Warm Fuzzy Color Combos

This Valentine's Day lesson is all about color combinations and probability. First, have students create their very own warm fuzzy pet! All you need are cotton pom pom balls, paper cut out hearts, googly eyes, and glue. (To go along with the probability activity, you will need red, pink, and purple pom pom balls, as well as red, pink, and purple cut out hearts.) First, have kids glue the colored puff ball on top of the paper heart. Then, they glue the googly eyes. After they construct their pet, have students fill out a warm fuzzy birth certificate! (Kids get a kick out of this!)

After students have officially adopted their pet, tell them to take a look around the room at all the different combinations! Have them make a prediction about how many different color combinations of warm fuzzies there can be using the colors red, pink, and purple.

After they have made a prediction, pass out red, pink, and purple crayons to each student. Give them each the sheet to the right to help them figure out the different color combos. Was their prediction correct?! 

Point out that they just made a multiplication array! Have them count the rows and columns of warm fuzzies they colored in. They should have 3 rows and 3 columns of warm fuzzies colored, giving them the answer of 9! There are 9 different color combinations!