Allow your young learners to play, explore, count and create with these Watermelon Counting Mats. Bursting with colour and fun, these mats are an engaging and hands-on way to support early number learning in a playful setting.

Each mat features a juicy slice of watermelon with a numeral from 1 to 10. Students are encouraged to roll and shape play dough into seeds and place the correct number onto each slice. This activity helps build number recognition and supports one-to-one correspondence, as students physically match the number of seeds to the number on the mat.

Beyond numeracy, these mats offer valuable fine motor practise. Pinching, rolling, and shaping the play dough into seeds strengthens the small muscles in the hands and fingers, essential for pencil grip, scissor use, and overall classroom readiness. This activity also promotes bilateral coordination, helping students practise the controlled, two-handed movements required for everyday tasks like dressing, writing and manipulating tools.

Key Learning Outcomes

• ✅ Practise counting and quantity matching from 1 to 10
• ✅ Reinforce number recognition and one-to-one correspondence
• ✅ Strengthen fine motor muscles and hand-eye coordination
• ✅ Build confidence through hands-on, tactile number play

What’s Included

• 10 watermelon-themed counting mats (numbers 1–10)
• Each mat features a number and large watermelon slice
• Full-colour and printer-friendly black and white versions

Materials Needed

• Printed mats (laminated or in write-and-wipe sleeves)
• Play dough in black or brown for watermelon seeds
• Optional: small black buttons, pom poms, or dried beans as alternatives

How to Use

1. Select a mat with a number from 1 to 10
2. Students roll play dough into small seed shapes
3. Place the correct number of seeds on the watermelon slice
4. Encourage students to count aloud as they add each seed
5. Rotate mats or use during small group or centre time

Ideas for Classroom Use

• 💡 Use in fine motor stations, numeracy rotations, or early finisher tasks
• 💡 Add to a summer or healthy eating theme unit
• 💡 Create a class graph of favourite fruits after using the mats
• 💡 Encourage students to draw their own watermelon slices and show matching seeds

Top Teacher Tips

• 💛 Store mats and dough in zip-lock bags for easy grab-and-go centres
• 💛 Laminate and use with whiteboard markers for students to draw seeds instead
• 💛 Challenge students to use different coloured dough to represent addition stories (e.g. 3 black + 2 brown = 5 seeds)

These Watermelon Counting Mats are a fresh and fun way to support your students’ early number knowledge while boosting their fine motor development. Perfect for classroom use across the year, they’re as versatile as they are engaging.