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This set of 3 differentiated gingerbread-themed number puzzle strips will get kids in the mood for the holiday season. Choose which one suits your child’s level of early math skills.
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Set It Up
For this activity you will need:
Paper
Printer
Scissors
Optional but recommended: Laminator
Below are the supplies I use personally at home. After doing so many printable activities, I’ve found that it’s most helpful to always have these basic supplies on hand.
If you don’t have the materials needed, don’t sweat! You can get it delivered to your doorstep really quickly with Amazon Prime. You can get a 30-day free trial here.
Start It Up
Choose one of the puzzles to print or challenge your child with all of them.
There is one with the numbers 1-10 and another that goes from 11-20.
The third puzzle uses dice representation of the numbers 1-10 for subitization practice.
Once printed out, cut along the bold vertical lines to divide them into puzzle strips.
Ask your child to put them back in the right order.
Laminating the strips will help keep the paper from bending and is recommended for group or classroom setting for durability.
Looking for more Christmas-themed literacy and math centers? I have just the thing for you! Check out my Christmas Themed Centers – a variety of 10 themed centers that will develop literacy, early math and fine motor skills.
Games included:
1) Build A Santa Numbers 1-10 – Match the number to the correct number word, tally mark and domino to form a Santa Claus
2) Christmas Bake Sale Counting Clipcards – Counting up to 20 with fine motor practice
3) Colorful Christmas Stocking Sorting – 6 color mats with 10 different toys to sort
4) Reindeer and Sleigh Number Match to 10 – Match the respective reindeer and sleigh numbered 1-10 for number recognition practice or use it for counting up to 10 by lining up the correct amount of reindeers
5) Santa Sums to 10 – Print out 2 copies of the special dice, roll and record each one, then use the mat to add them up
6) Santa Pre-writing Tracing Strips – 9 different strips included
7) Santa Rhyming Bingo – Find rhyming words for -at, -am, -ug, -ig and -ap word families on the bingo card. 4 different cards included.
8) Santa’s List Pick and Tick Letters – Prepare the letter cards and place them in a bag or sensory bin then practice letter recognition as the child ticks them off Santa’s list. Upper and lowercase letters included.
9) Christmas Gift Sight Word Tagging – Match up the sight word-labelled gifts and tags. 40 Pre-primer words included.
10) Elf Alphabet Fine Motor Letter Mats – Form the letter using playdough or other materials you choose then practice writing out the uppercase letters.
It’s available on my Teachers Pay Teachers store here.
Pair It Up
The Gingerbread Man: Ladybird First Favourite Tales – This is the classic story about the cookie trying to run away from being eaten and falling victim to a sly fox.
Chef Aid Stainless Steel Gingerbread Cutters – decorating gingerbread cookies together would make a great activity in the classroom or at home
The Puppet Company – Traditional Story Sets – The Gingerbread Man Finger Puppet Set – Finger puppets are a fun way to keep children entertained during story time. You could even give each child in your class or family a specific character to play in the story. This particular set comes with a hardback copy of the book.
If you like number puzzle strips, then check out these zoo-themed number puzzles.
You can also find more freebies to develop early math skills here.
Hi. I have the same comment. I have tried to download the 50 page activity pack as well as the gingerbread counting puzzle and each time I either get bumped to another page of ads or there’s nothing to click on to download. Please advise.
Hello Heidi, I have sent you an email with the instructions. Please let me know if you’re still having trouble. Thank you