plastic test tubes and holder, tweezers, and Plinko) that delivers to Singapore?
Im also interested in your 0-30 number cards but is it possible to remove the border of dots, i find that it becomes distracting for kids. Thanks a lot.
Hi Teacher Tina and thank you for your email. I do not know suppliers who ship to Singapore, I’m very sorry. 🙁 I will see what I can do about the number cards.
How can I get the cover sheet?
Thank you for your response. Here is the *FREEBIE** link–
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ihjxmjbRMxdbLPM0PFCLXavYrD8I3S4k/view?usp=sharing