DIY Felt Flower Counting Activity
Does the cost of traditional Montessori number cards feel a little overwhelming? Good news: You can make a beautiful number card activity with small felt flowers that can be used for color matching and shape matching!
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Materials:
felt (in any colors you’d like. I love Benzie Design’s felt, but any felt will do.)
black embroidery floss and needle OR a hot glue gun
floral metal die cuts (I used these)
Cricut Cuttlebug or similar hand-crank die cutter and embosser
a printer and cardstock for the cards
this free printable for bilingual English/French cards (it’s editable, so you can use whichever languages you’d like!)
Follow this picture tutorial for this DIY!
Why I Love These Materials
I love traditional Montessori materials, but let’s face it - it’s a lot of wood. I love wood. It’s warm, beautiful, and really makes Little Guy’s shelves feel natural and earthy. However, having a variety of textures and shapes to manipulate is delightful and keeps the shelf from becoming too monotonous. This is why I try to include felt and fabric elements in every shelf.
How To Use This Activity
Model. (I do)
Take out the 1 card.
Point to the number 1 and say “one.” Then, say it in the second language of your choice (make sure to edit the cards if you don’t want French and English!)
Repeat this with all numbers.
(I recommend starting with 1-3 if this is the first introduction to numbers).
Select a flower from the basket and place it on the dot for the 1 card.
Invite. (We do)
Repeat steps one and two from the modeling step with the 2 card.
Invite your little one to select two flowers and place them on the dots.
This is really hard! Make sure you narrate/sportscast what your little one is doing.
Observe. (You do)
Allow your child to work through the rest of the cards on their own.
Stay nearby and tell them what each number is in both languages as they work with each card.
Review
After your child has worked with these a bit, repeat the modeling step.
Check for understanding by asking your child to point to each number.
“Where is the number 1?”
if correct: “You pointed to the number 1!”
if incorrect: “You pointed to the number 3.”
Repeat the modeling step, then leave it alone for a bit. Move on to a different activity.