As the days get longer, my kids are spending more and more time outside. And with the warmer evenings comes one of my kids’ favorite activities: catching fireflies! Inspired by their love for catching these glowing bugs, I created a simple,Firefly Make 10 Math Game to play together! This game helps kids practice counting, adding and subtracting and is super easy to set up and play.
Firefly Make 10 Math Game
This fun, summer themed Firefly Make 10 Math Game is such a great way for preschool, kindergarten, and first graders to practice math.
Materials Needed to Play Firefly Catch:
- Instructions and spinner (included)
- Printable jar for each player (included)
- Printable firefly cards, cut apart (included)
- Paper clip and paper fastener (or pencil) to assemble the spinner
To set up the game, simply print the game pieces (BOTH color and black and white are included in the download) and assemble the spinner. Then you’re ready to play!
The object of this game is to be the first to “catch” ten fireflies.
To do so, players take turns spinning:
- If they land on a picture of fireflies, they can add that many to their jar.
- If they land on a space that says, “___ flew away,” they subtract that many from their jar.
- And if they land on “The top came off!” then, uh-oh! They remove all the fireflies from their jar because they all got away!
The first player to catch exactly ten fireflies wins. This means that if they have 8 already and spin a 3, they can’t do anything and play moves to the next player.
This game is a wonderful way for kids of multiple ages to explore math together. Preschoolers can practice counting, while older kids can practice adding and subtracting (have them find their total as they go by saying things like, “You have 6, but 2 flew away. How many will you have now?”).
This can also be a great way for kids to practice recognizing the number bonds of ten. Ask questions such as, “How many do you need now to make ten?” or, “If you have 6 right now, what are some different combinations you could spin to reach ten?”
If you have older ones, encourage them to use their mental math skills rather than re-counting their fireflies after each turn!
If you enjoy this game and like to combine math with reading, you may also enjoy this game to play along with the book, Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss!
No matter the ages of your kids, I hope you take some time to enjoy math together through play; it’s one of the best ways to learn!
Counting Activities for Kids
- Barnyard Counting Clip Card (Counting 1-10)
- Pumpkin Math Kindergarten Addition Practice
- Bugs Counting to 30 Activities
- Fingerprint Activity Sheet
- Bowling Counting Cards
- Catch 20 Bug Counting Game
- Firefly Printable Math Game
- Free Hungry Caterpillar Flashcards
- Number Mats (use with playdough, lego, stickers, etc.)
- Free Printable Number Puzzles
- Number Train Printable Math Activity for counting 1-20
- Plant a Number Line to 10
- Safari Count to 30 Game
- Spring Math Activities for Preschoolers
- Sunflower Seed Counting
- Counting to 100 games
- Skip Counting Chart
- Pizza Counting Game
- FUN Goldfish Printable Counting Cards
- Counting Farm Animals Worksheet 1-10
- Count to 10 Bingo Dauber Printables
- Counting Snowman Printables
- Monster Counting with Google eyes
- Lego Numbers – Printable Duplo Mats to count and trace
Download Firefly Make 10 Math Game
Before you download your free pack you agree to the following:
- This set is for personal and classroom use only.
- This printable set may not be sold, hosted, reproduced, or stored on any other website or electronic retrieval system.
- Graphics Purchased and used with permission
- All downloadable material provided on this blog is copyright protected.
