Gingerbread Man Number Line Game

Since creating our Gingerbread Man Addition Game, Adam has become obsessed with adding. I decided to introduce hin to the concept of a number line. As this weeks Virtual Book Club theme is The Gingerbread Man, I created a simple Gingerbread Man Number Line Game.

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Materials needed for the Gingerbread Man Number Line Game

* Large dice

* Dice with addition and subtraction symbols. I created one using Twinkl’s blank template

* 0-20 Numberline – we used one from Twinkl

* Wooden clothes peg

* Gingerbread Man figure. I printed the Gingerbread Man size ordering sheet from Twinkl to find the best sized Gingerbread Man to fit onto the peg.

* Laminator (optional)

* Double Sided Sellotape

How to make the Gingerbread Man Number Line Game

1) Download, print (resize so four pages on one) and cut out the 0-20 Number line from Twinkl. Laminate the three sections and use double sided sellotape to secure the pieces in a line.

2) Download and print the Gingerbread Man size ordering sheet from Twinkl. Decide which figure is the best size to fit onto your wooden peg. Cut out that Gingerbread Man, laminate it and use double sided sellotpape to attach the figure to the wooden peg.

3) Download and print the blank cube from Twinkl. Draw addition and subtraction symbols on the squares, cut out the cube and follow the instructions to make the 3D shape. I used double sided sellotape to secure the sides together.

How to play the Gingerbread Man Number Line Game

The aim of the game is to get Gingerbread Man to number 20. The symbol dice tells you whether to jump forward (add) or jump backwards (subtract) along the number line.

Position the Gingerbread Man peg on number zero to start the game. Roll the large symbol dice to find out if you need to add or subtract the number. Then roll the smaller dot dice to find out how many spaces you need to move. In the image below the dice told Adam he had to subtract one so he moved the Gingerbread Man peg backwards one space.

Adam loved the simplicity of the game and the unpredictability of whether he had to move the Gingerbread Man forwards or backwards. Originally I had drawn three addition symbols and three subtraction symbols onto the cube. This was too many subtraction symbols and Adam ended up spending most of the first two games going backwards. I quickly rectified the issue and changed two of the subtraction symbols to addition ones.

Throughout the game Adam kept singing the Gingerbread Man song “run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man.” I realised that the Gingerbread Man needed someone to chase him. If I had thought of this beforehand I would have cut out the fox from Twinkl’s Gingerbread Man size ordering sheet. However, we were playing the game at Nana’s house and I didn’t have access to the resources. Instead I simply placed a red plastic peg onto the number line and told Adam that this was the fox. He was just as happy.

Now the Gingerbread Man and the fox had to take it turns to see who could get to number 20 first. Adam had to move both pegs along the number line. You should have heard the tension whenever the fox got close to the Gingerbread Man!

Our Gingerbread Man Number Line Game was a fun way to reinforce basic counting, addition and subtraction skills. The activity also worked on Adam’s fine motor skills as he had to manipulate the pegs. The activity makes a great Busy Bag game that can be played with whilst we are out and about.

Disclaimer: We receive a Premium Subscription from Twinkl to review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

This weeks Virtual Book Club story is The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth. Check out the other Gingerbread Man themed activities:

Alphabet Activities
Creating a Gingerbread Alphabet Chain – Kori at Home
Gingerbread Spin a Letter and Build Doh Mats – Sea of Knowledge

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