Roll a robot printable counting game for preschool and preK.
- Ages: Toddler, Preschool, PreK, Kindergarten
- Difficulty: Easy
- Learning: Number Sense, Counting, Fine Motor Skills, Scissor Skills
Does your child love robots? All 3 of mine do. And while it may be challenging to build a robot in real life, you can make a super fun robot craft easily.
You can even turn it into a game! (A game that will help your kids build number sense.)
Here is how to play roll a robot, along with free printables to play at home.
What's In This Post?
Roll a Robot Number Sense Game
This is such a fun way to practice counting and following directions. Building number sense skills like this make it a great STEAM craft! And it is so simple to put together for your kids. (It would also be great at a robot birthday party!)
Supplies for Roll a Robot Game
You only need a few items for this.
- Scissors
- Glue Stick
- Crayons/Markers
- Printable Robot Pieces
- Printable Roll a Robot Dice Pieces
- Dice
- Blank Paper
Roll a Robot Prep
There is a little setup that helps make this game run more smoothly. It’s optional, but with preschoolers, I like to get ready this way.
Give your child the printable robot pieces. They can color the pieces they like and cut them out.
If you are short on time (or patience, I get it), you can cut the pieces out yourself for use in the game.
How To Play Roll a Robot
This game is pretty easy to play.
Step 1: Each player has all their robot parts, the My Robot printable, and a glue stick.
Step 2: Player 1 rolls the dice. The number they get corresponds to a robot piece and they get to glue that piece to their paper.
Step 3: Then the next player rolls and starts their robot. The rest of the players do the same.
Step 4: Players continue to roll on their turn. If they get a number for a part they have already added to their robots, they don’t add anything and play moves on to the next turn.
How to win: The winner is the first person to complete their robot!
Where To Get the Printables
You can get the printables by clicking here. If you enter the coupon code FREEBIE you will get all 8 pages for free!
Roll a Robot Variations
This game is so flexible. You can play it in lots of different ways, which is very helpful. You can customize your game play to go along with the goals for your kids or that work for the time you have. (Also you can make sure it works with your patience levels at the time.)
Here are variations on the game.
Everyone Wins Version
I know it is important for kids to learn how to lose. It builds grit, teaches them how to be good sports, and instills some good values.
I also know that sometimes you just don’t want to deal with those sorts of tough life lessons, so you can play this game in a way that everyone wins.
The easy way to do this is when a player rolls a repeat number, just let them roll again until they get a number for a part they haven’t used yet. This is also a good way to play for short attention spans, as the game only lasts 6 rounds.
Cooperative Play Version
You can play this game as a team effort, which is fun both for time-saving and working together.
Every play takes a turn rolling the dice, but this time everyone adds the part for the number rolled. So if player one rolls arms, every player adds the arms of their choice. You can choose whether or not to allow re-rolls for repeat parts.
This makes the game go much faster, which can be a real plus if you are playing it at a birthday party. It builds a sense of teamwork and lets the children focus more on building a robot they enjoy as opposed to competing with the other players.
Ultimate Robot Version
This version is fun, and it might lead to some silliness. It’s the ultimate robot version of roll a robot.
It works with the same basic steps. Each player takes turns rolling the dice, they select a part that corresponds to their roll and add it to their robot. Then the next player goes. Only this time, instead of skipping a turn or re-rolling if you get a repeat number, you just add another of that body part.
Yep, this means you can have a robot with 4 pairs of arms and no legs, or 3 antennas and 2 heads. Anything can happen.
This is a fun version for slightly older children too, as it allows for a little more creative thinking.
This version works best if you set a total number of rolls for the game. Every player gest to go 8 times, for example. (This can make it take longer, so keep in mind the number of players you have when deciding how many turns to take.)
There isn’t a clear winner here, you can all just enjoy each other’s creations. As my girls would say, the winner is fun.
Even more robot fun! Your kids will love this Robot Activity and Coloring Book.
What Learning Is Going On?
This is a fun activity, and worth doing just for the enjoyment of it. But there is a lot of learning going on while your child plays!
Fine Motor Skills
Coloring, cutting, and gluing the robot parts build fine motor skills. (You can learn more about scissor skills by clicking here.) They build hand muscles, work hand-eye coordination, and help build skills kids will need in school.
Colors and Shapes
Anytime you color you can talk about different colors. Name them, find them, talk about their differences. What’s a primary color? What happens when we mix colors to get secondary colors? Do they know rainbow order? (Good old Roy G BIV.)
All this discussion helps kids work on vocabulary and understanding of colors. Plus coloring alone is a huge learning experience. Learn more here: Why Kids Need To Color.
These robots, particularly the bodies, have lots of different shapes. Count the sides, talk about the shapes, and build that shape vocabulary. Learning shapes is one of the building blocks of learning letters. Learn more here: Why Shapes Matter.
Number Sense
Number sense is the understanding that numbers have unique values and these values can interact with each other. This means your child can recognize the numbers independently as opposed to just rattling off 1-10 without knowing what those words mean.
Games that use dice like this boost number sense because the numbers are used all out of order. You can roll a 5, then a 2, then a 6 for example. Your child needs to know what the numbers are in order to play.
You can find more fun number sense activities here: Number Sense for Kids.
Try these must-do activities today!
How To Make a Dice
This game does require the use of dice. You can use any dice you have handy. Dollar stores often have big foam ones that are easy and fun for kids to use. I’ve also just grabbed one out of one of our board games. (Just make sure to return it to the original game!)
Another option is to make your own dice! Yes, it is easier than you think. If you click here you will find instructions and a free printable template to use. You just print it out, add your numbers, and put it together.
The bonus of making your own dice is that you can choose how the numbers appear on the sides. You can practice recognizing the words, numerals, or normal dots. You can also write the body parts on the dice for a simpler option.
Robot Activity Fun!
This activity is full of learning and creativity, and it is just so much fun. Your kids will love it as a stand-alone game, or alongside other learning activities. It’s even great for play dates and parties!
I hope you love this game as much as we did. (And make sure to check out the Robot Activity & Coloring Book too!)
Let’s find your next fun activity!
