Under The Sea Counting With These Free Printable Ocean Counting Grids

Who loves swimming in the ocean? Even though I grew up land-locked in Iowa, I have loved the ocean since I set foot in it almost 20 years ago. Of course there is sitting on the beach, enjoying the waves, collecting sea shells and maybe even finding seaweed along the shore. Going deeper, though, the fascination increases. The sea life, the deep dark waters, swimming through vast sea life that is completely different than on land. It is so fascinating! This captivation of under the sea life is the inspiration for this Free Printable Ocean Counting Grids Set.

Ocean Themed Counting Grids

We ordered these Under The Sea Ocean Counters over a year ago and have loved them ever since. I thought it was high time that I made a printable set for them! My daughter was so excited when I showed her that I was done!

To Prepare the Ocean Counting Grid Games:

The first step is to print the file found below.

The next step, we either laminate the printables or use dry erase pouches. I like the dry erase pouches because, especially for activities like these counting grids, it is easy to slip the printable into the pouch and immediately play.

This set comes with 3 different grids. One for each of the following: 10, 20, and 100.

I have included both a color and black & white versions.

We love using our giant foam dice for math activities! They are so much fun to roll AND they are quieter than normal dice, so they don’t disturb the other kids. For kids who are just starting to learn numbers, they can use the traditional 1-6 die and for kids who need more of a challenge counting, use the 1-12 or 1-20 dice.

How To Use The Ocean Counting Grid Games:

Roll the dice and place that number of fish or bubble on the spaces of the grid. Let your child decide where to place them. There is no right or wrong way to use the grid.

We’ve had fun using the dice alone and counting the fish or bubbles and also using the ten-frame by itself to practice counting all the way to 10.

Alternate Ideas For The Ocean Counting Grids:

One-To-One Correspondence: Teaches the child that each ocean animal is ‘1’.

Addition: All of the numbers rolled ‘add’ up to the total number.
You can also use 2 dice and add the numbers together on each turn. This would especially be great on the 100 grid!

Subtraction: Start with the counting grid full of ocean animals. With each roll, ‘subtract’ that number of ocean animals on the grid.