Number puzzles with a festive twist for preschool and kindergarten. Great for building number sense and practising counting skills this Christmas.
Well, there’s no escaping the fact that Christmas is well on its way (hoorah!). So it’s time to start dusting off some of those fun Christmas activities and get well and truly into the Christmas spirit.
If you’re looking to bring a bit of festive cheer to your math activities this Christmas, then you might be interested in these Christmas number puzzles. They are perfect for preschool and kindergarten aged children working on counting skills and number recognition.
Puzzles are a fun, hands-on way to get young children practising early number skills. You could use these puzzles with your child at home or, if you’re a teacher, they would make a great Christmas-themed math center.
So, let’s take a look!
Related post: 5 reasons why number puzzles are GREAT for young children
The puzzles
This resource contains two sets of Christmas number puzzles. The first set uses numbers to 10 and the second set uses numbers to 20.
Set 1: Christmas numbers (1 to 10)
This first set of puzzles uses a selection of Christmas pictures to show the numbers 1 to 10. In these puzzles, each number from 1 to 10 is represented by a number of Christmas characters or objects.
In this set of puzzles, the pictures or objects are arranged in scattered configuration. To complete the puzzles, simply match the pictures to the correct number.
These puzzles are self-correcting, meaning the cut line is different for each rectangular puzzle. When children try to match a picture with a number, the two puzzles pieces will only fit together exactly if the math is correct.
This instant feedback is great for young children. It means they can correct their own errors and complete the puzzles with minimal adult help (which gives them a great confidence boost!).
Set 2: Gingerbread ten frames (1 to 20)
The second set of puzzles uses objects (in this case gingerbread people – I LOVE gingerbread!) arranged in ten frames.
Ten frames are an incredibly important tool for helping young children build number sense.
If you haven’t come across a ten frame before, it is basically ten boxes of equal size arranged in a 2 x 5 grid. Counters or objects can be placed in the ten frame to show each number to 10.
For example, the picture below shows four gingerbread people in a ten frame:
Working with ten frames helps children really get to grips with numbers to 10. It helps them to be able to compose and decompose numbers and helps them understand addition and subtraction within 10.
These gingerbread ten frame puzzles are a really fun and festive way to get children familiar with numbers to 20 shown in ten frames.
This second set of puzzles are also self correcting, so the ten frame picture will only match the correct number puzzle piece.
How to use these puzzles
If you will be using these Christmas number puzzles year after year (particularly if you’re using these for centers), I would definitely recommend laminating these.
Once you have cut out each of the rectangular puzzles, next cut each rectangle into two pieces along the wavy black line. Then, mix up all the puzzle pieces.
The challenge then is to put all the puzzles back together, matching each picture puzzle piece to its correct number.
With the gingerbread ten frame puzzles, you could split these 20 cards into two sets – start with numbers 1 to 10 and then move onto the 11 – 20 when your child or students are ready.
Where can I find these Christmas puzzles?
You can purchase your own set of these puzzles in my store HERE.
If you liked this post, why not pin it? Thanks for your help!
