# 3 Fall Leaf Math Activities for Number Recognition
> Three cornmeal sensory bins with a fall theme: dig up and brush off numbered leaves and acorns, sort numbered fall objects into matching baskets, and count leaves beside number blocks. Best for kids who are learning and practicing their numbers.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/fall-themed-math-activities-for-kids/
- Ages: 2–5 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium
- Time: prep 20 min, activity 20 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group · one batch serves about 2 kids
- Skills: number-recognition, counting, sorting, fine-motor, sensory-exploration
- Cautions: corn, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- Cornmeal
- 1 piece Wooden crate or sensory bin
- Fall leaves table scatter
- Silk leaves
- Plastic acorns
- Plastic pumpkins and squash
- Cinnamon sticks
- 2 piece Small paper baskets
- 5 piece Wooden blocks
- 1 piece Pastry brush (household)
- 1 piece Tongs or tweezers (optional)
- 1 piece Permanent marker (household)

## Substitutions
- Instead of wooden blocks: Any numbers: plastic, wooden or foam numbers, or index cards with numbers on them (Suggested by the author.)
- Instead of tongs: Tweezers (Listed by the author as an alternative.)

## Safety
- Plastic acorns, small pumpkins and squash, cinnamon sticks and leaf scatter are small parts and a choking hazard for toddlers. Supervise closely the whole time.
- Cornmeal is a food, but it's a play base here, not a snack. Discourage eating it and keep it away from eyes.
- Adult writes the numbers with permanent marker. Let the ink dry fully before play.
- Check for corn allergies before using a cornmeal base.

## Before you start
- Write numbers on the leaves, plastic acorns and cinnamon sticks with a permanent marker, and let them dry.
- For activity 3, write numbers on wooden blocks.
- For activity 2, note which numbers your child struggled with in activity 1.

## Steps
1. Pour cornmeal into a wooden crate or sensory bin.
2. Hide the numbered leaves and acorns in the cornmeal. Add 2 small paper baskets, a pastry brush and tongs.
3. Let your child feel and play with the cornmeal first.
4. Find the hidden numbers, brush off the cornmeal and call each number out loud.
5. Drop the numbers into the baskets.
6. On another day, label baskets with the tricky numbers. Mix in numbered cinnamon sticks, acorns, leaves, pumpkins and squash.
7. Pick up each item, read its number and sort it into the matching basket.
8. For the counting game, stand number blocks in the cornmeal and count out leaves for each number.

## Tips
- With access to fun stuff like cornmeal and tongs, kids may want to just feel and play with the base. My 3-year-old did just that first. Once I let her explore the materials, she wanted to do the learning activity on her own.
- She was instantly attracted to the pastry brush and left the tongs alone. Brushing off her numbers while calling them out became her favorite part.
- Do the first activity a couple of times to learn which numbers give your child trouble, then use just those numbers in the sorting bin.
- This activity can easily be adapted, and you can do it with materials you already have on hand.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013)

: Fall themed number recognition activities for older toddlers. Once again we are doing a themed learning activity! What's not to love? Kids love the change of seasons and holidays and enjoy welcoming the new season. I take advantage of their natural curiosity and excitement over anything new *( in this case fall activities and crafts)* and set up an easy sensory based [**math activities for kids -**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/math-play/) there are 3 of them. These [**math activities for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/math-play/) are best suitable for children who are learning and practicing their numbers. **Materials** *This kids activity can easily be adapted and can be done with materials you can have on hand.*

- Silk Leaves
- Plastic acorns
- Plastic pumpkins and squash
- Leaves table scatter
- Small paper baskets
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Wooden Blocks
- Pastry Brush
- Tongs/tweezers
- Cornmeal
- Wooden Crate

**Math Activity with leaves and acorns # 1** **Leaf Picking Small World Sensory Activities** This simple invitation to learn and play uses [**cornmeal as the base.**](https://www.funlittles.com/tag/cornmeal/) In it went fall leaves table scatter (available widely at stores like Target and Wal-Mart) I used a permanent marker to write down the numbers on the leaves and plastic acorns. The sensory bin also had 2 small paper baskets and a pastry brush. I hid a few glass leaves in the cornmeal and had my 3 year old come over to find those hidden numbers



The following images will show the process. She was instantly attracted to the pastry brush and left the tongs alone! She pulled out the numbers, examined them and I showed her that she can use the brush to wipe off the cornmeal. Ooh that part became her favorite... She meticulously brushed off all her numbers while calling them out. Next step was to simply drop then in the bags. She was so excited to fill up her "baby bags" (that's what she called them) with acorns and leaves.

vc_gallery type="flexslider_fade" interval="3" images="10714,10716,10717,10710" onclick="link_image" custom_links_target="_self" img_size="500*332" **Math Activity # 2** **Numbers Sorting** After we did the previous one a couple of times I knew which numbers were giving her trouble. To reinforce just those I set out another sensory bin on another day. I wrote those numbers along with a variety of materials - cinnamon sticks, acorns, leaves and pumpkins& squash. My 3 year old was invited to play sorting in the sensory bin. Repeatedly picking up the numbers, examining them and sorting them helped her with her number recognition skills.   **Math Activity # 3** **Counting Math Game** This one was a basic counting exercise. I wrote down the numbers on wooden blocks ( you can use any numbers - plastic, wooden, foam, index cards with numbers on them)



*Notes: With access to fun stuff like corn meal (which is GREAT for [**sensory bins**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/sensory-bins/)) and tongs, kids may want to just feel and play with the base. My 3 year did just that first. Once I let her explore the materials she voluntarily wanted to engage in the learning activity.*

**Thanks for reading**

For more [**math activities for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/math-play/) visit out category page

For sensory activities where we used [**corn meal**](https://www.funlittles.com/tag/cornmeal/) as the base click on the blue link.

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