Ten Day

So we do things the 'ten way'.  
You can do this any time of the year for a variety of ways of ten fun.  Somethings are too difficult on just the tenth day of kindergarten.

Fingerplay
The kids love this because we ham it up when we say "would you like to see?"
I HAVE TEN LITTLE FINGERS

I have    (point fingers/hands toward chest)
ten little fingers   (spread all fingers wide)
And they all belong belong to me.  ( point fingers to self)
I can make them do things
Would you like to see?

I can shut them up tight.   (close up fingers tightly)
Or open them wide      (spread fingers wide)
 I can put them together   (fingers together and palms together under chin)
Or make them all hide.   (put hands behind back)...like where are they?

I can make them jump high. (wiggle fingers and hands up...make voice high pitched when saying the word high) 
 I can make them go low.  (wiggle fingers and hands down..make voice low pitched when saying the word low)
I can fold them so quietly.   (fold hands together)
And hold them just so.   (sit down while putting hands in lap, criss-cross legs)
 (can make voice at a whisper soft level for last line)

1,2,3,4,5 
1,2,3,4,5 once I caught a fish alive.
6,7,8,9,10 then I let him go again.
Why did you let him go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did he bite?
This little finger on the right.

Finger Counting
Practice showing quantity of fingers 1,2,3...10.  This develops finger dexterity and control.

Then ask students to put hands behind their backs and say..
Show me....3 fingers and students show quickly.  

 
Plink counting  
You need a glass jar and some pennies.
Children should close their eyes and listen while you drop pennies into the jar.  Tell the children to open their eyes and ask a few how many pennies they think were put in the jar.
It is interesting that this is difficult for some children at first.  After a few students give their answer, say 'let's check it.'  With their eyes open now, take out the pennies and drop them in again while they count out loud.  
I do this ocassionally throughout the year, increasing the amount between 1-20. 

Counting stations
Set out items to count into groups of ten such as:
links to make a chain of 10
unifix cubes to make a stick of 10
1" wooden cubes to stack
lego blocks to stack
1" tiles
pennies to stack
cups to stack
beads on a string
And rotate the children to try counting  various manipulatives.  Clean up (take stacks apart) before moving to next counting station.

Art Centers
Using bingo dobbers, to make a picture or design using  only 10 dots.   Or make 10 dots and draw a picture around using the dots. 

Playdoh
Make 10 smooth balls.  Make 10 snakes or worms.  Make 10 small pancakes.

Toothpicks
Give students 10 toothpicks and challenge them to make something.    (2-d, 3-d)

Patterning
Make an AB, AAB, ABB pattern using bottle caps, colored cubes, shapes, etc.  Or challenge them to build a pattern and label it.  They must prove it is a pattern.  And they can only use up to the amount of 10 to show it. 

Songs of Ten
"Ten little Indians"  counting forward and backwards.
"Count Up Count down" song by Hap Palmer.

Game of counting in group.
Stand children in a circle or a long line and begin to count.  The child who says 10 has to sit down.  Continue until only one child is standing.

Stories
Ten Little Ladybugs 

Ten Black Dots 



Ten, Nine, Eight

Feast for 10



Dominoes
Challenge children to find a domino with 10 dots on it and record how many on each side that total 10.  
(4 and 6 make 10)

Dice
Using 1 die, roll and count dots.  Record how many dots from each roll.  Record number of dots with a different color until they reach 10.  Cannot go over 10 or they need to start over.  

Tug of Cubes
Students each count a stack of ten Unifix cubes.    
First player holds out their 10 stack and partner breaks stack and puts it behind their back.  First player has to figure out how many they took.  Count the number of cubes they have left.  (10 take away 3 left means that 7 were taken).  Partner shows the taken away stack and returns it.  Player two gets their turn.   Later in the year students can record their number sentence as 10-3 = 7.

Show and Tell 
Good old-fashion, show and tell.  Give the children a zip bag with instructions to put 10 things in it and bring it to school.  Are the items in the bag all the same?  What variety of collections of 10 did the children bring in?   Sort collections by color, edible or not, hard or soft, etc.

 The more they practice,

the better they get!