100 Chickens Preschool Counting Activity

My daughter loves watching Peg and Cat on TV so naturally when I saw The Chicken Problem by Jennifer Oxley (affiliate) at my local library last week, I had to grab it for my preschooler. After reading it I instantly had an idea for a fun 100 chickens preschool counting activity. Since book-inspired activities are our absolute favorite, I knew it would be a huge hit with my preschooler. Not only does the activity work on counting to 100 but it is great for working those fine motor muscles by moving all of the chickens around and pinching the clothespins. I also added an emphasis on counting by 10’s to our activity which is a great exercise for helping preschoolers count from 1 to 100 all by themselves.

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The Chicken Problem by Jennifer Oxley
Full of humor, refreshingly original characters, and math problems that young readers will be clamoring to help solve, The Chicken Problem is an ideal addition to the home or classroom. Left-brained Peg and her right-brained pal, Cat, are enjoying a picnic on the farm with Pig. However, when someone leaves the chicken coop open and the chicks run-a-muck, it’s up to Peg and Cat to use their math skills to help solve their poultry predicament. -Amazon

How to Set up your 100 Chickens Preschool Counting Activity

Supplies:
– large tray
– split peas
– 100 yellow poms
– 10 wood clothespins
– small tongs
– black marker
– small cardboard box
– brown and silver marker (optional)
– small plastic container (we used an empty fruit cup)

Directions:
To get your counting activity ready, start by pouring a layer of split peas into the bottom of your tray. Gather a small cardboard box to use for your chicken coop. I used a tea box and covered it in cardboard. Then draw chicken coop doors on the front of your box with your brown and silver markers.

Write number 10, 20, 30, 40 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 on your wood clothespins. Attach them to the side of your tray. Scatter your yellow poms all around your tray and place your small tongs inside. We added some tiny googly eyes to a few of our chickens but this step is optional. Now your preschool counting activity is all ready for play.

How to Play with the 100 Chickens Preschool Counting Activity

First, make sure to read The Chicken Problem by Jennifer Oxley. After we read the book my daughter took one look at the activity I had set up and knew exactly how to get started. Count and gather 10 chickens into your small plastic container. Then put the chickens back into the chicken coop. To keep track of how many you’ve gathered, add a 10’s clothespin every time you add a new bucket of 10 chickens.

Continue gathering the chicken by groups of 10 and add them back to the chicken coop until you have collected all 100 chickens. Not only was this a great activity for my preschool counting activity to practice counting by 10’s to 100, but it also was a great visualizer of how many makes up 10, 20, 30, etc. and 100. After the activity my daughter had fun using the tray for imaginative play, playing with all of the little chickens.