{FREE} Skittles Math: Place Value Mats

Help kids to see large numbers and make sense of decimals with this set of Skittles Math Place Value Mats! Kids use Skittles candy to build and manipulate numbers to understand place value.

My kids always get excited when they see me buy a big ol’ bag of Skittles candy. Why? Because they know it means we’re gearing up for some Skittles math! Although I have shared lots of Skittles math ideas in the past, especially for our little math learners, today I want to share some simple Skittles place value mats so older kids can get in on the fun too. That’s right, math with candy is fun! These place value activities help kids make sense of large numbers, as well as decimal values using Skittles candy. Learn more and grab the free set for yourself below!

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Materials Needed for Skittles Place Value Practice:

  • Fun size bag of Skittles for each student (or a small handful)
  • Skittles Place Value Mat of your choice for each student (included in the download)
  • “My Skittles Number” place value practice worksheet for each student (included in the download)
  • Pencil to record answers

Exploring Large Numbers with Skittles Candy:

The first set of pages focuses on large numbers to the ten thousands place.

To use, each color of Skittles candy represents a different place value. Kids take their handful of candies and sort them on their mat.

These then form a large number, based on how many they have for each place.

Using that value formed by the assortment of Skittles candy pieces, they can complete the “My Skittles Number” worksheet.

They then explore more than/less than questions based on the number they created with their Skittles.

If you’re kids are struggling to visualize or understand the questions, provide additional Skittles candies so that they can add or take away from their mat to see the new number.

Decimal Place Value with Skittles:

The next two place value mats in the download focus on decimal values. The first includes decimals to the hundredths place, while the second includes decimal values to the thousandths place.

They use the mat in the same way: sorting their Skittles by color, and using those colors to represent each place value.

There is then a “My Skittles Number” for each different mat.

Again, if kids are struggling to make sense of the decimal parts, let them add or remove Skittles from their mat to visualize how their number changes when tenths or hundredths are added, for instance.

I hope this provides a fun and unique way to see numbers and practice operations using place value.

If you’re interested in more Skittles math fun in grades 3-5, you might like my complete collection:

Do you need Skittles math for younger grades? Try these FREE activities:

Grab the Skittles math place value mats from my shop using the link below!

{Click HERE  to go to my shop to grab the FREE Skittles Math Place Value Mats!}

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