numeracy activities in preschool

Preschool Math Activities that are Super Fun!

If you are looking for preschool math activities then you're in luck! I gathered my favorite hands-on math activities and math center ideas for preschool and I am sharing them here!

Math skills are so important and finding playful and engaging ways to teach those skills to preschoolers is crucial. Whether you teach math to a classroom full of preschoolers or homeschool one or two at home, it's important to use hands-on math experiences.

This is a list of the best preschool math activities that I could find! I hope they will be super helpful to you.

Hands-On Preschool Math Activities

1. Roll and Dot the Number is a quick preschool math game that will teach kids to identify numbers and count while learning one to one correspondence! It is one of our favorite preschool math activities!

2. This Build and Measure Block Center is such a neat way for kids to explore measurement!

3. These Counting Bears Number Strips are a hands-on way for toddlers and preschoolers to learn numbers, counting and even colors.

4. These Tree Play Dough Numbers Mats are a great way to work on a number of math skills including counting to 10!

5. Work on color recognition and sorting with these Button Sorting Cups .

6. This  Simple Fine Motor Counting Math Tray  is super easy to set up and provides excellent fine motor practice too.

7. Grab your craft sticks and make these  Colors and Patterns  craft sticks for your math center!

8. Teaching Symmetry to Preschoolers with LEGO DUPLO  is perfect for teaching symmetry to preschoolers and young kids.

9. Your kids will have a blast learning to count with Bugs in a Jar !

Preschool Math Activities that are Fun and Engaging!

10. These  DIY Tactile Counting Sticks  are very easy to make and are perfect for kids who are learning to count.

11. Measuring with Bear Counters is an excellent way to introduce preschoolers to measurement!

12. I love this  Play Dough Geometry  activity! All you need is play dough and craft sticks!

13. This Pattern Making activity only requires a few common supplies. It's a hands-on way to introduce young preschoolers to patterns.

14. Number learning is really fun with this Car Parking Numbers Game !

15. Your kids will love learning about shapes with this Preschool Shape Scavenger Hunt !

16. This Number Pocket Game is a hands-on way for young preschoolers to learn numbers.

17. This Car Color Sort math activity is a great way for kids to practice sorting while playing with cars.

18. This Smack the Number Counting Game is fun way to practice number recognition and one to one correspondence. This was one of our favorite preschool math activities when my son was younger.

Math Activities for Preschool Math Centers

19. Make counting practice a game with this Race to Fill the Cup activity! This is a must-do when it comes to preschool math activities!

20. Finding shapes with I Spy Shape Glasses is a totally cool idea!

21. Counting and Measuring with LEGO is a fun way to work on counting, ordering and measuring numbers!

22. Take the learning outdoor with this super cool Pool Noodle Abacus !

23. This Button Counting Activity is a hands-on way for preschoolers to learn numbers and practice counting!

24. Work on fine motor skills and counting in this neat Counting beads on pipe cleaners activity!

25. Use clothespins to reinforce fine motor skills, colors and match numbers in this Hickory Dickory Dock Matching Clothespins activity!

26. This Printable Number Puzzle is a great way to work on a variety of ways to represent numbers.

27. This  Play Dough Math Invitation is open-ended and will keep preschoolers busy while learning a variety of math skills.

Even More Hands-On Math Activities for Preschoolers

28. These fun Farm Animal Rainbow Counters activity helps preschoolers learn to count and compare more or less!

29. Your kids will work on direction following, ordinal numbers and important vocabulary in this Matching Paths activity!

30. Your kids will have fun counting with this Ladybug Counting Busy Bag !

31.  Counting Nature is a great way to work on counting and explore nature!

32. Your kids will have a ton of fun with Play Dough Addition .

33. Exploring Symmetry with Art  is an awesome idea!

34. Use a  Numbered Nature Tray  to encourage number skill work while exploring nature!

35. This Play Dough Color Match Learning Activity is a fun way for kids to learn colors, matching, and sorting!

36. Your kids will love these 3 Counting Bear Activities for the Balance Scale !

37. This Counting Math Game for Kids is great for practicing one-to-one correspondence!

38. LEGO and Math combine in these LEGO Pattern Cards . A great activity to work on hands-on pattern building!

39. Counting Blocks While Building Towers is a fun way to learn with numbers!

40. These printable shapes are so inviting and are jam-packed with learning! You definitely have to add this to your list of preschool math activities to try with the kids!

Check out all of our other preschool math activities!

Number Find and Cover Worksheets

Pumpkin Counting Task Cards – Show the Number Math Activity

30 Fun Shape Activities For Kids to Learn Shapes

Number Activity Strips Free Printable

Editable Caterpillar Word Work Mats Free Printable

Dot Number Activity Mats Free Printable

Caterpillar Comparing Sets Clip Cards Free Printable

Spring Bee Roll and Cover Number Mats Free Printable

Flower Comparing Sets Math Activity

Easter Egg Roll and Cover the Number Free Printable

Make Ten Math Activity Free Printable

Learning Numbers with Hands-On Number Activities

Teen Number Matching Clip Cards Free Printable

2D Shapes Clip Cards Free Printable

Valentine’s Day Roll and Cover the Number Free Printable

Number Tower Mats Free Printable

Free Printable Number Matching Clip Cards

Valentine’s Day Theme Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten

Penguin Comparing Sets Clip Cards Free Printable

Snowman Number Spin & Build Mats Free Printable

Gingerbread 100 and 120 Chart Find and Cover the Number Game

Christmas Tree Roll and Cover Number Printable Mats

Gingerbread Roll and Cover the Number Mats Free Printable

Fall Leaf Comparing Sets Clip Cards Free Printable

Free Printable Number Cover Up Mats

Free Printable Spider Word Work Mats

Pumpkin Numbers Spin & Build Mats Free Printable

Apple 100 and 120 Chart Find and Cover the Number Game

Pumpkin Roll and Cover Number Mats Free Printable

Editable Apple Spin & Build Mats

Free Printable Apple Roll and Cover Number Mats

Number Formation Cards Free Printable

Free Printable Back to School Spin and Build Word Work Mats

Editable Back to School Four in a Row Printable Game

Free Printable Back to School Number Tower Mats

Printable Ocean Animal Spin and Cover Pattern Block Mats

Sun Number Towers Printable Math Activity

Editable Feed the Fish Spin and Build Mats Printable

Fish Roll and Cover Number Mats Free Printable

Flower Number Towers Free Printable Math Activity

Free Printable Easter Egg Number Towers Math Activity

Editable Frog Spin and Build Mats Word Work Printable

Editable Shamrock Spin and Build Mats Free Printable

Rainbow Number Towers Free Printable Math Activity

Construction Number Towers Free Printable Math Activity

Editable Valentine’s Day Spin and Build Word Work Mats

Editable Valentine’s Day Four in a Row Printable Literacy Game

Groundhog Day Free Printable Editable Board Game

Editable Winter Bump Game Printable for Word Work

Snowman Count the Room Free Printable Math Activity

Snowball Number Towers Free Printable Math Activity

Snowman 100 and 120 Chart Find and Cover Printable Number Mats

Editable Snowman Spin and Build Word Work Mats

Free Printable Snowman Comparing Sets Clip Cards

Gingerbread Number Towers Free Printable Math Activity

Editable Gingerbread Bump Game for Word Work Printable

Editable Gingerbread Spin and Build Word Work Mats Printable

Gingerbread Addition and Subtraction Mats Free Printable

Free Printable Christmas Editable Board Game

Fall Leaf Number Towers Free Printable Math Activity

Silly Monster Number Towers Free Printable Math Activity

Spider Count the Room Free Printable Math Activity

Pumpkin Number Towers Free Printable Math Activity

Pumpkin Teen Numbers Bump Game Free Printable

Pumpkin 100 & 120 Chart Printable Find and Cover Number Mats

Pumpkin Comparing Sets Clip Cards for Preschool and Kindergarten

Digital Apple Tree Making 10 Activity for Kindergarten

Apple Teen Numbers Bump Game Free Printable

Apple Number Towers Free Printable Math Activity

Free Digital Apple Tree Number Sense Find and Cover Activity

Digital Back to School Making 10 Math Activity

Back to School Count the Room Free Printable Math Activity

Digital Back to School Teen Numbers Math Activity

Pirate Treasure Counting Activity for Google Slides and Seesaw

Bug Jar Counting Activity for Google Slides and Seesaw

Non-standard Measurement Activity for Google Slides and Seesaw

2D Shapes Activity for Google Classroom and Seesaw

Flower Count the Room Printables for Preschool

Rainbow Roll and Cover Math Game Printable for Preschool

Printable Valentine’s Day Pattern Block Mats

Valentine’s Day Count the Room Printable for Preschool

Dental Health Count and Match Counting Activity for Preschool

Snowman Count and Cover Math Activity Printable for Preschool

Snow Globe Roll and Cover Math Game Printable

Gingerbread Theme Count the Room Printables for Preschool

Dinosaur Count and Cover Numbers Activity for Preschool

Turkey Roll and Cover Printable Math Game

Free Printable Forest Animal Pattern Block Mats

Fall Count and Cover Numbers Activity for Preschool

Silly Monster Roll and Cover Math Game Printable

And because I LOVE combining literacy and math, here are 60 fantastic Math Picture Books for Preschool . Swap these in and out of your math center all year-long!

I hope this list will help you plan preschool math activities for the year ahead. I am really excited to do so many fun and engaging math activities with my kids this year!

I would love for you to share your favorite math activities for preschoolers in the comments!

fun & meaningful learning every day

50+ Number Activities for Preschoolers

Shared by Mary Catherine Leave a comment

These number activities for preschoolers include many fun, engaging, and hands-on ways to explore numbers with young children. If you’re looking for math activities for preschoolers and kindergartners that focus on numbers, you’ve come to the right place!

Below, you’ll find a variety of preschool number activities to suit your needs. They let kids practice early math skills like number recognition, number formation, one-to-one correspondence, and counting. There are even a variety of number printables perfect for early childhood classrooms.

And all of the number activities take into account how young children learn. So the ideas encourage hands-on exploration with numbers and manipulatives.

Coming up, you’ll find all of the number-related activities from Fun-A-Day. I’ll keep adding to the list as I share more here with you, so be sure to pop back and check.

Table of Contents

Number Activities for Preschoolers

Click on the links that interest you the most, and be sure to save your favorite ones! I’ve started a new Numbers Pinterest board if that’s where you like saving links.

These number activities will help you teach a variety of important early math skills, like:

• One-to-one correspondence
• Number identification
• Number formation
• Matching numerals to quantities
• Numerical order
• Skip counting

Counting Activities for Preschoolers

We can’t talk about number activities for preschoolers without touching on counting, right? The links below can all be used to practice concepts like those listed above.

While each of these are different math skills, they’re very much interrelated. And, depending on the ages and needs of your students, you will focus on different ones with the following ideas.

Number Rocks

Outdoor Number Activities for Preschoolers

Ice Cream Math

Fine Motor Number Activity

Counting Snowballs

Spring Flower Math Game

Earth Day Math Sensory Bin

Pumpkin STEM Challenge

Pumpkin Seed Counting Activity

Thanksgiving Turkey Math

Preschool Turkey Math

Jingle Bell Dice Game

Broken Heart Numbers

Of course, there will be more coming in the future, and I’ll be sure to add the links then.

Preschool Number Printables

As promised, I also have some printables to add to this collection of number activities for preschoolers! While I’m not a fan of preschool worksheets , that usually only serve one purpose, I do rather like printables that can be used multiple ways.

In fact, I have over 40 number printables perfect for preschool and kindergarten classrooms! You can check them out by clicking on the link below:

Free Preschool Number Printables

Like the non-printable number ideas, these printables have been used with kids in both preschool and kindergarten. And they’re all great ways to explore early math concepts. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Rainbow Yarn Sensory Bin (with printable rainbow and gold ten frames)
• Printable Bat Emergent Reader (that’s all about counting bats)
• Snowman Roll and Cover

Okay, I’ll stop there. Since there are so many printable number activities for preschoolers, it’s best if you click through the link above. That way you can find just the right one for you and your kids!

Calendar Numbers

Okay, okay. So I didn’t stop there. Because I wanted to highlight a subset of the number printables. And those are the calendar numbers!

I highly recommend that you grab a few sets for yourself. You can use the number cards in SO MANY ways! They’re super easy to prep, and the illustrations allow for some whimsy throughout the year. Click on the link below to check them out:

I have quite a few more planned out for the upcoming year. So be sure to save that post, too. That way you can get your hands on them as soon as they’re ready!

What is Counting?

Since I mentioned above the various skills these number activities for preschoolers can cover, I thought we’d chat a bit about what the terms mean.

We, as adults, tend to use the term “counting” to cover a few different bases. When it comes to early math, counting means determining the total number of items in a particular group.

Some examples of counting:

• Holding up a finger for each year in a child’s age and counting them out loud. “One, two, three, four.”
• Placing toy cars out on the table and counting them along the way.
• Looking at five kids in line and counting them 1 through 5, sequentially.

So counting includes both numbers and sets of items. And the understanding that the last number said is the total of the items in the group.

What is Rote Counting?

If you’re here, you’re likely a teacher or caregiver of a young child. No doubt you’ve experienced said child practicing their counting (sometimes over and over and over again, right?!).

That’s rote counting – saying the numbers in order. Specifically, rote counting is reciting numbers in order (from memory). There are no specific objects being counted. The numbers are being said out loud in sequential order.

And, as with most things when it comes to young children, there are a few steps along the way to true rote counting. From toddlers saying, “One, three, nine . . .” to preschoolers counting to 20 but skipping 15, children work their way up to counting out loud.

What is One-to-One Correspondence?

One-to-one correspondence is the understanding that every object in a group can only be counted once; that every number corresponds with a specific quantity. It can also be explained as matching one item to one corresponding item or number.

This understanding is developed with lots of playful practice, in many different hands-on ways. Some examples of one-to-one correspondence in early childhood:

• Putting a counting bear on top of a toy block – “I have one bear and one block!”
• Placing manipulatives in a ten-frame, one frame at a time, with only one manipulative per square
• Touching one toy at a time while saying the corresponding number out loud
• Moving beads on a string as they’re being counted
• Pointing to kids in line, one by one, and counting along the way
• Counting each time a child hops on one foot

Most of the number activities for preschoolers included in this post can be used for counting with one-to-one correspondence. The activities help children move from rote counting to rational counting.

Matching Quantities to Numerals

One-to-one correspondence helps children learn that each number corresponds to a specific quantity. Using things like magnetic numbers or printable number cards can help kids move forward with corresponding quantities with numerals.

For example, you might place one of the calendar numbers on the table. It’s the numeral 5. Then your students can count out 5 Unifix cubes, one at a time, counting each one only once. So many early math skills are very much intertwined, so kids are exploring multiple concepts with each of the number activities for preschoolers.

Preschool Supplies for Exploring Numbers

Now that we’ve delved into all the fun number activities for preschoolers you can try out soon, let’s chat supplies. You don’t really have to have a certain type of material to teach kids about numbers. In fact, that’s one of the great things about preschool math – you can use items on-hand or already in your environment.

But, if you are looking for some suggestions, I’ve got you covered (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):

• Jumbo number magnets
• Counting bears
• Unifix cubes
• Sandpaper numerals

Now you’ll have to tell me what YOUR favorite number activities for preschoolers are! Leave them in the comments below this post.

Done-For-You Number Activities for Preschoolers

Let Preschool Teacher 101 make your teaching life easier with fully-developed, done-for-you preschool resources. That way you spend more time teaching and living your life, and less time planning!

We’ve got quite a few number-themed math resources that your students will love! They help support your math lessons and allow kids to practice number skills. Click on the images below to read more about a few of our resources:

And be sure to check out The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 , a membership for preschool teachers just like you. With over 100 lesson plans, over 130 supplemental resources, editable templates, trainings, and more . . . The Pack can save you a ton of time!

You can also find us on Teachers Pay Teachers .

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Search the Fun!

Fun by categories.

15 Amazing Math Activities for Preschoolers

Research  indicates that learning math early contributes to better math achievements later in school and even better achievement in literacy. The same study points out that the most predictive thing for later success in school is entering school with  math skills .

This is why we’ve compiled a list of 15 amazing math activities for preschoolers that will help you introduce preschoolers to math concepts in a fun and engaging way. Read on to find out more.

15 Math Activities for Preschoolers

1. sorting colors.

Sorting and classifying objects in different categories is highly beneficial for practicing preschool math as it encourages the child to think analytically and it will build the foundation for later math skills, such as algebraic operations.

The best of all? Preschoolers are naturally drawn to sorting stuff, and you might often notice them engaging in arranging their toys in categories. So, it shouldn’t be too hard to get them engaged in additional sorting activities!

One sorting activity that you can do with a preschooler is sorting colors. To do this, use three (or more) types of colored tape and create different shapes on the floor with each tape type. For example, you could create a big red triangle, a green rectangle, and a yellow square.

Then, get plenty of small pom-poms with the same colors (in this case, red, green, and yellow) and ask the child to sort them inside the floor shapes according to the color. And if you happen to be tight on money,  here ’s how to create your own pom-poms out of yarn.

2. Sorting by Type

Next on our math activities for preschoolers list, we have sorting by type. You’ll need some duct tape for this activity as well, as you’ll have to create a large frame on the floor. The frame is empty on the inside and this where the child is supposed to sort the appropriate objects. However, in contrast to the previous sorting activity, they don’t sort the objects by color, but by type.

For instance, bring plenty of animal counters, including farm animals like cattle, pigs, goats, horses, and wild animals such as elephants, lions, hyenas, rhinos, etc. Place the animals in a pile on the floor and ask the child to separate the farm animals from the wild animals by putting the farm animals inside the frame and leaving the wild ones outside of it.

Another variation of the game that may be easier, in case you don’t have access to animal counters, is to use fruits and vegetables and have the child classify fruits on the inside and vegetables on the outside of the frame (or vice versa).

3. Counting Bears

Plastic counting bears are a colorful educational manipulative for preschool children who are learning to count. But they’re also ideal for exploring patterns. To create a pattern recognition activity with counting bears, you’ll need a pack of counting bears and a large sheet with circles. This is one of those math activities for preschoolers that kids find fun, which is why we had to include it on our list.

As the counting bears come in five different colors, color the circles using only these five colors in order to create an ABC color pattern. For instance, if you have 7 rows, one circle will be green, the next one yellow, and the third one blue. Then you’d repeat the pattern with the next three: green, yellow, blue, leaving the seventh circle empty.

Ask the child to arrange the counting bears on top of each corresponding circle, so as to match the color. That is, a green bear should be placed on the green circle, a yellow bear on the yellow one, and a blue one on the blue one. Then, ask the child to observe the pattern and identify what color to use to color the seventh circle and what type of bear should go on it.

4. Graphing With Coin-Flipping

Graphing activities are very useful in helping the child familiarize themselves with the ways of showcasing data. From drawing bar graphs to pie chart manipulatives, you can find plenty of creative ways to practice some graphing.

This can be something as simple as creating a bar graph by flipping a coin. Take a sheet of paper and draw a head and a tail. Both the head and the tail are placed under a column of squares.

Now it’s time for some coin-flipping! Ask the child to flip the coin. Every time they get a tail, they color one square from the tail column, and every time the result is head, they color a square from the head column. Limit the number of times they flip the coin (ex: 20) so that when you reach 20 times, the child can compare and contrast which bar is higher.

5. Graphing With Bowling

This can be either a group activity or an activity that you do with your child. The goal is to create a bar graph while bowling. Thus, to do this activity, you’ll need a bowling ball and pins. In lack of a bowling ball and pins, you can also do this activity with plastic cups and a tennis bowl.

Then, take a large sheet of paper and add a line at the bottom with the following numbers: 1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. These numbers will represent the number of pins the children managed to knock down. Write the following question on the paper: “How many pins did we knock down?”

You’ll also need sticky notes that will be placed on the paper sheet in a column over the corresponding number each time a child knocks pins down. For example, if one player knocks down 5 pins, they put one sticky note in the column over number 5. If the next student knocks down 5 pins again, they add a sticky note to number 5 again.

After a few rounds, children will end up with a bar graph that has columns out of sticky notes and will be able to analyze the visual representation of their bowling as a group, and compare which bar is the highest and which is the lowest.

6. Learning Shapes With Geoboards

Many parents or preschool teachers use geoboards to explore the different geometric shapes. If you can’t afford a commercial geoboard, it’s actually pretty easy to create one. Just grab a large corkboard, a few push pins, and a few rubber bands.

It only takes a few minutes to arrange the push pins on the geoboard, just make sure they’re arranged in parallel rows and columns to facilitate the activity. Create a few task cards in advance, with a task line and an image of a certain shape that the child is supposed to create on the geoboard.

For instance, if the child gets a task card with a rectangle on it, and the task says: “I can create a rectangle”, then the child uses the rubber band to create a rectangle.

As children manipulate the rubber bands and re-create the images from the task cards, they are working on their attention spans and fine motor skills, while memorizing what a specific geometric shape looks like.

7. Matching Shapes

Next on our math activities for preschoolers list is the matching shapes activity, which is perfect for a larger group of kids. So if you’re a kindergarten teacher looking for a way to practice shapes with the children, make sure to give this activity a try. It will get kids moving and burn some of that extra energy!

You’ll need to prepare a variety of shapes. You can simply use color paper to draw them on and then cut them out. The exact number will depend on how big the group of children is. Make sure you have every shape at least twice (two rectangles, two circles, etc.) and that one shape is big and the other small.

Then hand out the shapes to the children, each child should get one shape. Tell them the aim of the activity is to find a match for their shape (ex: if one child has a big triangle, they should find the other kid that is holding a small triangle).

By matching shapes of different sizes, children will learn that shapes are the same regardless of their size. That is, a triangle is a triangle and a rectangle is a rectangle, whether small or big.

8. Geometry Jump

Geometry jump gets your kids jumping around to learn the different geometry shapes! All you need to do is draw geometric shapes in different colors on the driveway, such as a circle, triangle, square, etc. For children with more advanced math skills, throw in some octagons, hexagons, trapezoids, etc.

Now ask the child to stand right next to the shapes and tell them you’re going to play a game that will involve jumping from one shape to another. As you shout out a shape (ex: circle), the child tries to quickly jump on the circle shape.

When you notice that the child is starting to master the shapes, you can increase the pace at which you shout out the shapes. Just make sure that the shapes that you’re shouting out are within reach of the child so that they don’t get hurt.

If you want to make the game more challenging and practice quick reasoning skills, you can try having identical shapes, but with different colors. For instance, your ‘game board’ could have 1 white circle, 1 red circle, 1 blue rectangle, 1 green rectangle, 1 yellow trapezoid, 1 blue trapezoid, etc.

Then, instead of shouting out just the shape, you shout out both the shape and the color and the child has to quickly think where to jump to. Again, increase the pace as the child becomes more comfortable.

9. Counting Pine Cones

This is a simple outdoor activity that you can use to help the child practice numbers and counting. You’ll need pine cones and some colorful chalk and then you’re all set to go!

Draw numbers on the driveway with colorful chalk, you can use a different color for every number to make it more visually stimulating. Start with 1-10 numbers and then add additional numbers as the child’s counting skills progress.

Bring a pile of pine cones and ask the child to put the corresponding number of cones under each numeral written on the driveway. That is, the child should put 3 cones under number 3, 5 cones under number 5, 7 cones under number 7, and so on.

In lack of pine cones, you can easily adjust the activity to any material you’ve got in your neighborhood, including leaves or small stones.

10. Apples on a Tree

This activity involves practicing counting while putting apples on a tree. You’ll need a printed apple tree drawing (or simply draw an apple tree on a sheet of paper yourself). Just make sure the apple tree doesn’t have any apples on it as the aim of the activity is for the child to place a given number of apples on it.

You’ll also need 2 dice and some small pom-poms. Include pom-poms in two different colors, for instance, yellow and red, as these will represent the apples.

Ask the child to roll the two dice. The dice closer to them will signal the number of red apples and the dice that is rolled farther away will signal the number of yellow apples on the tree.

Let’s say the child got a 5 and a 3 after rolling the two dice, with the 5 being closer to them. They should then put 2 red apples and 3 yellow apples on the tree. Repeat until the child manages to count the pom-poms quickly.

11. Broken Heart Numbers

This is a matching activity that focuses on number recognition and counting. You’ll need some red construction paper, a marker and some scissors. Draw hearts on the construction paper and cut all hearts in half in a zig-zag way.

On one half on the heart, write a number and on the other half of the heart, draw small hearts that will correspond to the number written on the first half. For instance, if you wrote the number 4 in the first half, you’ll need to draw four hearts in the second half.

Now mix up the heart halves in a pile on the floor and start playing! To avoid making it too complicated, you can simply put all the numeral halves on one side and all the small heart halves on the other.

Explain to the child that they’ll need to match the heart halves with the appropriate numbers, so as to mend all of the broken hearts!

12. Animal Matching

This animal matching activity is a great group activity that any preschool teacher can easily use, but if you’re a parent wanting to practice some preschool math with your child you can easily adapt it to an individual activity, as well.

You’ll need to either get some printouts with animals or draw a given number of animals on different cards yourself. In addition to the animal cards, you’ll need to create number cards that have a certain number written on them.

Give a card to each child, either an animal card or a number card. They’re supposed to go around the room and try to find their match. For instance, if a child got a number card on which the number 7 is written, they’re supposed to find a child that holds an animal card with seven animals (these could be seven lions, seven monkeys, or any other animal).

Just make sure to explain to children that they’re not supposed to shout out their number or animal quantity. They should simply go from one child to the other and ask the other child to flip their card. The first pair that manages to find that match wins the game!

13. Ice Cream Math

All children love ice cream, so they’ll have a blast playing one of their favorite math activities for preschoolers! You’ll need an ice cream box, ice cream cones, and some ice cream tongs. And of course, you’ll have to make some ice cream and put it in the box. Alternatively, you can simply purchase a box of ice cream.

Explain to the child that this activity involves role-playing – they’re the ice cream vendor and you’re the customer. As a customer, you approach them and ask them for ice cream with a certain number of ice cream balls. They take your order and count the number of balls they put in the cone.

Afterward, you put the balls back into the ice cream box and repeat the activity with a different number. Once the child manages to get all numbers right, you treat yourselves with some delicious ice cream!

If you don’t want to use real ice cream, a simpler variation of this activity is to create an ice cream cone out of paper and use some tom-toms as ice cream balls. Use small tweezers to place the balls into the cone. Everything else stays the same, you’re the customer placing orders at the ice cream shop and the child is happy to serve your ice cream orders!

14. Symmetry With Ladybugs

This is a creative way to learn symmetry and reinforce counting skills in children. To do this activity, you’ll need a drawing of a huge ladybug (without any black spots on its wings), a pencil and rubber, and some black playdough.

Write the following sentence on top of the ladybug “I have x black spots on my wings”. The x stands for the number of spots the ladybug has on its wings, and you’ll modify it each time according to the number you wish to practice.

For instance, if you write “I have 8 black spots on my wings”, the child is supposed to create 8 spots out of the playdough and place them on the ladybug’s wings. In the next round, you’ll erase the number 8 and write 10 or any other number you wish to practice.

Just make sure you are writing numbers that are even, as the aim of the activity is to practice both symmetry and counting skills, so the child will need to place the same number of spots on both the left and right wing of the ladybug.

15. Lego Measurement

The final activity on our math activities for preschoolers list involves legos. Since standard units of measurement, such as inches/centimeters, pounds/kilos, quarts/liters, etc. might be too complicated for preschool children, you can rely on non-standard units of measurements that use common things that children already know. One example of this is Legos.

Grab a pile of Legos and place them on the floor. Just make sure that the size of the Legos you gather is more or less the same. Alternatively, you can use any other type of toy building bricks, as long as they fit together.

In the meantime, the child should choose a few of their toys and place them on the floor next to the Legos. Explain to the child that you’ll try to do some measurements and size prediction together, with the help of the Legos.

Then ask the child to measure one of the toys they chose by placing legos alongside the toy. For example, if the child brought their favorite teddy bear, have them measure how tall this teddy bear is by stacking Legos next to it.

Now the child should have an idea of how many legos it takes for a given object, ask them to predict how many Legos should be fitted together for the rest of the toys. Use a chart with prediction and result to compare the answers.

This article enumerated 15 amazing math activities for preschoolers that will sharpen your children’s math skills and get them ready to start school!

Are you looking for more math activities for preschoolers? Make sure to check out our site at  MathTeacherCoach , or have a look at our  blog , where you’ll find plenty of resources for kids of all ages.  Sign up  to become a member and never worry again about running out of amazing math ideas!

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.