Any March Madness fans out there?
Basketball seems to be everywhere right now — and limiting my TV watching in the evenings right now for sure! For all the younger sports fans who cannot seem to get enough of all the hoops action, these printable basketball shots counting mats are a perfect addition to the fun! Easily practice number recognition up to 12, while counting using one to one correspondence with this free set of basketball shots counting mats!
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Basketball Shots Counting Mats 1-12
This printable set of basketball shots counting mats includes 12 basketball hoops with a basketball player. Each basket and player features a number, indicating how many basketball shots have been taken!
Simply download and print the file below. I like to print my counting mats on white cardstock and laminate them before showing them to my preschoolers. This gives them more durability for my 3 year-olds’ little hands! If you don’t have a laminator (you should order this one if you don’t!), you can always use plastic page protectors too.
HINT: Have your child count out 12 pretend basketballs before playing. This will help set your child up for success instead of being overwhelmed by a huge pile of pom poms.
We used orange pom poms for this counting activity. You could also use play dough balls, orange Skittles or M&M’s, or even just orange circles cut out of paper to count out the basketball shots taken!
Make sure the counting mats are printed and cut apart. Now it’s time to play!
In my classroom, we count in a rhythm that probably sounds over exaggerated to an adult, but it works with preschoolers (and new counters!). With each pom pom basketball placed on a counting mat, count a number.
Place and count, place and count, place and count. Do this all the way to the correct number of basketball shots on the card.
Count the basketballs as they are placed on the mat, AND THEN count the basketballs as they are taken back OFF the mat! This adds more practice without adding any extra materials to the activity.
Keeping things simple makes putting activities together easier for you, so you end up doing them more often!
Loving the sports theme as much as we do? You must check out my SPORTS FANS math and literacy matching cards (simply print, cut, and play!) in my shop over on TpT.
ramirez_favi says
August 15, 2018 at 2:47 pmHi, I’m trying to download the basketball counting mats and for some reason it will not download. any way you could help? I would greatly appreciate it!
Nicole Franklin says
August 18, 2018 at 9:36 pmMake sure your adobe reader is up to date so that the pdf can open in the window. 🙂