As a teacher I loved investing in some great math manipulatives for use in my classroom. During our math lessons and centers, I could see students benefit from using little objects to count, sort, etc. Kids grasp other early math concepts much easier with fun and colorful math manipulatives like these farm animal counters. Little learners will love using these farm animal counters to learn counting, patterns, shapes and more.
Handy Storage Tip We love these easy to clean flat trays for learning activities or crafts and they are perfect as a classroom staple. The mini round storage baskets are not only great for organization, but for learning time in centers as well. For the farm animal counter math, these round storage baskets make the perfect coral for the horses, pen for the pigs, pond for the ducks or barn for the cows! Kid's love to use their imagination as they learn! 
Before beginning the learning activities, I love to let students feel and play with the farm animals. I will give them just a couple of minutes for this "warm up." 
1. Counting with Farm Animal Counters Using colorful craft sticks, write numbers on top of each one. Try adding dots to match that number. This is a great way for kids to understand the number. 
Place a number stick in each storage bin, and let kids count out farm animals to match the number. 
2. Sorting with Farm Animal Counters Sorting is so much fun for kids. I love how the color of the farm animal counters coordinate with the colors of round storage baskets. 
Let the kids try different ways to sort. With the farm animal counters, you can sort by: color, animal, size, hooves/no hooves, long tail/short tail, what the animals eat, etc. We love the farm treat boxes that you can use to sort horses into the barn, or sheep into the stable. These farm boxes also make a great place to store the farm animals. 
3. Patterns with Farm Animal Counters Kids will love creating patterns with the farm animal counters. Try AB, ABC, AABB, etc. patterns. The easy clean flat trays are perfect for this math activity and help keep the animals from falling on the floor or getting mixed up. 
4. More Than, Less Than with Farm Animal Counters Place some animals in two round baskets. Using the craft sticks, create a greater than or fewer than symbol to show which basket has more/less animals. 
5. Number Sentences with Farm Animal Counters Kids can visually create number sentences with the animals and craft sticks. Use the craft sticks to create plus, minus and equal signs. 
6. Farm Animal Addition and Subtractions Stories: Addition and Subtractions stories are so fun for kids to tell with farm animal counters. You can tell the kids stories too and watch as their little minds grasp the addition or subtraction problem. Some fun examples are: Addition: Three ducks are swimming in a pond. Three more ducks splash in! How many ducks in all are in the pond? 
Subtraction: 8 Pigs were in the pig pen, and Jack accidentally left the gate open! 3 ESCAPED! How many pigs are left in the pig pen? 
7. Shapes with Farm Animals: Let kids create their own animal corrals, barns, or pens with shapes. Try making triangles, squares, pentagons and hexagons. 
