Lemon Tic Tac Toe Game for Preschoolers
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Tic Tac Toe has been around for hundreds of years, and I think it’s because it is super fun. That’s the reason I created this low-prep Lemon Tic Tac Toe game that I’m sure will entertain your preschoolers for a long time, and the best part is that it can be used while traveling, at home, or in preschool centers.
The Lemon Tic Tac Toe game includes one full-page board with two types of lemon chips and another size with two game boards on one page, also with two types of lemon chips. You can get it at the end of this post.
Lemon Tic Tac Toe Game
This fun game is wonderful for strengthening children’s developmental growth in multiple ways, such as:
- Problem-solving abilities, when they try to decide where they are going to place their chips.
- Spatial reasoning capacity, to recognize the spaces they should cover.
- Eye-hand coordination skills, to place their chips in their chosen square.
- Social and emotional skills, such as controlling their emotions, respecting their opponent, and taking turns.
- Ability to make predictions and strategize, trying to identify the best square to block their opponent’s chip.
- Cognitive skills as they understand horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines.
- Gross motor skills as they sit in different positions to play.
- Fine motor skills as they grasp the chips to place them on the recording mat.
This is a competitive game, and even preschoolers can understand the concept of placing three chips in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row. At first, it may be challenging, but as they develop their skills, they learn to plan, block their opponent, and coordinate their moves to reach the goal: placing three chips in a row before the other child.
Preparing The Lemon Tic Tac Toe Game
Use this free printable in many ways, such as a small-group activity, math center activity, take-home game, or quiet-area option.
Materials needed:
- Free Lemon Tic Tac Toe printable (found at the end of this post)
- Printer
- White cardstock
- Laminator
- Laminator pouches
- Scissors
- Small basket or Ziploc bag
To prepare the Lemon Tic Tac Toe game, fill out the form below to download your free printable. Print each page using white cardstock, then cut out and laminate the boards and chips to make them last longer. Place them in a small basket or a Ziploc bag to protect them.
Don’t Forget Your Storybooks
Gather fiction and non-fiction books about lemons and Summer to support the theme. There are tons of beautiful ones you can use, which you can find at your local library, in a used bookstore, or on Amazon. Below are some of my favorites. Clicking on the pictures will take you directly to Amazon, through my affiliate links.
- A Summery Saturday Morning by Margaret Mahy is a story about a group of children, dogs, a cat, and a gaggle of geese enjoying their summery Saturday morning, even though things don’t go quite as planned.
- The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow, with beautiful pictures, brings to life a day at the beach imagined by a boy and his mother as they hunt for seashells and build sandcastles during a perfect summer.
- Water by Frank Asch encourages young readers to appreciate water in its many forms.
- Mouse’s First Summer by Lauren Thompson is a story about two mice that invite the reader to celebrate summer with a picnic in the park and have fun rolling down the hill on tickly green grass, flying kites, and enjoying some juicy watermelon.
- Summer (Four Seasons) by Núria Roca, with large, beautiful color illustrations, will be loved when read aloud as children gaze at the charming pictures that evoke the moods and activities of summer.
- The Summer Visitors by Karel traces the interactions between a family of bears and a human family during their summer stay at a lake cottage, told primarily through illustration, with only a few dozen words.
- Carl’s Summer Vacation by Alexandra Day is a sweet story about a dog and a girl who take advantage of their parents’ distraction to canoe, pick blackberries, and enjoy a picnic.
- How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague is the story about a boy who was carried off by cowboys and taught the ways of the West–from riding buckin’ broncos to roping cattle. Perfect for a back-to-school read-aloud, here’s a Western fantasy with sparkling illustrations and enough action to knock kids’ boots off!
- The Night Before Summer Camp by Natasha Wing follows a little girl and her family as they get ready for vacation and ends with a funny ending everyone will enjoy.
- Ready for Summer by Marthe Jocelyn is a story about the question, “What am I going to wear?” It first appears in the toddler years, when mastering getting dressed is a triumph and opinions about clothing are emphatic.
Pin It For Later
If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable but want to save it for later, pin this to your math or Summer board on Pinterest so it’s available when you need it.
I hope this Lemon Tic Tac Toe game entertains your kiddos and makes your planning a little easier during this Summer vacation. Don’t forget to get your printable! Just click the link below to download it and start using it.
Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.
Love,
P.S. Please let me know if this activity works for you, and if you would like to see an article or a printable on how to make something specific, and I will do my best to create it for you. My goal is to help you in any way I can, and I don’t like anything better than posting something you might find useful.
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