I made an apple tree playdough mat for fine motor development and early match skills. I printed the pattern on cardstock paper and laminated it. I then set out containers of red ... yellow ... and green playdough.

The children make small round balls out of the playdough which will be the apples they put on the mat. They made the playdough balls first and put them on sturdy paper plates.

In this activity children roll the dice and put the same number of playdough apples on the trees and baskets. Once all of the apples have been placed on the mat the children then rolled the dice and removed the same number. You do not have to use a dice ... children can simply place the apples on the trees and baskets. You can download the playdough mat patterns below.

apple tree playdough mat patterns

I made an apple color match for for fine motor development and color recognition skills. I printed the patterns on cardstock paper and then cut them out. I the laminated them for durability.

I made this activity with both larger baskets and smaller baskets. All of the baskets and apples come with and without color names so you have a choice on what patterns to use. I have also included the alternate spelling of gray.

In this activity children pick a basket and then find the apple with the same color and place it on top of the basket. You can use clothespins to clip the apples and baskets together. You can also use velcro to secure the pieces as shown below.

This activity is currently located in the member's section which is also where I have added apple alphabet punch cards.

I made puppy roll and cover mats for early math development and fine motor skills. I printed the color mats on cardstock paper and laminated them. I also made black and white versions that can be printed on regular paper.

Children roll the dice and count and cover the same number of circles on the mat that is on the dice. You can use bingo daubers ... crayons ... and colored pencils to fill in the circles. If you are using playdough ... buttons or pom poms that children can also roll the dice and then remove the same number of cover-ups from the mats.

In addition to the blank mats I  made mats with numbers 1-6 and 2-12. Children would roll the dice and then cover up the same number on the mat that is displayed on the dice. For the mat with numbers 2-12 children would roll two dice and add the numbers together. They would then cover up the same number on the mat. You can download the puppy roll and cover mats below.

puppy roll and cover patterns

I made a  puppy match and munch for letter and number recognition. I printed the puppy and bone patterns on cardstock paper and the recording sheets on regular paper. I have included both letter and number bones and recording sheets.

I created two puppy patterns in four different colors so you have a choice of what to use. There is a pattern with a rectangle shape on the puppy that you can cut out or you can use the pattern without the rectangle shape to make your own opening where you want it. I do recommend laminating the puppies and bones for durability.

I used an exacto knife to cut out the rectangle from the puppy's body. I placed cardboard under the puppy to protect my work surface. I then took an empty box of tissues (I used the long box) and cut the opening to the width of the puppy rectangle.​

​I then put self-adhesive velcro dots on the back of the puppy and then put the other half of the velcro set on top of the first set making sure the sticky side was facing up. I then pressed the puppy on the box where it aligned with the opening.

In this activity children pick a letter or number bone and cover up the same letter or number on the recording sheet and then place the bone in the puppy box. If you are not using the recording sheet children would just pick a bone and verbally say the letter or number on the bone before putting it into the puppy box.

This activity is currently located in the member's section which is where I have also added puppy color match and clip.

During the first week of school we make "all about me" books and read them at circle time so the children can get to know each other a bit better. 

The book includes the following pages:

cover page - child colors person to look like them

my name Is - write and decorate name

this Is my picture - glue picture of child

this Is my handprint - trace around and color or paint and press

my favorite colors - color in the three circles

I know these letters - cut and glue letters child can identify

I know these numbers - cut and glue numbers child can identify

I know these shapes -cut and glue shapes child can identify

I know these colors - cut and glue colors child can identify

this Is my family - draw and color a picture of family

my favorite foods - cut and glue images (magazine or internet search)

my favorite animals -  cut and glue images (magazine or internet search)

You do not need to complete all of the pages of the book especially with younger children.  I intentionally left out a page for the child's phone number as well as an address page to protect the child's identity in case the book gets lost. You can grab the book pattern below:

all about me book

I made baby animal number tracing mats for number recognition and fine motor skills development. I made 13 different animal mats in both black and white as well as color.

Depending on how you will use the mats they can either be printed on cardstock paper or regular paper. If you are using markers you can laminate the sheets or put them and page protectors so they can be re-used. We use both markers and color pencils for tracing.

In this activity children say the number and then trace it. You can also call out a specific number and have the children trace that number. We work on these in class and I also send some sheets home with the students. These are great for summer work packets.

This activity is currently located in the member's section which is also where I have also added animal letter tracing mats.