30 Preschool Math Video games and Actions for Younger Learners


Younger youngsters be taught by doing, particularly preschoolers! They’re lively, hands-on, and enthusiastic about studying. Right here’s a set of preschool math video games and actions throughout many early math areas that faucet into that action-oriented enthusiasm and their have to get hands-on. There may be plenty of emphasis on the fundamentals of early math studying in these preschool math video games, particularly patterns, numbers, colours, shapes, and counting. All the things else with math builds on these. So, have enjoyable doing and studying along with these math video games for preschool college students.

Preschool Math Video games

1. Pipe Cleaner Counters

Pipe Cleaner Counters
Sarah Cason for We Are Academics

College students will love this participating colourful exercise that helps them observe fundamental counting and one-to-one correspondence. Present pipe cleaners and pony beads (these have large holes). Have college students use 10 pipe cleaners and put one bead on the primary, two beads on the second, and persevering with to 10 beads on the tenth pipe cleaner. Depend these out loud collectively as youngsters contact the beads on their Pipe Cleaner Counters.

2. Digging for Numbers

Present a plastic tub of sand with a pre-determined variety of taking part in playing cards “buried” within the sand. Even have a sheet of paper with numbers matching the playing cards. A scholar will dig for and discover a card, then place it subsequent to the matching quantity on the sheet. In fact college students can use their palms to dig, however plastic shovels, plastic spoons, or tongs may add to the enjoyable.

3. Hold It Up

So easy however so enjoyable! Who doesn’t like to play with balloons? College students will want a balloon and a die. College students roll the die after which bounce their balloon that variety of instances with out letting it contact the bottom.

4. Roll and Construct

Roll and Build
Sarah Cason for We Are Academics

Getting hands-on with preschool math video games and counting with cubes is an effective way to get a “really feel” for math. Give college students a pair of cube and blocks, LEGO bricks, or Unifix Cubes. College students roll one die and construct a tower with that variety of blocks or cubes. They then roll the second die and add that quantity to the tower. Now rely what number of cubes or bricks within the tower. Examine towers. Ask questions which have college students pondering and counting like, Which is tallest? What number of cubes is it? Which is shortest? What number of cubes in that one? Take towers aside and start once more.

5. Construct a Bug

Youngsters love bugs, and with this exercise, they get to make one. Reduce out items of paper that create components of two easy, similar bugs: 1 head, 2 antennae, 2 eyes, a physique, 6 legs, a tail. Put all of the items within the heart. Give college students a die. College students will play in pairs, rolling the die and taking that variety of bug physique components and assembling them collectively. Hold rolling till the pair builds an entire bug.

6. Making Shapes With Sticks

This may take a bit of easy prep, however it should function a set of shapes that can final! Present college students with markers, wooden craft sticks, and glue. Give instructions to create shapes, like, “coloration three sticks inexperienced and put them collectively to make a triangle, coloration 4 sticks purple for a sq., coloration 5 sticks blue for a pentagon,” and so forth. College students can observe a ready mat with the coloured shapes or simply make the shapes with sticks with out the information mat. Strive making one a day firstly, after which college students can work independently.

7. Swat That Quantity

Swat That Number
Sarah Cason for We Are Academics

Most children like to run round and hit issues. You don’t get a lot probability to do this as a preschooler, however on this recreation you do! Write numbers 1 by 10 on the board or on playing cards that you simply place across the classroom. Give a scholar a fly swatter. Name out a quantity and the scholar should run to the right quantity and swat that quantity. Everybody then says the quantity aloud. Move the fly swatter on to the following individual and proceed till everybody will get a flip.

8. Time To Hibernate

This exercise faucets into imaginative play … and bears! Use six dark-colored plastic bowls as bear caves. Reduce out a “cave opening” on the facet of the bowls, flip the bowl/caves the wrong way up, and put a quantity sticker from 1 to six on every cave. Present counting bears and a die. College students will roll the die, rely that many bears, and put them within the corresponding numbered cave. If that cave is already full, roll once more.

9. Measuring Our Bears

Measuring with cubes is an effective starting for standardized measuring. Have college students usher in a stuffed animal bear from residence. In teams, have the scholars put the bears so as of top from shortest to tallest. Measure every bear utilizing connecting blocks. Ask questions like: How tall was the shortest bear? The tallest? What number of bears have been the identical top? Do that with totally different stuffed animals one other day.

10. Park Your Automobile 

Present some matchbox toy vehicles or related. Tape a quantity on the roof of every automobile. Put out a big piece of cardboard the place you’ve got drawn and numbered “parking areas.” Youngsters can have some driving enjoyable as they “park” their numbered small autos of their corresponding numbered parking areas.

11. Domino Match-Up

Domino Match Up
Sarah Cason for We Are Academics

Matching countable units with a quantity is an effective early math talent. Right here’s one strategy to do it. College students will use dominoes to match the values of numbered playing cards laid out on the ground or desk. There can be a number of totally different dominoes with totally different combos that can match up with every quantity card. For instance, a quantity card with 6 could be matched with dominoes which have 4/2, 3/3, or 5/1.

12. Ice Tray Mirror

Patterns are the inspiration of plenty of arithmetic, and youngsters start to note them early on. Make an association/sample of coloured circles on a ready information sheet. Present college students with the identical coloration cotton balls or pom-poms. College students will use their finger, or tongs or tweezers for much more enjoyable, to reflect the association or sample set for them by inserting them in an empty ice dice tray.

13. Animal Race to 10

Pair up college students and provides them an un-numbered 10-space grid. Even have them every choose a small plastic animal from a set you possibly can simply discover on the greenback retailer. Gamers roll a die and transfer their animal that many areas on the grid. BUT to get to the tenth and final area, they have to roll the precise quantity.

14. Hungry Monsters

This exercise has youngsters sorting after which constructing. First, create the “monsters” by gathering 4 or 5 lunch-size paper baggage. Use card inventory in colours that can match the colours of the blocks, LEGO bricks, or cubes. Make “monster” faces with googly eyes, markers, pencils, and different craft supplies. Connect the monster face onto the paper baggage, then reduce out a mouth of a measurement the blocks can match by.

Now the youngsters will feed the monsters blocks by matching the block coloration to the monster face coloration. As soon as all of the blocks have been fed to the monsters, the scholars will empty the “monster bag,” rely the blocks, and construct one thing of their selection with that coloration block.

15. Metropolis Skyline

City Skyline
Sarah Cason for We Are Academics

Present college students with a set of playing cards with single-digit numbers on them and a set of constructing blocks. The scholars will lay out the playing cards in a row on the desk and for every quantity make a tower utilizing that corresponding variety of blocks proper subsequent to the cardboard. When introducing the exercise, begin with 4 or 5 playing cards, then after some expertise, add extra playing cards with even larger numbers.

16. Tube Tower Drop

Collect a number of paper towel and bathroom tissue tubes. Stand them upright and write a quantity on each. College students will drop small objects—counting bears, blocks, and so on.—into the tubes in response to the quantity on the tube. When completed, have a accomplice assist examine by counting collectively.

17. Musical Dot Cease

This exercise focuses on comparisons utilizing the mathematics vocabulary phrases “extra” and “much less.” On paper plates, stamp or draw coloured circles utilizing two totally different colours. The variety of circles ought to be straightforward on your college students to rely. Each scholar will get a paper plate. Then begin the music. College students start to stroll or bop across the room till the instructor stops the music. Then college students discover somebody close by to pair up with. They examine their paper plates, counting dots and evaluating which one has extra and which one has much less. The instructor asks every pair to verbalize what they discovered, after which the music and march begins once more.

18. Uno Quantity Match-Up

Uno Number Match-up
Sarah Cason for We Are Academics

Studying to acknowledge numbers is a key early math goal. Right here’s one of many easy preschool math video games to observe that concept. Get a small variety of Uno recreation playing cards—begin with eight and put in matching pairs. Flip the playing cards face down and let pairs of scholars take turns flipping over two playing cards per flip hoping for a match. You possibly can both play in order that after they get a match, their flip is over, or after they get a match, they go once more.

19. Form Hunt

Draw the shapes you need your scholar to observe on separate sheets of card inventory. You can too write the form title. Unfold these out on the ground. Have the scholars hunt within the room for objects which can be that form, and put the objects on or close to that corresponding form sheet.

20. I Can Hear the Patterns

You possibly can see patterns, you can also make patterns, and you may as well hear patterns. Utilizing clapping, tapping, and snapping fingers, the instructor/chief sounds out a sample and the youngsters observe alongside and take part. For instance, you may do three claps, two faucets on the ground, three claps, two faucets on the ground. After everybody joins in efficiently, cease and ask somebody to explain the sample in phrases. Prolong the patterns when the scholars appear prepared for extra complicated ones. Then let college students take a flip main.

21. Form Patterns

Focus on with college students how a sample all the time repeats. Pink, blue shouldn’t be a sample till it repeats. On the whiteboard, draw a sample utilizing shapes. For instance, you may draw sq., sq., sq., circle, sq., sq., circle. Have college students come up and draw the continuation of the sample. Make the patterns extra complicated when college students appear prepared for extra complicated patterns.

This will also be performed with colours (of the identical form). For instance, draw dots on the board: blue, inexperienced, inexperienced, purple; blue, inexperienced, inexperienced, purple, and have college students come up and proceed the sample.

22. Hear and Construct Patterns

On this exercise, college students bodily report a listening sample with blocks. Collect the category in a circle. Clarify that you’ll clap and snap a sample and that college students will make it in entrance of them utilizing blocks. A blue block is a clap. A purple block is a snap. If you happen to make a sample that’s clap, snap, clap, snap, college students would put out blue, purple, blue, purple. Put a pile of blocks within the heart. Clap and snap a sample whereas the scholars construct it. When performed, ask college students to elucidate why they constructed the sample they did. Strive a couple of extra after which let college students take turns main.

23. Empty Your Cup

Empty Your Cup
Sarah Cason for We Are Academics

This exercise emphasizes counting but additionally lays the inspiration for subtraction. Provides wanted are two same-size plastic cups (giant blue or purple are good), a single die, and the identical variety of small objects (counting bears, constructing blocks, and so on.) that can slot in every cup. Pairs of scholars take turns rolling the die and eradicating that many objects from their cup. Whoever empties their cup first wins.

24. Individuals Place Patterns

Give every scholar two sheets of paper. Have them draw two photos, one in all somebody standing and one in all somebody sitting. Urge college students to maintain the drawings easy. Collect all of the sheets and put them in a pile face down. Have a scholar flip excessive three sheets, and the category will type that sample. For instance, if the images present “stand, stand, sit,” college students will type a line and the primary two college students will stand and the third will sit. College students 4 and 5 will stand and scholar 6 will sit. Proceed the sample with all the scholars.

25. Image Body Patterns

Present every scholar with a big sheet of building paper (the colour doesn’t matter) and a glue stick. Put a lot of shapes reduce from totally different colours of building paper within the heart of the desk. Ask college students to create a sample across the fringe of their sheet of building paper with two colours or two shapes to type a body. In the midst of the body, draw an image. If you happen to work small, you can also make a number of of those with totally different body patterns.

26. Comply with That Sample

Give every scholar a ready card or strip of card inventory with a sample on it. The sample may very well be of shapes (all the identical coloration) or the sample may very well be solely colours (all the identical form). Give college students a whiteboard or different erasable floor to repeat the sample and proceed it.

27. Numeral Writing

Draw a numeral a number of instances on the board. Instruct very particularly precisely how the numeral is drawn. College students use their pointer finger to hint the quantity within the air, then hint it on their palm, after which on their desks, repeating the instructor’s particular directions out loud. Then give every scholar a paper plate with rice, salt, or sand to hint in. Proceed to observe. Permit college students to take turns “giving the directions” to the category on tips on how to write the numeral.

28. Comply with That Sample With Blocks

Follow That Pattern with Blocks
Sarah Cason for We Are Academics

Present the category a sample you’ve made utilizing different-colored connecting blocks. Give the scholars blocks and ask them to breed that sample and proceed it. As soon as they’ve proven mastery of this, have college students create their very own sample utilizing eight blocks. Acquire these and put them in a field. College students take turns pulling these out of the field, bringing them to their seats, and utilizing extra blocks to proceed the sample.

29. Extra Numeral Writing

Pair college students up. They’ll want two units of playing cards, one with a numeral written on it and the opposite with a corresponding variety of dots. They’ll additionally want quite a lot of methods to put in writing the numerals, like chalk and blackboard, markers and whiteboard, salt/sand/rice trays, or shaving cream on the desk. (College students ought to be given some free exploratory time with the shaving cream. Then the principles and conduct for shaving cream must be defined as a result of it is extremely straightforward to get distracted by however so motivating!) One scholar within the pair holds up both a numeral card or a dot card and the opposite scholar says the quantity and writes it the best way the instructor has instructed. College students take turns going forwards and backwards as quantity caller and “recorder.”

30. What’s within the Field? Type

Give every scholar a field containing three several types of objects like crayons, markers, pencils, sorting bears, Popsicle sticks, or erasers. Inform the scholars to make three teams, every group having the identical sort of merchandise. The instructor or a accomplice checks, then places the objects again within the field and passes the field to the individual on their proper. Repeat this a number of instances.

If you happen to cherished these preschool math video games, be sure you take a look at these Easy and Enjoyable Preschool Science Experiments and Actions.

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