Maths activities for preschool


Hands-On Math Activities for Preschoolers

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Math is so fun to teach to preschoolers because there are a lot of daily activities that incorporate math. Preschoolers don’t need worksheets for math…they should learn through play and hands-on activities.

1. Patterns with Bears

Counting Bears are a great math manipulative to use with preschoolers. You can sort, count, or use them with patterns.

I created some pattern cards to help with this. The first page is an AB pattern, meaning two colors alternate in the pattern. The second page is an ABC pattern, meaning three are three colors in the pattern. For this activity, your preschooler will set the colored bear on top of the matching color to create a pattern. On the ABC pattern cards, the last circle is left empty. That is for your child to tell you what color it should be.

You can get the color patterns printable at the bottom of this post.

Math Skill: Patterns and Relationships

You can find more pattern activities here.

2. Sorting Colors with Bears

Sorting is a skill preschoolers should work on a lot. One way to sort is by color. We do this with our counting bears and a sorting mat.

You can get the sorting mat printable at the bottom of this post.

You can even use colored tape and pom poms to practice sorting! Add in some tweezers for some extra fine motor practice.

We also love counting mats! These are great for learning to count and working on one-to-one correspondence.

Math Skill: Patterns and Relationships

3. Money Muncher

A fun way to work on sorting is with the Money Muncher! It’s also a great activity for fine motor skills. To see all the fun details, click here.

Math Skill: Patterns and Relationships

4. Sorting Jelly Beans

Anytime we work with candy, my kids love it! You can sort M&Ms or jelly beans or whatever! To see how we did this with jelly beans, click here.

You can get the jelly bean sorting printable at the bottom of this post.

One more idea for sorting is by using toy animals. Have them sort by different characteristics, such as land animals and sea animals.

Math Skill: Patterns and Relationships

5. Graphing

Graphing is always good to introduce to preschoolers. It doesn’t have to be complex, but you can do a simple activity like graphing the types of transportation on a bar graph and use small pictures or toys (or I used erasers from The Dollar Tree).

Make graphing hands-on using apples! Even young preschoolers can begin learning about graphing with this activity.

Check out this free gumball graphing activity right here.

Math Skill: Patterns and Relationships

6. Shape Wheel

This is a fun activity for learning shapes! Just print this shape wheel and draw the same colored shapes onto clothespins. Have your child match the clothespin to the shape on the wheel. This is great for working on fine motor skills!

You can get the shape wheel printable at the bottom of this post.

Math Skill: Geometry

7. Shape Sorter

An easy way to practice shapes is with a Shape Sorter! I bought these shapes at Michaels Craft Store many years ago, but these 3D geometric shapes would be a good option if you’re interested in creating a Shape Sorter. Check out this post for details on how to make this easy math activity.

Math Skill: Geometry

8. Noodle Shape Cards

A neat sensory activity and a fun way to learn shapes are with noodles! See the post here to download the free shape cards.

Math Skill: Geometry

9. Foam Sticks

Learn shapes in the tub with these foam sticks! You can see how we did this here.

Another fun way to practice shapes is with the cookie shapes matching activity!

And my favorite way to teach about shapes is with my shape rhymes!

10. Dice Game

This is a really fun game! I took this Melissa & Doug wooden toy and put white circle stickers on the top of the pegs. I wrote numbers 1-6 and had 2 stars. I had my son roll the dice and whatever number it landed on, he would pound with a toy hammer. If the number he rolled was already down, he hit the star. Not only was this fun for him, but he was able to “subitize”, which simply means to recognize numbers instantly without counting the dots.

Math Skill: Number Concepts

11. Star Number Cards

Practice counting and recognizing numbers with star number cards. This one is great for working on one-to-one correspondence and fine motor skills.

You can get the star number printable cards at the bottom of this post.

Math Skill: Number Concepts

12. Ladybug Math

We made these adorable ladybugs and they were a hit! Not only were they fun to play with, but we did a lot of counting and sorting with them. Read all about it here.

Math Skill: Number Concepts

13. Balloons

Learn the order of numbers with this really fun game involving balloons! Check out the details here.

  Math Skill: Number Concepts

14. Estimating with Water

We learned about estimation with a dropper with some fun, hands-on water activities.

Math Skill: Measurement

15.  Pouring and Comparing

We practiced pouring skills with rice into these beakers. Then I had my son line them up from biggest to smallest. Using comparative words like big/small or empty/full help teach preschoolers about simple concepts of measurement. This is simple and you could elaborate on this activity.

One more easy way to practice measurement is with Unifix cubes. Place different lengths of tape on the floor or poster board. Then have your child use Unifix cubes to measure the lines. This is a simple way to practice counting, measuring, and comparing lengths.

Math Skill: Measurement

Lastly, check out this really easy and fun way to practice counting!

If you’re looking for digital math activities, make sure to check out my counting activities using Google Slides.

If you’d like to download the 5 free printables I shared in this blog post, just click on the button below!

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!

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!

Entertaining math for preschoolers, online math games and tasks

HomeExerciseMath

Math

Learning shapes course

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What is symmetry?

Part of the whole

We study the figures (1)

We study the figures (2)

Study the figures (3)

We study the figures (4)

Posal Line

polygon

polygons (1)

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Course Learn numbers

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Number 1 (1)

Distinguish numbers from 0 to 9 (1)

Distinguish numbers from 0 to 9 (2)

Distinguish numbers from 0 to 9 (3) 9000

Distinguish numbers from 0 to 9 (4)

Number line up to 10 (1)

Digit 1 (2)

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Digit 2 (2)

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Funny numbers (1)

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Cheerful count up to 3

Cheerful count up to 5

Where else? (1)

Where is more? (2)

Let's count!

Remove the numbers up to 3

We play and consider

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Consider up to 10

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Funny account up to 10 (1)

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Tasks for up to 10 up to 10 (1)

Number line problems up to 10 (2)

Play and count (1)

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Which is in order up to 10?

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Count up to 20

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Correlating objects and numbers up to 20 (1)

Composition of the number 12

Counting in pairs up to 20

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Count up to 100

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Millimeter

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Count to one hundred

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Compare numbers

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Comparison of numbers within 20

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Remember the multiplication table

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Money LOVE

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Composition of the number

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days of the week (1)

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Why do we need mathematics?

Mathematics is a fundamental science that appeared at the moment when a person needed to calculate something. We can say that her age is not much different from the age of mankind. Mathematics helps, on the one hand, to develop abstract thinking, on the other hand, to solve applied problems in everyday life.

Mathematical thinking, or mathematical mindset, is based on logic, the ability to build cause-and-effect relationships, critical thinking, the desire to get to the bottom of a question or problem.

Mathematics forms skills that are relevant for any historical period, especially for the present.

What is entertaining mathematics?

Undoubtedly, mathematical abilities are developed by special efforts.

One option is to study mathematics by solving mathematical problems. For an easier and more exciting learning process, a special section is used - entertaining mathematics. In thoughtful game tasks, interesting plots, using humor, the science of mathematics appears in the most attractive form, which is especially important when teaching children. Children's curiosity and excitement allow you to get involved in the world of abstract calculations and go from entertaining puzzles to real complex mathematics.

Why does the child not understand mathematics?

There is no definite answer to this question. Perhaps the child has not yet fully mastered the skills of counting. Here, counting games from very simple to complicated options, for example, with dice (as an option, rpg board games) will help.

Very young children may still have unformed abstract thinking: it is easier for them to operate with visual objects. A parent or teacher always shows the application of mathematics, explaining why mathematics is needed in life.

If we are talking about an older age, then it is possible to structure abstract thinking in the form of diagrams on paper, helping not to keep all the data in mind, but to see the full picture visually.

If mathematics is difficult for a child, it may be worth paying additional attention to the development of imagination. It is not necessary to use the detailed solution of math problems; you can go through mazes, cut out patterns, collect various crafts according to the schemes. Creativity is welcome, because mathematics is not always about dry numbers.

Math in pictures for preschoolers online is now available to every child. The section includes tasks and games in arithmetic for children, exciting tasks that develop addition and subtraction lessons for children. The exercises in this section will help develop attention and concentration, form elementary mathematical concepts in children.

Playful activities

Your child will have a fun and productive time.

Children are engaged with pleasure, are completely immersed in the learning process and achieve results. For children under 6 who have not yet learned to read, we voiced each task.

Cups and medals for children

Awards that motivate children to achieve success.

Each child has his own “hall of awards and achievements”. If the tasks are completed correctly, children receive cups, medals and nominal diplomas. The awards can be shared on social networks, and the diploma can be printed.

Personal training

Fully controlled development of the child.

We save all the successes of the child and show you what you should pay special attention to. Make up your own training programs so that the child develops harmoniously in all the right directions.

Start studying with your child
today - it's free

Register and get 20 tasks for free. To remove restrictions and achieve great results in your studies - choose and pay for the tariff plan that suits you.

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Math for kids 4, 5, 6, 7 years old

children, both at home and in preschool and school institutions. Learning math in a playful way is a very interesting activity even for those children who do not show much love for learning. Also, such tasks are great for little fidgets who cannot sit in one place for 5 minutes. Each game task is designed for a younger child - it is designed in such a way that the child does not get tired, and at the same time receives a useful portion of knowledge and skills. The main thing is not to solve all the tasks at once, only one at a time!

Mathematics for children 4, 5, 6, 7 years old - choose a section for learning

Mathematics for children is presented here in several sections, each of which develops certain skills in teaching a child. For example, counting up to 10 and 20 is intended for children who are learning to count objects, but still do not know numbers well and do not know how to solve mathematical expressions. In the section with tasks in mathematics, more complex tasks are presented, in which examples, tasks, and various tasks for adding, subtracting, dividing the number of objects into equal parts, etc. can be found. In tasks with geometric shapes, children will get acquainted with the shapes and names of geometric shapes, perform simple tasks to consolidate the learned material. Also, tasks with mathematical signs (greater than, less than, equals sign) are given separately.

Learn to Count to 10 - Fun Picture Activities

In this section, we learn to count to 10 with fun picture activities for preschoolers. Learning to count in a playful way is a very interesting activity even for those children who do not show much love for learning.

Learn to count up to 20 - Game tasks in pictures

Here we learn to count up to 20 by completing interesting game tasks in pictures. The activities below are suitable for children who have already mastered counting up to 10 and are starting to learn counting within 20.

Fun math pictorial tasks for kids

Here are some fun and colorful math pictorial tasks for kids who are getting ready for school or are in 1st grade. Assignments can be very useful for teachers in kindergartens and elementary schools to teach children about mathematical expressions more effectively.

Geometric shapes for children - Interesting tasks

Here you can download and print geometric shapes for children in the form of interesting tasks in pictures, the implementation of which will not only benefit the child, but also a lot of fun.

Numbers for kids - Download, print and cut!

Numbers for children in various designs are presented here - numbers in the form of flowers, three-dimensional, gold, with various textures, ice, puzzle numbers, as well as simple numbers in black and red.

Mathematical signs and symbols - Picture tasks

Learning math signs and symbols with interesting picture tasks. By completing tasks, the child will learn to distinguish between greater than and less than signs, as well as plus, minus and equal signs.

Other interesting math topics

Educational games "Mathematics for Toddlers"

Games developed by the Chudo-Yudo children's portal especially for the youngest children (from 2 years old) who are just starting to learn to count to 10. Such games contribute to faster memorization of numbers, and also allow the child to understand the technology of counting, which is difficult for his age.

Math games for children from 4 to 6 years old

Games are designed to prepare a preschooler for the first mathematical knowledge and the ability to count. Here you will find interesting colorful games in which the child will need to find and count the specified number of objects or living beings. Children of this age really like to count, especially in a playful way.

Math examples online

A great opportunity for younger students to practice their knowledge of mathematics. After all, in these tasks you need to be able to quickly solve examples, because a certain time is allocated for the passage of each task. When the time runs out, then you are credited with points only for those examples to which the child managed to answer.

All educational materials presented in the section "Mathematics for children 4, 5, 6, 7 years old" are very useful for preschoolers to prepare for school, as well as for younger students to practice and test their knowledge.


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