Counting Reinforcement With Toilet Paper Tubes

    It's amazing how much learning can go on with just a few recyclable items.  Some empty toilet paper rolls and a bag of mini marshmallows and you can open up a two hour window of brain power.  My preschooler and I began by labeling each roll with numbers greater than ten.  First we decided just to count out the marshmallows and drop them into the correct tubes.  Before I knew it, my little guy decided to put two in at a time, hence teaching himself to "count by twos".  Afterwards, he had a high motivation to EAT the marshmallows, which we quickly made into a subtraction lesson.  When we were done, we made toothpick and marshmallow geometric figures.  The whole while, his fine motor skills were being developed.