My kindergartener is super into math and counting right now so I was so excited to put a Sukkot spin on a fun activity we’ve been trying and created this Roll & Count the Lulav and Etrog for some Sukkot math fun! The lulav and etrog are super fast and easy to make and can be used for far more than just this activity—think sensory bin, lulav and etrog rescue, color recognition, sukkah decorations, etc. But they are also perfect for this easy math game. Have fun!
What You’ll Need
- Green pipe cleaners (at least 12)
- Mini yellow pom poms (at least 12)
- Glue gun
- Dice
Putting It Together
- To make your lulav, bend the green pipe cleaner into 3 loops, making sure the middle loop is longer. Leave a bit of pipe cleaner at the very end and wrap it around the bases of the three loops. If you check our Instagram, I’ll share a reel with this activity in action!
- Put a dot of glue on the front and add a yellow mini pom pom for your etrog.
- Make at least 12 lulav and etrog.
- Set out the lulav and etrog as well as the dice.
- Invite your child to roll the dice, count the dots (or subitize them) then count out the corresponding number of lulav and etrog.
- Repeat as long as it stays fun!
Finished & Loving It!
This was such a fun activity for my guy. We’ve done it with bug figurines before so he was familiar with the set up. It was great to have a Sukkot symbol that he recognized to connect the activity with the holiday.
He loves to do some crazy rolls so large foam dice are perfect for him. The large dots make it easy for him for him to count. Then he gets to practice counting again, but in a different way, as he pulls out the corresponding number of lulav and etrog. Yay!
Using manipulatives to count out the corresponding number of items is so helpful when learning counting. They can more easily understand and practice the one to one correspondence and make the connections in their brain.
And there are so many great ideas for manipulatives! You can really use anything–blocks, cereal, toys, and of course, DIY your own holiday theme ones so your kiddos can enjoy a Roll and Count Lulav and Etrog game just like my guy!!
We have a whole page dedicated to Sukkot, our Sukkot Hub. Check it out! It includes some of the Sukkot activities we plan to do this year, as well as the activities we’ve done in previous years.
And don’t forget our Sukkot Montessori-Style 3 Part Cards, a wonderful way to introduce Sukkot! And, now we also have all 13 Jewish holidays bundled together in A Year of Jewish Holidays 3 Part Cards.
The following sites are amazing resources for learning more about this holiday:
Chag Sameach!
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[…] year I made these mini lulav and etrog and we used them in a roll and count game. I loved it and will definitely be doing that activity again, but set out this simple counting and […]