Caroline
I have been working with my preschooler on recognizing her teen numbers and number 20. She can count them out loud proficiently, but we’ve needed some extra practice with recognizing those tricky teen numbers. As a form of practice, I made this Valentine’s Day themed Numbers Heart Lacing Activity. I love how it is not only number practice, but also incorporates working on fine motor skills with the lacing aspect of it.
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Supplies needed:
- Number Heart PrintableÂ
- white heavy cardstock paper
- 1/4-inch hole punch
- red yarn
- masking tape or washi tape
- scissors
Tutorial:
1. Print & cut out printable
Print off the Number Heart Printable on white heavy cardstock paper and cut out the heart shape.
2. Punch circles around heart
Use your hole punch to punch out all the white circles around the heart.
3. Prepare your yarn
Cut a section of red yarn about 11 feet long. Wrap some masking tape around one end of the yarn to make the lacing easier.
4. Tape yarn to the heart shape
Bring the red yarn up through the number 1 and tape the end of the yarn on the back of the heart. Now your child is ready to start lacing their heart.
5. Lace around heart
Bring the lace down from the front of the heart and then up from the back of the heart, lacing in order from 1-20 around the heart.
I sat right with my daughter while she laced her heart to assist her with the string if she needed it at all. She laced through to 10 easily, but then got stuck on the teen numbers a bit just as I suspected she would. It was great practice for her to count out loud to figure out what number went next and then to find that number on the heart.
6. Cut excess and tape to the back
Once your child is finished lacing to 20, cut off any excess string and tape the end of the string to the back of the heart.
This activity is great for working on numbers up to 20 but it also couples as a fun craft once it’s fully laced. Hang it up on the fridge or somewhere in your home for your preschooler to be proud of her work.
As mentioned at the top, I made variations of the printable by request. You can also find a black and white version and a numbers 1-20 version of the printable now.
