Monster Truck Number Cards

- May 24, 2019

Woah! It's been a whole week of monster truck fun! We started with some math in a tin, then moved on to letter tracing cards. Yesterday, we had a dirt writing tray, which would also make a good sensory bin for monster truck play. Today, I'm bringing it back to math with some printable number cards.

> > > See all the Monster Truck posts < < <

My boys aren't ready for this pack of fifty number cards, but they're getting close. The PDF includes a background page for the cards to help make them less transparent, but I also recommend printing them on cardstock paper. Laminate them for added durability. The cards should fit in an Altoid tin; although the laminated set might be a bit tall to all go in one tin. They can also be stored in a snack size ziptop bag.

Number Sense

One of the first places to start when learning numbers is with the name of the number and it's quantity in counters or some other form. The number cards can be used to teach children what a certain number looks like both in Arabic form and as an amount. In the picture below, I used our Cuisenaire Rod set to make a base-10 set. The long rod represents 10 and the cubes stand in for one. In this way, kids can begin to build an understanding of teen numbers and above.

Number Line

Another great way to use these cards is to make a number line with them. The child or group of kids can work to put all the numbers in order. A beginner might need to only do 0-10, but eventually the child should be able to do all 50 numbers. The cards can also be used to extract pattern in numbers like even/odd, counting by 3's, 5's, or 10's.

War Versions

I remember playing War with my friends when I was a kid with a regular deck of cards. These monster truck numbers are better because there are so many more play options. The higher numbers mean more math practice too. Work on number identification, addition, or subtraction all with one little deck. Either print two copies of the numbers or divide the one deck for each player to have an equal number of cards. Here are a few ways to play War with these numbers.

Number Sense- Identify number and winner keeps the bigger one.

Single Digit Addition- Roll a dice and each person adds the dice number to their card number. Bigger number wins.

Double Digit Addition- Both players flip and add their numbers together. First to do it wins.

Subtraction- Roll a dice and subtract that number from the card number. Bigger number wins.

> > > Click Here to Download the Printable < < <

More Monster Truck Fun!

Since this is my last monster truck post for the week, I thought I'd do a quick roundup of fun sensory and learning ideas. There's enough here for a busy summer of play with kids who love dirt and loud engines. Be sure to stock up on monster trucks!