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When autumn paints the world in colours of red, orange and gold, why not bring a splash of that seasonal magic indoors? Enter the Roll & Drop Counting Game for fall, a fun activity combining hands-on play and numbers. Crafted with simple tools like a cardboard box, vibrant paint sticks, and nature’s very own leaves and acorns, this game is set to become a favorite with your toddler and preschooler.

Creating The Magical Drop Box

Materials Needed

A sturdy cardboard box
Paint sticks (for drawing your tree)
Artificial leaves & acorns (makes for an easier clean up)
A dice
Scissors

How to Set Up Your Roll& Drop Fall Counting Game

1. With your paint sticks in hand, sketch a robust tree on one side of the cardboard box. Let those branches twist and turn, capturing the spirit of a tree ready to shed its leaves.

2. Using scissors (adults, this one’s for you!), cut holes on your tree. These should be just large enough for leaves and acorns to pass through but small enough to present a delightful challenge to eager little hands. You can also cut a hole on the sides to allow you or your little one to retrieve the fallen acorns and leaves once they are all done.

3. Place the leaves and acorns atop the holes, poised and ready for their tumbling journey.

Let The Games Begin!

With the stage set, it’s time for the fun to start. Hand the dice over to your enthusiastic little gamer. With each roll, they’ll identify the number shown and push that exact count of leaves or acorns down the tree holes. As leaves tumble and acorns drop, watch as their faces light up with the joy of achievement!

For toddlers you can skip the dice and invite them to just push and drop the leaves and acorns down the holes for a fun fine motor activity! For older kids 5-6 years old you can give them simple subtraction math problems to solve. Such as 4 minus 1 equals.

Why It’s More Than Just Play

This seemingly simple game is teeming with developmental treasures:

Numerical Aptitude: Recognizing numbers on a dice and correlating it with a physical count of leaves or acorns sharpens their budding math skills.
Fine Motor Skills: The act of picking and pushing the leaves and acorns through the holes refines their dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
Cognitive Development: Deciding which leaf or acorn to push next, or strategizing the best way to tackle a tricky hole, fosters critical thinking.

Rolling Toward Success

A few handy tips to enhance the experience:

Mix It Up: Occasionally change the position or number of holes to keep the game fresh and challenging.
Story Time: Weave a fun narrative around the activity. Maybe the tree is magical, and every dropped leaf grants a wish!

Age Suitability

This activity is good for toddlers aged children 3 years old and up with adult assistance.

Mess Level

The mess level for this activity is low.

Difficulty to Create

Low.

Skills Developed

Language development, shape recognition, color recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, imaginative play, creativity.

Toddler and Preschooler Curriculums, Books & TV Show!

Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers

There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!

But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.

Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.

Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!

These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!

Click here for more information: Play2Learn

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids

Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.

Find out more and grab your copy here.

Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.

Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids

Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.

350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.

Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!

Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.

TV Show: Curious Crafting

I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.

Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!

Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.

In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.

Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.

This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.

The Best Sensory Play Kits for Kids

Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.

Our Sensory Play Kits are some fun and easy ways to keep your child engaged while at the same time using sensory play to nurture their mind!

Shop our ready made play kits here.