Ideas for Using ~ Roll & Graph

I get questions frequently about certain printables I offer, from moms wanting to know what they are intended to be used for. In honor of these questions, I am doing a series of blog posts, based on the printables I get the most questions about! If there is a printable included in a Preschool Pack, Tot Pack, or others, that you have wondered about, let me know in the comments and I will add it to my list of future posts!

Today I am going to share ideas for using Roll and Graph Printables

I am certainly not the only one to offer these, they have been around for years. I offer roll and graph printables in a few locations on my site, mostly within theme preschool packs.

I use the 1-5 graph when tots are just learning, this is what ladybug is using now. I move up to the 1-10 graph after confidence with a 1-5 graph. Ladybug began enjoying this activity around age 3 and now at age 3 1/2 it is one of her favorites. Krash, who is 6 1/2 still loves these and participates often.

The cube printable just needs to be cut out, folded and taped together. I print mine on fast draft using cardstock, the cube is usually worthless after the unit is over and difficult to store, so I don’t put a lot of effort into making the cube perfect. We throw it out when the unit is over for the week{s}.

Almost all of my theme packs have a roll and graph activity, just browse around here!

You can also find TONS of dot fun activities on Homeschool Creations, 2 Teaching Mommies, and more.

Here are a few of my ideas of how to use these printable in a variety of ways! If you have more ideas, leave them in the comments!

Dot Paint is just perfect for these and tots love it {usually}! In the beginning, I have her roll the cube and find the matching graphic on the sheet. I then point to where she is to mark and emphasize the number of dots she has.

It doesn’t take long for a child to learn where to mark on the graph, and this is a fabulous skill to have at a young age, making the basic graphing skills learned in Kindergarten and 1st grade so simple!

Ladybug loves to pull out many colors of dot paint and make her graph a piece of artwork, sometimes I don’t allow this, sometimes I do!

Krash likes to select a “winner�? before he starts and cheer for that graphic as he marks his page. Ladybug just likes to fill up her entire page, and will keep rolling until she does!

A little take turns game is another awesome way to use these printable, teaching valuable game-playing skills with a simple activity. I give each child a sheet and a dot marker, with one cube to roll. They take turns rolling the cube and marking their own sheets.

Lots of comparing and contrasting is done during this activity, which is another great skill taught using these fun printables!

If you want to use the same sheet twice, I recommend grabbing a cookie sheet and some mini magnets and marking the answers that way. We have pom pom magnets and gem magnets. I made both with a glue gun, mini magnets, and that’s it! It adds a different element to the same activity, and allows the sheet to be reused.

We mainly use those items with our roll and graph printables, but you can get as creative as you want with marking the squares, many of the ideas shared in Ideas for Using Dot Fun Printables would also apply.