Number 0 Game

The number zero, an empty train car and an empty basket all come together in the Number 0 Game, a cozy ice cream game for preschool kids. Lexy runs the ice cream stop at the Train Town station, and three empty waffle cones are waiting on the counter. Each cone shows a number or a picture. When a child taps the cone with the number 0, a scoop of strawberry ice cream flies out of the tub and plops right on top, then two more scoops stack up into a tall ice cream tower. Kids can also drag the scoop onto a cone all by themselves. Every new set brings three fresh cones, so kids look for zero again and again. Playing the number 0 game helps little learners recognize the number 0, tell it apart from look-alike numbers like 6, 8 and 9, and understand that zero means none.

In this number zero game, Lexy cheers kids on through three rounds, and every round has a hungry passenger in the train window. First they build Bunny’s ice cream by finding the number 0 among numbers like 8, 6 and 9, with the tip that zero is one round line, like an egg. Then they build Panda’s ice cream by finding the train car with zero balls, skipping the cars with one, two or three balls, because zero means none. Last, they build Puppy’s ice cream by finding the empty basket, box, jar or nest and skipping the full ones, because empty means zero. The numbers and pictures a child mixed up come back for one more try. Lexy reads every direction out loud, names each answer (“Zero balls! Zero means none.”) and gives a kind hint after a wrong tap. Play it in your browser on a phone, tablet, Chromebook or computer.

What’s Included

• Online game that plays in any browser on desktop, tablet and phone
• Included with every Have Fun Teaching membership
• 3 rounds: Number 0, Zero Means None, then Empty Is Zero
• Voice directions, plopping ice cream sound effects and a star score at the end

Why Teachers Love It

The Number 0 Game follows how young children learn zero best. First, it connects the written 0 to the idea of none: the station sign shows the 0 right next to the empty train car and the empty basket. Second, the wrong answers are the real mix-ups young children make, like 8, 6 and 9 for 0 and a train car with one ball for an empty train car, so kids practice exactly what trips them up. Third, Lexy uses the same words teachers use, like zero, none and empty, and the stacking ice cream towers, the hungry passengers, the sprinkle shower, the golden cone surprise, streak celebrations and the stars at the end keep kids smiling and asking to play again.

Teachers and parents can keep the zero fun going after the game. Go on an empty hunt and find an empty cup, an empty box and an empty bowl. Fill a basket with toys, then dump them out and say “zero toys!” together. Draw a zero in the air like a big round egg.

Related Resources

• Numbers 0 to 50 with Words in Color Flash Cards
• Numbers 0 to 100 Flash Cards
• Crayon Number Matching Activity
• Playful Pup Number Matching Activity