Skittles to teach numbers and colors!

[ashley0323]

Let me start by saying, I have three toddlers, and make it a daily goal to try to teach new things. I always started counting and colors very early on. One thing I have found that works great is skittles! Yes, the candy. In each skittles bag, there is a variety of color in each.. Start with a pile of skittles and have your child seperate them by color, then have them count each pile of each color! Its fun for them, since they can eat them, and it truly does help! It has helped 2 out of my 3 children, my youngest is only one though!

 

[SirJoe]

That is the best way to teach kids. They really do learn quickly if they are taught this way and it does build interest in them. There are people that do criticizes the reward system but that doesn't mean that it doesn't work.

 

[rz3300]

Well when it comes to getting the attention of the little ones, I have found that candy i usually a good route to go. Of course too much is not good, because before you know it all the sugar has them bouncing off the walls. I remember when I first started working with kids I assumed that they reacted to sugar the same way I did, which was not that much, but I was quick to learn that that was not the case. Skittles are good, same with M&M's and others, and it is always nice to have those on hand. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Alumno]

Well, it would be really interactive and also it's going to motivate the kids to successfully count the candies to finally eat them, it's really a good strategy to encourage kids on learning how to count and the basic mathematical operations, that is definitely going to help them in the future, however, you could make them count anything they may be interested on, not just skittles, just saying

 

[gracer]

This just shows the limitless ways of teaching our children in techniques that work specially for them. Although I have not done it with my little boy who's now in grade school, I think that this technique can indeed be very interactive and effective in gaining the attention of your children. They learn and enjoy at the same time and I think that's what's important at this stage of their lives. Thank you so much for sharing about your technique.

 

[SirJoe]

This just shows the limitless ways of teaching our children in techniques that work specially for them. Although I have not done it with my little boy who's now in grade school, I think that this technique can indeed be very interactive and effective in gaining the attention of your children. They learn and enjoy at the same time and I think that's what's important at this stage of their lives. Thank you so much for sharing about your technique.

When I was young my mom found a really cool way to teach me colours and the different animals. There were these biscuits that had different coloured backgrounds with animal silhouettes on them. I honestly don't remember learning it but my mom says that I really enjoyed it and actually ended up learning quit quickly. They weren't the same as these bit similar to them.

 

[gracer]

Those are just the cutest SirJoe! I could imagine how you enjoyed learning about different animals through this technique and enjoying your reward by eating them. We also buy a similar kind of biscuit snacks here called "Animal Bites". Here's the picture of the snack with different animal-shaped biscuits coated with chocolate. My son also loved eating this snack identifying each shape before eating them. I appreciate these kinds of snacks because I think they help in unconsciously teaching children about things while they enjoy eating.

Photo Courtesy of www.philamfood.com

 

[Guy]

Let me start by saying, I have three toddlers, and make it a daily goal to try to teach new things. I always started counting and colors very early on. One thing I have found that works great is skittles!

I really like that idea, is does sound like a lot of fun because when they get the answers right, they can eat the candy. I think all parents should use this or some other fun method to teach their children how to count. I can see myself doing that because it will help them to develop a skill at an early age which we all know they need.

They probably will have eating them on their mind most of the time haha.

 

[Alumno]

When I was young my mom found a really cool way to teach me colours and the different animals. There were these biscuits that had different coloured backgrounds with animal silhouettes on them. I honestly don't remember learning it but my mom says that I really enjoyed it and actually ended up learning quit quickly. They weren't the same as these bit similar to them.
View attachment 97926

Well, you were such a lucky kid, it is a shame my mom never taught me anything that way, I do not really know why; I think it was because she thought I was not going to focus on the colors and my entire attention was going to be located on the cookies, but whatever, I really loved my childhood the way it was.

 

[SirJoe]

Those are just the cutest SirJoe! I could imagine how you enjoyed learning about different animals through this technique and enjoying your reward by eating them. We also buy a similar kind of biscuit snacks here called "Animal Bites". Here's the picture of the snack with different animal-shaped biscuits coated with chocolate. My son also loved eating this snack identifying each shape before eating them. I appreciate these kinds of snacks because I think they help in unconsciously teaching children about things while they enjoy eating.
View attachment 97951
Photo Courtesy of www.philamfood.com

Those would also do the trick, it's only a pity that they aren't different colors otherwise you would have the full package. Talking about packages that is a brightly colored package maybe that would do the trick, it might not have all the colors but it's enough to stat off with.

 

[HappyKoi]

I do have to make a quick note: if you are teaching in the U.S.A., I would advise you not to use Skittles in your classroom at this time. For those people not in the U.S. or who haven't been watching political news, Skittles have been used with some very racially-charged statements and memes. This is not so much a warning for the young kids (who most likely would not know about this), but you may get some very angry or confused parents. It's a great idea, but U.S. teachers might want to stick with jellybeans, gummi worms, or some other candy.