Building up number sense, including number recognition and counting, takes a lot of time and practice. Since we always aim to make learning fun, we were excited to pull out this playful batch of fall counting puzzles!

Snag your set below and then hop over and grab our best-selling Number Formation Sheets in our shop!

Getting Ready

These counting puzzles were pretty low-prep (which is always a great time-saver) and if you laminate it, you can save it again for next fall, too!

I printed out the two pages of puzzles, laminated them and then cut them apart on the solid lines for the puzzle pieces.

I store them in a Ziploc bag when we aren’t using them, but when we are playing with them in a center, I put them out on a tray or in a basket to make them more inviting. The squirrels and acorns on the cards make them a great set to use all fall long in the classroom and are an engaging theme for my students as we change into a new season.

Fall Counting Puzzles

If your kids are ready to work on numbers to 12 like mine were, you can print and use all of the puzzles at once.

If your students are working on recognizing numbers to 5 or on counting smaller sets, you could print a few copies of just the first page to give them repetitive practice with those numbers they are learning.

My students were ready to tackle all of the numbers, so we began by first ordering the squirrels in order from 1 to 12. This gave us great practice with number order, and some practice with counting past 10 (11 and 12 can be tricky numbers as they are before the “teen” names begin.)

After we ordered the squirrels, we took turns drawing acorn cards, counting them up one by one and finding their match.

We kept playing until all of the squirrels “had their food” as the kids liked to say!  The counting puzzles were a fall hit.

Grab Your Download

Ready to match up some squirrels and acorns while working on number sense? Snag your set below and then hop over and grab our best-selling Number Formation Sheets in our shop!

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4 Comments

  1. thank you so much! I just started working at a new school for autistic children and I’m working with the lower functioning preschoolers and this will be a cute way to see what they know. Not to mention a fun and cute way to learn to count. Thanks again.

    1. Hooray Lizzi! I am so happy you found us and hopefully some inspiration for your classroom!
      Stay inspired!
      Kimberleigh // Community Manager Playdough to Plato

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