Dinosaur Counting Activity with Math Links {Free Printable}

Inside: a free printable dinosaur counting activity that uses connecting link math manipulatives. This would make a fun hands-on math center for preschool or kindergarten.

dinosaur counting activity cards with connect links

Today’s activity comes from Yara at Sea of Knowledge. I’m super excited to share it with you today!

Dinosaur Counting Activity

Looking for a fun way to get kids to count and show their numbers? These fun dinosaur-themed plastic link cards are perfect for that!

Learners will identify the number on each dinosaur card and then find that many plastic links and build a ‘tail’ for the dinosaur on the card.

(Disclosure: Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.)


Materials & Preparation

You’ll need to get your hands on some connecting math links to do this activity. These are such fun and versatile math manipulatives.

closeup of connect links plastic math manipulatives

You’ll need the following materials:

  • Plastic math links (We have these links from Amazon – affiliate – and they’re perfect!)
  • Hole puncher
  • Scissors
  • Printout of the activity (scroll all the way to the end of the post to download it)
  • Laminator, or you can use clear contact paper (affiliate)

To prepare your dinosaur counting activity, here’s what you’ll need to do:

  1. Print as many dinosaur card puzzles as you need for the number of students in your class (you could play these in groups).
  2. Cut out the cards and laminate them so you can use them over and over.
  3. Use a hole puncher to make holes where the guide is shown on each card.
  4. . Place the cards in a sealable zip-top bag or use a rubber band to keep these puzzles together for easy use. You can also use the little compartment boxes that can perfectly store these cards along with plastic links.

Activity Instructions

The students will identify the numeral on the dinosaur card, and then they’ll look for and find that number of plastic links to attach to the card to make a ‘tail’.

dinosaur counting activity cards with connect links

If you’d like to use these with younger preschoolers, you can definitely do so with numbers up to five. If they aren’t ready to count just yet, a great alternative activity is to place the dinosaur cards with attached”tails” into a sensory bin. Have your little ones get the cards from the tub and then identify the numbers on the cards.

This activity can easily be differentiated with your learners. The younger kids can work on identifying numbers, another goup can work on counting up to 5 or 10, and more advanced learners can practice counting up to 20.

dinosaur counting activity cards with connect links

This activity is hands-on and perfect for kids to use when they need a refresher or some more counting games and activities. Kids will love counting using links! What a great way to reinforce a love of learning math and counting.

Related Activities

If you’re looking for more dinosaur theme activities, you might like the Dinosaur Personalized Readers or Dinosaur Alphabet Activities in my store:

dinosaur emergent reader

UPDATE: You might also like one of these newer related products:

You might also like some other activities that use plastic math links. Karen from ABC’s of Literacy has a fun Connect Links Rhyming Activity printable free on her blog that you might like.

And stay tuned, because I’ve started working on my own unique take with these highly engaging manipulatives. (It’s finished! See above.)

Finally, if you’re planning a dinosaur unit, you might also like these popsicle stick dinosaur crafts here on this site.

How to Download the Counting Activity

To grab your copy of the dinosaur tails printable, sign up here:

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    dinosaur counting activity cards with connect links

    You Might Also Like: Dive Into Literacy

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    This huge bundle of engaging and educational activities will keep your kids learning this summer and throughout the year.

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    3 Comments

    1. This looks like a great activity for my preschool students. Thanks for posting. I’m excited to get the printable and use them with my students

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