This math center is perfect for the winter season because it asks students to count and decompose snowflakes inside a snow globe.

There are two pages to choose from that feature the numbers 2 to 10 and two additional pages that feature the numbers 11 to 19. Students choose one page and spin the paperclip spinner to see what number it lands on.

Students count the number of blue sunburst beads and place them in the large snow globe. Then, they decompose the number by separating the beads into the smaller globes. Students can decompose numbers however they choose on 2 to 10 spinner/globe pages. For example, if they land on 7, they could create piles of 5 and 2 or piles of 4 and 3.

On 11 to 19 spinner/globe pages, students must separate the number into tens and ones. So, if they land on 16, they must separate the pile into a pile of 10 and a pile of 6. Once students have decomposed the number, they record their work on the worksheet as an addition problem.

This activity helps students build number sense and a sense of flexibility that can come in handy when practicing mental math later. It promotes fact fluency, and it helps students understand place value, which will be important as they tackle more complex math problems in the future.