Skittles Math: Count and Graph! {FREE Printables!}
There’s no doubt about it, math is bound to be more fun when it’s hands-on. There are countless materials you can use as manipulatives for counting and sorting, but my favorite, BY FAR, is candy! Obviously, this can not be an everyday occurrence, (though my son asks for “Skittles Math” everyday). But as a once in a while treat, it’s the best!
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I’ve shared my love of combining math and candy before, so if you’re looking for some ways to use Skittles with older kids, check out this post for how I used them for multiplication, and read here about how we used them to think about fractions.
Today, I want to share some resources that I used with my kids (Kindergarten and First grade) to work on some important early math skills. With a handful of Skittles
First, I simply gave them a large handful of Skittles
Then, we graphed each color on a bar graph to discuss and compare. We talked about “more than,” “less than,” and “equal to,” as well as simple addition problems, such as, “What’s the total number of red and yellow?”
Then, I gave them each exactly eight Skittles
Again, we used the graph to discuss “greatest” and “least,” compare the number of various colors, as well as talk about what “equal” means. We then compared the two types of graphs. How do we see the “greatest” and “least” on the bar graph? How do we see the “greatest” and “least” on the circle graph?
This would also be an excellent way to discuss fractions, make equivalent fractions and compare the fractions of each color.
Both pages of graphs have a few questions on them, but there is so much more to discuss among the different graphs. So get your kids talking and explaining their thinking!
Want to grab this whole set of “Skittles Math” sorting and graphing printables? Just click the link below!
{Click HERE to go to my shop and download the complete Skittles Count and Graph set!}
*These activities have been updated and included in my huge Skittles Hands On Math Bundle for grades PreK-1! Get the full lesson pack today!*
What do you think? Do your kids enjoy learning math with Skittles or other kinds of candy? What are your favorite”Skittles Math” topics to explore?
Sounds like a great idea for us… also, what about edible Venn diagrams? I remember learning about them with boring plastic shapes – triangles, squares and circles in different colors and sizes.
Interesting idea! Candy makes anything more fun 🙂
Love this idea, i know it would grab my childrens attention. I am going to check out your fractions with candy post for my son.
Thanks for linking #LetKidsBeKids
My daughter would love this, she loves doing fractions and graphs. As her mother, I would probably change it from Skittles to perhaps berries. 😛 I know I’m a party pooper but she does love berries so still win win :). Although they might get a little messy on the paper so perhaps we’d resort to buttons lol. Thanks for the free printables, I downloaded them.
Ha! Yeah I understand, candy is not something that we use very often at all, but it provides a nice change of pace and gets the kids excited 🙂 But yes, buttons or pom poms would work well too! Enjoy!
Super cute idea! All I saw were the Skittles and had to check this post out! My kids will love this and want to do it all the time. I’ll probably switch between Skittles and homemade gummies snacks to keep the sugar highs down. Great idea and thanks for the free printables.
Ha! Yes, my son asks for “skittles math” everyday (but obviously it’s not something we do everyday. Or every week)…I like the idea of homemade gummy snacks though! I’ll have to look into that because my kids love gummmies, but I don’t buy them! Hope you guys have fun with this 🙂
Love the use of skittles! Our son prefers little chocolate chips when he’s doing math. Thanks so much for sharing at Let Kids Be Kids Linky!
Oh yes, my kids would love chocolate chips too! 🙂
Hi! we had a great time with the skittles math count and graph. Love all of your resources. Have featured you in my blog post
http://colorsofourrainbow.blogspot.ae/2015/09/learning-math-with-popsicle-sticks.html?showComment=1442126944327#c7655851182229553215
Thanks for sharing.
how can i get these pages?
nevermind, i found it 🙂
Glad you found it! If you have any other questions, let me know 🙂
how do I print the printable without buying them?
Hi Emily!
The freebie is in my store, you simply add it to the cart and check out. No need to enter payment info or go through paypal, though, because it is free. Hope this helps! 🙂