If you’re looking for a fun way to combine counting money with outdoor practice, here is a game that I think your kiddos will love! Count the Amount Dash is an outdoor math game that I created to get kids moving and learning!
This math game is low-prep and uses common outdoor play items that get kids excited about the game. It also gets students counting coins, identifying money amounts, and dribbling a soccer ball as they race to find the correct answer.
It’s a wonderful way to give students hands-on practice with money skills while incorporating movement, coordination, and a little friendly excitement!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
Gather a few simple supplies before heading outside:
- A starting cone labeled START (you can attatch the start card with velcro or tape)
- A soccer ball
- Six plastic pails, such as kids beach buckets
- Labels for the pails with different money amounts
- Money task cards featuring sets of coins
- A safe outdoor space with enough room for students to dribble the ball
Set up your six answer pails a distance away from the starting cone. Place the money amount labels where students can easily see them, and organize the task cards into the appropriate difficulty levels.
Now you’re ready to dash!
How to Play Count the Amount Dash
- Line up and get ready! Have students line up begind the START cone. Give the first student a task card showing a set of coins.
- Count the coins. The student looks cardfully at the coins on the card and determines their total value.
- Dribble to the pails. Once the student knows the answer, they dribble a soccer ball toward the six plastic pails.
- Find the correct answer. The student identifies the pail displaying the matching money amount and drops their task card inside.
- Dribble back to start. After placing the card in the correct pail, the student dribbles the soccer ball back to the starting line.
- Keep the math moving! The next student takes a turn with a new task card, and the game continues.
As students play, they’re practicing coin recognition, counting money, decision-making, and ball control. They’re also getting plenty of opportunities to move and stay engaged!
Teacher tip: If you have more than one soccer ball, you can have 2 or more students playing at a time. You can also have students that stand by the answer buckets to check the players answers!
Differentiate the Learning With Different Levels of Play
One of my favorite things about Count the Amount Dash is that the game can grow with your students!
Whether students are just beginning to recognize coins or are ready to compare money amounts, the different levels make it easy to adjust the challenge to meet their needs.
Level 1: Match the Coins to Their Amounts
Start with the basics!
Students receive a task card showing coins and match it to a pail displaying the corresponding money amount.
This level is perfect for introducing the game, practicing coin recognition, and helping students become familiar with the value of different coins. I have learned that you can’t assume your 2nd graders remember every coin and its amount. They’re young, and they forget. You really have to start your whole money counting unit with activities that reinforce students’ abitity to recognize coins and their amounts quickly!
Level 2: Count Coins Up to 25 Cents
Ready for a little more counting?
Students identify the coins on their task cards and calculate the total value, with amounts up to 25 cents.
This level gives students practice recognizing coins and combining their values to find a total.
Level 3: Count Coins Up to 50 Cents
Let’s keep building those money skills!
Students count coin combinations with values up to 50 cents before dribbling to the correct pail.
As the amounts increase, students have more opportunities to practice counting strategies and develop confidence working with different coin combinations.
Level 4: Count Coins Up to 75 Cents
Now we’re raising the challenge!
Students count coin combinations worth up to 75 cents and find the matching pail
This level encourages students to work with larger totals and become more comfortable adding the values of multiple coins.
Level 5: Count Money Up to One Dollar
Time to make a dollar!
Students count the coins on their task cards to determine totals up to $1.00.
This is a great opportunity for students to strenghen their understanding of coin values and practice adding money amounts. Encourage them to use strategies such as counting by 5s, grouping coins, or starting with the greatest value.
Level 6: Count Quarters
Quarters get their own special round!
If your kiddos can look at 3 quarters and immediately understand that they equal 75 cents, they are way ahead of the game. Grouping and counting quarters is an important skill that you can help your students understand with this practice drill!
Students receive task cards featuring quarters and determine their total value before heading to the correct pail.
Counting quarters is an excellent way to reinforce skip-counting by 25s while practicing money recognition.
Level 7: Compare Money Amounts
Ready for a little friendly competition?
In this level, two students play at the same time!
Each student receives a task card showing a set of coins. They count their money amounts and compare their totals to determine which amount is greater, which is less, or whether the amounts are equal.
Once they’ve made their comparisons, both students dribble their soccer balls toward the pails labeled.
- Greater than (>)
- Less than (<)
- Equal to (=)
Each students places their card in the correct pail based on the comparison between the two money amounts. Then, they dribble their balls back to the starting line.
This level adds an extra layer of mathematical thinking because students must not only count money but also compare quantities.
Are You Short On Time But Want More Active Learning in Your Classroom?
Take Math Learning Beyond the Classroom
Outdoor math games offer a wonderful way to combine meaningful skill practice with movement, exploration, and play. The resource above, is a GROWING BUNDLE of fun, interactive math review games that is at it’s LOWEST price this year! AND the any of the items that you will need to go with this game are easily accessible and can be transferred from one outdoor math game to another!
When students get to jump, toss, search, kick, or dribble their way through a math challenge, learning becomes an experience rather than just another assignment.
Count the Amount Dash is a fun example of how you can transform money practice into an active learning adventure. With seven differentiated levels, student can work on everything from matching coins to their values to counting larger amounts and comparing money totals.
And because the game combines math with soccer-ball dribbling, students get to practice their thinking skills and gross motor skills in onew engaging activity!
So gather your cones, gather your math cards, and head outside. Your next favorite math lesson might be waiting just beyond the classroom door!
Happy learning, and Happy Dashing!
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