Snowman Addition!

January is the perfect time for winter and snow-themed lessons despite the unseasonably warm temperatures around here. The elementary schools I have been subbing in have snowflakes hanging in their windows and snowmen lounging on their bulletin boards. Let's not even start with the sledding, skating, and penguins. I happen to love the snowmen and was dreaming up some different way to integrate them into the primary classroom. 

That's when I dreamed up snowman math. One of my favorite things to use in my classrooms is activity mats. I have used different types of mats for both my literacy and math centers since the kids love having a unique surface to work on. It seems to really energize their learning and improve their interactions with the material we're learning. 

For snowman math, using the mat below, students can practice simple addition of two or three numbers. You could use counters or make it even more fun with mini marshmallows. I would definitely use this math mat in my kindergarten teaching as it aligns well with the CCS of using drawings or manipulatives to solve addition problems. It can even be made more challenging by using all three parts of the snowman to practice solving three number addition problems, a great activity up through second grade. What can I say, I love activity mats and I love snowmen!

Click here to download!

Let me know if and how you use it in your classroom!