If you’re looking for an engaging Christmas-themed activity that will develop your students’ fine motor skills whilst simultaneously building their confidence with basic addition, this is the game for you!   This colourful resource include six eye-catching activity mats, making it ideal for a small group rotation! Choose from the following themes:

1. Christmas tree
2. Gingerbread house
3. Gifts
4. Wreath
5. Ornament
6. Stocking.

  To complete this task, each student requires a Roll and Decorate mat, two dice, tongs or tweezers and a bowl of pom poms (alternatively, you can use counters, sequins or beads). Students will roll the two dice, add the numbers and use the key at the top of the mat to determine which colour pom pom they must collect. They will use tongs or tweezers to select the correct coloured pom pom and place it on one of the mat’s white circles.   In addition to the colourful templates, we have included a black and white version of each mat that can be used as a fun worksheet or as evidence of students’ learning. To use this template, students will need to colour in the dice key at the top of the page and use these colours to colour the white circles on the Christmas-themed image.   As this activity will require students to demonstrate their familiarity with colours and numbers, we suggest that you seize the opportunity to ask meaningful questions throughout the task, such as:

1. How many pom poms are on your mat?
2. How many yellow pom poms do you have?
3. Do you have more green or purple pom poms?
4. How many more pom poms do you need until your mat is filled?
5. Which colour do you have the most (or least) of?
6. What doubles fact can help you work out the answer?
7. Will the answer be more or less than 10?

  We recommend enlarging the activity mats to A3 and printing on thick card for longevity.   It's time to get decorating!