I am always looking for ways to “fun up” learning, and this one is a hit . All you need is an egg carton to make practicing facts fun. For little ones, you can practice color or number recognition, or beginning letter sounds. Elementary age children can drill their addition facts or times tables, or practice more advanced phonics sounds. Even 12-year-olds think it is fun to do their math facts practice this way.
Simply write the information you want drilled on stickers and place them inside each egg carton cup. Add a token (a nut, penny, marble, button or small stone) and have your child shake, shake, shake! When they open the carton and find the nut, they name the number or say the phonics sound.
If you want to drill math facts, put 2 tokens in the egg carton. Now shake! Open the egg carton and add (or multiply) the 2 numbers that have tokens in their egg cups.
Here are some games to make and play:
Color Recognition for Toddlers
Use markers or tempera paint to color the inside of each egg cup.
Number Recognition
Use numbers 0-11, and one token.
Easy Addition
Use numbers 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 2 tokens.
Multiple Digit Addition
Use numbers above and 3 tokens, so you will be adding together 3 numbers.
Advanced Addition
Use numbers 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9 and 2 or 3 tokens.
Multiplication
Use numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10 and 2 tokens.
Letter Recognition
Use alphabet letters and 1 token, asking your child to say the letter name (not the sound it makes).
Phonics sounds
Start with simple consonants: b, d, f, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s. Next use the rest of the simple consonants and more complex consonants, and later, the phonics units (such as th, sh, wh, qu, ee, ai, ea, eigh, ch, ay, igh, ou).
Scramble some eggs, and take time to play!
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