“Sorting Even and Odd- Cowboy Counters”
KNPIG ID #M 4401.3
What's this activity about?
Your child will be countin’ cowboys to find the total number of cowboy boots. This activity will help your child learn how to count by two’s.
What materials do we need?
"cowboy” counters (see link), card cover (such as construction paper or index cards)
How do we play?
Get out the cowboy counters and card covers. Have your child hide their eyes. Place out any number of cowboys in a row and cover their feet with card covers. Your child will look at the faces of the cowboy counters and find the number of boots they are wearing altogether. They will then tell you the number. Uncover the boots and see if they were right! You can then switch places and see if your child can check your math.
Where’s the Math?
There is a lot of math in this activity that has to do with what your child is learning in school. Skip counting by twos is a precursor not only to multiplying by twos but to skip counting with other numbers. When your child counts by twos they will understand that they are adding equal groups of numbers over and over. This concept is the foundation for multiplication. You will also want to note that for any number of cowboys, the solution is always an even number. Your child is learning for pairs, in this case boots, the solution is always even. This is because you are adding the same number, two times. They are learning to represent even numbers in equations as the total of two equal quantities.
Things to Think About:
As always, when working with children remember BE PATIENT. This is a quick activity, but that does not mean it will be easy for your child. Practice counting by twos before you begin the activity to gage where your child’s abilities lie.
This activity is great for beginning multiplication. We can see the number of cowboy heads and your child knows they each have two boots. You know this is just multiplying by twos, but your child is just learning this concept. Right now, they may count two for each cowboy, or they may add the total number of cowboys twice. Any of these ways to look at this problem is correct. Try to get them to explain their thinking and ask questions to have them look at it in a different way.
You can also discuss the pattern that even and odd numbers of heads still result in an even number of feet. As your child why they think this is true. Try representing this in an equation. If there are four cowboys, count the number of left boots and the number of right boots, then add them together 4+4=8. You get an even number. Try it again with five cowboys- 5+5=10. You still get an even number. Discuss with your child about pairing objects to get even numbers and why two equal groups will always give you an even number.
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