Cereal is a fun breakfast or snack but in the classroom it’s fun math manipulative. All you need is a box of Froot Loops or other colored round cereal for the fun and learning to begin. This is a fun activity for preschoolers through Kindergartners and their older brother who likes to sneak a few between doing his own math problems. These activities will keep your little ones busy and happy for quite some time. My 2.5 and 5 year old love using food for school. However, my littlest one often eats the cereal as she engages in the activity.
Fun Froot Loop Activities:
Counting: You can use Froot Loops in the same way you use counting bears or another counting math manipulative. Little ones can count as they put the cereal in bowls.
Patterns: Teach patterns by first showing your child a simple pattern like green, red, green, red, etc. Once your child understands the pattern have him add to it and then challenge him to make his own. Once that skill is mastered you can increase the difficulty of the pattern.
Sorting: Using several bowls, muffin tins, or an egg carton, have your child sort the Froot Loops by color. Once sorted you can ask your child questions about the Froot Loops such as: which group has the least amount and which has the most?
Fine Motor Skills: Edible jewelry is a favorite activity in my home. You will need yarn or ribbon for this activity. Before beginning this activity precut the yarn or ribbon for necklaces and bracelets. You may want to tie one Froot Loop on end of your yarn to prevent others from sliding off. Now, have your little ones string the Froot Loops on the yarn. This will help with hand/eye coordination as well as fine motor skills.
Addition/subtraction: You can teach simple addition and subtraction concepts easily with Froot Loops. For example, have your child count out three pieces of cereal. Then ask them how many if you add one more. Add the one piece and allow the child to count again. Do the opposite to teach basic subtraction.