Little Box of Learning - Mathematical Flower Shop Role Playing Game

Who knew that one little box could bring so much hands-on flowery math fun?

Did you like to play store when you were younger?  Many people did.  That's why the Tycoon style software games have become so popular over the past few years.  People, young and old, like pretending that they run a business of some sort.  We are so happy that we have finally gotten around to sharing one of the most beloved Math games in our little homeschool.  Using the prepared files below, some popsicle sticks and a craft box - your child could literally have hours of math fun by themselves, with a friend or even with their favourite doll or action figure. 

 Most learners love to play games.  Many learners enjoy imaginative play as well.  This game is a definite addition for Montessori style and hands-on learners.  This activity allows the craft box to not only hold the game itself, but also to become an interactive part of the game.  The box becomes a display case in the store or garden centre.  You may choose to use a white box and decorate it or use a brown box and just pretend you are picking the flowers straight from the ground.  Daily bouquets are put on special and the players must prepare the bouquets for sale.  They will pick the flowers required on the Daily Special card and put them in the box for the desired number of customers.  Older learners can practice using multiplication using decimals as well as conducting the transaction using your own money or play money from the toy store. 

Price list attached to box.

To prep for this game, first cut apart playing cards and signs on the lines and laminate if desired.  Glue one popsicle stick to the bottom of the price list and attach to the box if able.
  

Prepared flower front and back.

Next simply print out the flower pages and cut out the pieces on the dotted circles.  Create as many flowers as your child's skill level requires.  Children could easily be involved in this step to make it fast and fun.  Glue the circles onto the popsicle sticks.  Let dry well.  We used coloured sticks to be able to sort things faster.  You may want to use all green sticks for stems or plain sticks could be used as well.  They sell for about $1.00 for a pack of 100 at the five and dime stores.  Consider making at least one page of each flower but two pages per makes for loads more fun.  That works out to be between 100-200 sticks.

Watch your fingers! :)

Carefully using a very sharp exacto knife, cut five 4-inch slits along the cover of the shoe box about 2-inches apart.  There should be enough space to easily insert the bouquets in the slit rows.  The outside of the box can be decorated to match your local garden centre or flower shop if you like.

To begin play, put out the "open" sign.  Next, select one Daily Special card and one Customer Scenario card.  Complete the task using both cards.  Create as many bouquets as stated in the scenario.  Figure out how much each bouquet will cost using the provided price lists or make one of your own.  Check your learner's finished product for accuracy.  Learners playing in pairs could check each other's work or create daily specials for their play partner.  Players simply play according to their skill levels. 

A nice added feature of this game is that we have chosen to highlight realistic flowers so that children can begin identifying flowers while learning math. There are eight different varieties of plants used in the game: pansy, tulip, ivy, daffodil, dahlia, primevere, peach rose, and magenta rose. Included are a twelve sample Daily Special cards, six scenario cards, templates for you to make your own specials or scenarios, a cost sign board with plain numbers (no decimals - for younger players) as well as a cost sign with decimal numbers.  The file is 18 pages in all including directions.  This game helps with:

number recognition

following directions

sorting

simple addition

using decimals

using money

multiplication

flower nomenclature

pattern recognition

good manners in business relations

We hope you find this Little Box of Learning resource game loads of fun to create and useful for your child's learning adventures. 

Click Here to download this Flower Shop Play Pack.
(This is an 18 page download with lots of graphics.  Please be patient with this larger file as it downloads.)

 

Blessings,

That Resource Team

Thoughts? Comments?  Questions?  Reach us HERE through our website.