Fun Winter Activity – Make Your Own Snowman Puzzle

fun winter activity counting number recognition snow man winter theme

Do you want to build a snowman? Make your own snowman puzzle using rocks! It is a budget-friendly and fun winter activity for learning numbers and counting!

Make Your Own Puzzles Out of Rocks!

We are all about DIY toys and games, and rocks make excellent puzzle pieces! We had a great time making this fun winter activity, but this technique can be used with so many different themes!

So don’t underestimate the pocket full of rocks your kiddo may have collected on your last walk! They can be repurposed in such fun ways for hands on learning – like this DIY snowman counting puzzle!

All activities should be supervised by an adult. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links.

Skills: Early Math

Ages: 2 Years +

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Watch This Fun Winter Activity in Action

As mentioned above, you can adapt DIY rock puzzles in so many ways. We focused on learning numbers 1-5, but if your kiddo is more advanced than that, adjust accordingly! Or you could even do this with lowercase and uppercase letter matching!

In this video, you’ll see how my kiddo counts the dots and matches the rocks to the correct position to build a snowman. I love how tactile the experience is, allowing him to stay engaged longer!

Watch This Fun Winter Activity in Action

As mentioned above, you can adapt DIY rock puzzles in so many ways. We focused on learning numbers 1-5, but if your kiddo is more advanced than that, adjust accordingly! Or you could even do this with lowercase and uppercase letter matching!

In this video, you’ll see how my kiddo counts the dots and matches the rocks to the correct position. I love how tactile the experience is, allowing him to stay engaged longer!

Tips for Making This Snowman Counting Activity

Find some rocks! Add an extra step to this activity, and explore the great outdoors! Collecting rocks is such a fun thing to do with kids. Once you wash them up, you can organize all the different shapes for repurposing them and creating your own DIY puzzle! If you don’t have access to collecting rocks, you can always pick up a bag of decorative rocks from places like Dollar Tree.

Paint the Rocks. If washing up the rocks isn’t enough to make them look clean, paint them! Adults can quickly apply a layer of spray paint over them, or kids can enjoy painting them with acrylic paint.

Decorate with Permanent Markers. Using permanent markers will ensure that the color is vibrant and that the color stays on the rock and doesn’t rub off the way a washable marker would!

Materials

Cardboard
Cotton Balls
Rocks

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1

I grabbed some white rocks from the backyard and used a permanent marker to turn them into a snowman. If you don’t have white rocks, grab any rock and paint them white (spray paint works well!).

Step 2

I then traced the rocks onto some old cardboard (use a pencil first and then a pen so as to not get black marks on those precious white rocks!)

Step 3

I wrote numbers on the back of the rocks for reading and recognition, and on the cardboard, I wrote numbers represented by dots for matching.

Let the kids help with the collecting of the rocks and the painting and creating the snowman. This keeps them invested and involved in the process.

Step 1

I grabbed some white rocks from the backyard and used a permanent marker to turn them into a snowman. If you don’t have white rocks, grab any rock and paint them white (spray paint works well!).

Step 2

I then traced the rocks onto some old cardboard (use a pencil first and then a pen so as to not get black marks on those precious white rocks!)

Step 3

I wrote numbers on the back of the rocks for reading and recognition, and on the cardboard, I wrote numbers represented by dots for matching.

Let the kids help with the collecting of the rocks and the painting and creating the snowman. This keeps them invested and involved in the process.

learning counting printable worksheet snowman holiday christmas winter theme

Free Printable of This Snow Man Counting Puzzle

Don’t have time to create this DIY game? No problem! I wanted to make things extra easy for busy grown ups by providing a FREE printable version of this activity!

Just print the pages, cut out snowballs and have the kiddos count and match!

And if you like this, don’t miss our free Number Parking Lot printable and Count the Pizza Topping printable! Counting numbers for kids can be tricky, but this is a fun way to do it!

For more printable activities, visit our Printable Shop. It is filled with easy to set-up activities that help strengthen early childhood education skills!

The Educational Benefits of This Fun Winter Activity

Learning and reinforcing number recognition and counting is the primary objective with this activity!

Using the stones as a manipulative and sensory tool, is a great way to keep them active and engaged!

Don’t be scared to branch out and try new things with this fun activity. As mentioned above, you can use rocks for so many fun DIY puzzle themes, like the alphabet and sight words!

The Educational Benefits of This Fun Winter Activity

Learning and reinforcing number recognition and counting is the primary objective with this activity!

Using the stones as a manipulative and sensory tool, is a great way to keep them active and engaged!

Don’t be scared to branch out and try new things with this fun activity. As mentioned above, you can use rocks for so many fun DIY puzzle themes, like the alphabet and sight words!