Math can be so much fun! Learn about 7 math activities for preschoolers and help them become familiar with number concepts.
Math is present in many situations in our daily lives and is very important to understand the world. Despite this, it is usually one of the most feared subjects at school. But this can be avoided if you use play and a context-specific approach from early childhood.
The activities with numbers are excellent for early childhood education, as they help to awaken a child’s natural curiosity. Thus, it creates a genuine interest in mathematics, which can define the relationship they will have with this area of knowledge for years to come.
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Best of all, parents can contribute to this from an early age. Early incentive at home has countless positive impacts on the education and upbringing of young children. With that in mind, we have prepared 7 fun math activities for preschoolers for you to do with your child. Keep reading!
Math activities for preschoolers
1. Bowling
For this activity you will need:
- 10 toilet paper tubes
- paint and brushes
- permanent marker
- 1 ball
First, call your child and paint the paper tubes together, each a different color. Then, use a marker to write the numbers 1 to 10, one number for each “pin.” Now, just have fun!
Place the tubes some distance away from you and play with the ball to knock down as many pins as you can. To further encourage number recognition, ask your little one how many tubes fell and what number is written on each one.
2. Magic sand
This activity promotes cognitive development. More specifically, it will help improve visual math skills and understanding of spatial and quantity concepts.
It is very simple! In a sandbox, let your child build whatever they want: castles, mountains, anything they can think of. In the meantime, talk to them about what they’re doing to strengthen your connection and have a meaningful interaction.
Take advantage of this moment of conversation and fun to ask simple questions about number concepts. For example, make two piles of sand of different sizes and ask which one is bigger and which one is smaller. Then play some more and ask if there is now more or less sand, and so on.
3. Comparing quantities
For children older than 48 months (4 years old), it is already possible to introduce the comparison of small numerical quantities. Find a quiet, comfortable place where your child can sit and write. Begin by explaining that some numbers represent larger amounts than others.
You can use objects around you to exemplify this, or even body parts. For example, we have two ears and five fingers on each hand. Take advantage of the topics that interest your child to engage them with exciting examples.
To finish the explanation, use the worksheet “Comparing quantities” and ask your little one to circle the group with the most objects in each row using some crayons; you can help them count.
If they already know how to write numbers, ask them to draw the number corresponding to the number of objects next to each group. You can also help by showing them how to write each number on a piece of paper and then asking your child to copy them.
4. Wheel with pins
This is another fun example of math activities for preschoolers that encourage your child to get familiarized with the mathematical universe while having fun. To do it, you will need:
- cardboard
- clothespins
- stickers
- permanent marker
Take the cardboard and cut out a circle. Then, divide it into 10 equal parts and, inside each part, paste stickers of the corresponding quantity to represent the numbers from 1 to 10.
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Also, prepare 10 clothespins, each with the numbers 1-10 drawn on it with the marker. Now, challenge your little one to place the corresponding pin on each section of the circle, based on the numeral represented on the clothespins and the number of stickers.
5. Cup tower
Building cup towers is always fun, isn’t it? Take advantage of this game to encourage your child’s counting skills. Get a pack of 100 plastic cups and have the whole family build the tallest tower possible.
Once it’s ready, ask your little one if they can figure out how many cups were used. Then help them count to 100. When they’re done, you can also knock over the tower together; this part is usually a lot of fun for children.
6. String dishes
If your child is already familiar with numbers, why not do a more challenging activity? For example, counting by tens! This is one of the math activities for preschoolers that, in addition to being fun, favors the development of fine motor skills. To do it, you will need:
- paper or plastic plates
- a paper hole punch
- tape
- string or yarn
- permanent marker
Before you invite your child to play, punch 10 holes in the edges of the plate, trying to get them evenly spaced. Then, write the tens from 10 to 100 under each hole in random order. For example: 20, 80, 10, 50 etc.
When the game is ready, give your child the plate and string. The challenge will be inserting the string into the holes in the correct sequence, starting from 10 to 100. As they go through each hole, you can secure the string with tape. Remember to congratulate your child when they finish the sequence!
7. Supermarket
The best thing about math play activities is that your little one learns while they play. One of the most common pretend games in childhood is to play to be the cashier at the supermarket or the store, right? So if you can, get a toy cash register.
Use other toys around the house as merchandise and practice addition skills with your little one while you pretend to be a customer. Use small numbers to price toys, buy more than one, and ask the cashier to add up the total price of the purchase.
You can also remove an object after calculating the total value so your little one can practice subtracting. You will surely have a lot of fun and give them some finance insight in the process!
With these math activities for preschoolers, you will help your child become familiar with mathematics from a young age. In the Kinedu app you will find many other activities and games that contribute to your child’s development in various areas.
Would you like to find out more about those activities? Then download the Kinedu app for free to view over 1,800 activities suitable for your child’s age and developmental stage!
