Don't Let the Cows Out

In math we play a game called "Don't Let the Cows Out" to practice math facts. The students sit in a circle, "the fence", while two "ranchers" go in the middle of the circle. They use two large dice, "the cows", throw in the middle. The first "rancher" to add the two dice together correctly stays in the circle while the other goes to sit down. If the "cows" go outside of the fence, they both are out. This little trick deters the kids from throwing the dice to far and keeps the game from getting out of control.

Dice Addition

I recently saw an idea online about keeping dice in plastic baby food containers for the students to use as addition practice. While in my hometown for the Christmas break, I came across small colorful containers at a dollar store. They were perfect for the dice. Each student has their own container with two dice in it. They shake the dice and practice adding the two numbers together. The students keep the dice containers in a basket on their table where they also keep phonics books and practice clocks. The materials in these desk baskets are used for when the students finish work early.