When I saw Dozen of Doughnuts (written by Carrie Finison and Illustrated by Brianne Farley) on another blog, I thought Jack might enjoy that book. It's two of his favorite things: doughnuts and counting. And Jack does love this book! His favorite part is when more guests appear, and he gets to make a door bell sound (think of that scene in Family Vacation when the in-laws arrive, haha). The illustrations are so good too; they make me want to eat the doughnuts right off the pages! Jack does count the doughnuts on the end pages and the ones in between, and that made me realize we could make our own counting doughnuts to accompany this book (light bulb, ding!). It's the perfect STEAM Activity for anyone who loves doughnuts and math!
You'll Need
Cardboard, construction paper, or card stock
Markers or other coloring items
Large glass and small glass (or other circular items of varying sizes to trace)
Scissors
Instructions
1) Using a large glass, trace a circle onto cardboard. Note: I reused cardboard we had from another box, but if you're kids are helping, then I recommend construction paper or card stock, as these materials are easier to cut than cardboard.
2) Using a smaller glass, or in my case a Play-Doh rolling pin, trace a smaller circle in the middle of the the larger circle. Should look like, well a doughnut.
3) Color your doughnuts.
4) Label the doughnuts with numbers. I choose to do 12's to help practice counting by the dozens, but you can choose 1's, 5's, 10's; whatever numbers your child needs to practice or has an interest in.
5) Cut out the doughnuts. Note: I had to use a crafting knife to cut the center out of the doughnuts, so again, I recommend construction paper or card stock for young kids who are helping to cut the doughnuts.
And there you have it, counting doughnuts! These doughnuts can also be used in other play, like pretend kitchen or food truck (which Jack has made a cardboard food truck), so I love it when there's multipurpose to a STEAM activity! Also, Dozens of Doughnuts is a really fun book that leaves plenty of room for budding mathematicians to discover various ways to count (by 1's, by 5's, by dozens, etc), it really is the perfect combo of doughnuts and math, so I highly recommend everyone go to your local library and check the book out today (or go buy it from your local book store if you'd like to buy instead of borrow)! Happy STEAM-ing everyone!
