Team UmiZoomi

My three year old loves the Little Golden Books based on his favorite television shows.  I am not the biggest fan of books based on television shows, but we read such a variety that I don't mind fitting in some TV books every once in a while and I really like the math concepts that are included in his latest favorite.

My three year old's must read right now is Team UmiZoomi: Find the Dinosaurs! and I absolutely love the math activities that are included in the story.  In Team UmiZoomi: Find the Dinosaurs, the three friends need to help find three dinosaurs that ran from the museum.  To find the first dinosaur they need to build a flashlight out of shapes, the second they need to count to 12, and the third, they need to complete a pattern.  In the end, of course they find all of the dinosaurs. There are even some facts about dinosaurs written into the story!  My son LOVES the micro raptor!  After reading this book at least 10 times, I felt like we should find our own dinosaurs!

For our Team UmiZoomi adventure we needed some shapes to make a flashlight, a real flashlight, cards with the numbers 1-12, a pattern card made with circle stickers, and three dinosaurs!

First, we made a flashlight with two trapezoids and three rectangles (just like they did in the book).

Once he finished making his flashlight, I gave my son a real flashlight to find the dinosaur in the only dark room of our house.

Next, he practiced counting to 12 just like they do in the book.

Then, he headed outside and followed the cards 1-12.  He counted as he walked.

He found the second dinosaur!

To get a clue for the last dinosaur he had to find the missing button, just like in his book.  Once he placed a pink sticker in the empty spot, he got the clue.

The last dinosaur was BIG!

Later in the day, he wanted to read the book again.  While we read he said "I made that" about the flashlight, counted to 12 while pointing to the numbers, and talked about his pattern buttons that he made!  I think the "real life" activities made us both appreciate the book more!

If you want to follow along with our reading activities be sure to check out our Facebook page, and sign up for our Travel Games and Activities giveaway!