24 Short and Sweet Preschool Maths Activities.
Do you ever have the problem of, having found great maths activities for your little one, not being able to remember any of them when that magic moment happens,when they are happy, calm and ready for an activity?
I was inspired by this great calendar of maths activities from Anne’s Teaching Two blog, to create a list of short and sweet preschool maths activities. Put them in a calendar like Anne has or just print off the list and put on your fridge!
24 Preschool Maths Activities
1. Muffin tin maths – Nurture Store has a tasty maths activity, counting out chocolate chips into a muffin tin labelled with numbers.
2. I-spy Shapes – Play this traditional game but look for”…something shaped like a ….circle”
3. Shoe cupboard tidying – Tidying and sorting shoes is the perfect maths activity for a clutter free entrance hall.
4. Table laying – Arranging cutlery on the table is another useful maths activity for developing sorting skills
5.Watch a Sesame Street counting video online – The Sesame Street website has lots of short maths videos, many including my favourite, The Count!
6. Sandwich Making - When making a sandwich for your preschooler, ask them to help you cut it into halves or quarters (or even eighths!)
7. Bring me 5 – Choose a number, such as 5, then ask your little one to bring you 5 cars, 5 books, 5 blocks or 5 of anything they can easily carry!
8. Time announcing – Start by announcing the time when you see it’s at the hour, “It’s 3 o’clock!”
9. Hopscotch – Even preschoolers will enjoy helping to draw a hopscotch grid and then hop from number to number, forwards then backwards.
10. Number Hunting – Draw a number 4 on a piece of A4 paper, then hide the number behind a cushion (but not completely hidden). Help your toddler hunt for Number 4.
11. Play a colours and shapes online game Oscar’s Trash Collection – This time use the Sesame Street website to play online maths games.
12. Draw around bowls – Grab a blank piece of paper and help your little one draw around upturned bowls to create a circle picture.
13. Play dough numbers - Roll out play dough snakes with your toddler, then form into numbers.
14. Number chart counting – Put up a number chart and let your child be a preschool maths teacher.
15. Which is heavier – take 2 objects, hand them to your toddler and ask, “Which is heavier!”
16. Play a matching game online animal parade – Each of my 3 older children have sat at the computer and played this cute animal matching game from the BBC Website.
17. I spy colours – Play this traditional game but look for”…something …..blue!”
18. Odd one out – Lay out 3 objects, 2 similar and 1 different and ask “Which is the odd one out!”
19. M&M patterns - Another tasty maths activity, again from Teaching Two. Create a pattern sequence using M&M’s, then colour in each part to match the pattern.
20. Sing a maths song - Ten in a bed is my favourite but here’s a great list of numberful rhymes
21. Sock matching – Another tidying and sorting activity.
22. Cutlery drawer sorting – Yet another sorting activity, this will keep the cutlery drawer nicely organised.
23. Swing counting – Count aloud as you swing your preschooler at the park. When it’s time to get off the swing count down from 10 to 1.
24. Sticker Sorting - Shannon at Tot school shows how stickers can be used for a lovely maths activity. Take a sheet of stickers, a blank sheet of paper and sort into groups.
Share your short, sweet preschool maths activities in the comments below!
This post also features in Works for me Wednesdays.
17 Responses to “24 Short and Sweet Preschool Maths Activities.”
Marilia on September 3, 2010
This is a sweet post! So many ideas to apply, thanks!
8 Essential Tips for Maths Success in Only 11 minutes a day | Maths Insider on September 21, 2010
[...] similar to what I’ve been doing with my children and their maths learning since they were preschoolers. My kids have counted objects, played games, completed worksheets and played on-line maths games, [...]
Melissa {adventuroo} on October 2, 2010
This is such a great list of ideas! I’m sure my three year old would love the muffin tin idea and number hunting! Thanks!
Melissa {adventuroo} recently posted..Ten Years Ago Today and a Nine Year Old Bucket List
ckmukisa on October 2, 2010
Thanks for passing by! Yes my 3 year old loves the number hunting as well!
Yes! You Can Be Your Child's Maths Tutor! | Maths Insider on October 15, 2010
[...] I’ve collected lots of resources which I could use and could even modify some of the ideas in one of my favourite posts 24 Short and Sweet Preschool Maths Activities. [...]
5 Reasons Why Maths Illiteracy is NOT OK | Maths Insider on November 16, 2010
[...] in a Bed, One, Two, Buckle My Shoe). Try talking about sizes, shapes and numbers as well as sharing preschool maths activities with your little ones.Do you think society ignores innumeracy? Tell me in the comments below!var [...]
LisaJane on January 19, 2011
Some great ideas here! Recently I have also been using some of the free counting and numeration activities from
http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/ECAM.html with my daughter and she is really enjoying them.
Lynn Jones on January 27, 2011
Caroline, I loved all the ideas to introduce number/counting activities to preschool age children. I have 3 grandsons ages 4, 3 and 17 months. The older 2 are learning so much at their age and are soaking up anything you teach them.
Thanks for all the great ideas! I can use many of them.
Your friend,
Lynn
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Miss Leslie on March 5, 2011
Hi Caroline. This is a fabulous site. I think parents can feel so overwhelmed when trying to help their kids with math. This site will definitely empower them and this blog will help their children get off to a great start.
Wishing you a song in your heart,
Miss Leslie @ Music with Miss Leslie.com
Miss Leslie recently posted..The House That Built Me
Caroline Mukisa on March 6, 2011
Thanks Miss Leslie for your kind comments! Yes it can be overwhelming for parents, I always have a slight panic when it comes to supporting my children’s language learning so I can fully empathise. There are lots of useful resources that parents can make use of, including some that use music to help aid memorisation.
[email protected] on March 12, 2011
Caroline great tips here. I don’t have kids but if I did this would be the page I bookmark and use to help with math problems.
I can tell you are very devoted to your craft.
Steve
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Helping Children To Maths In Everyday Context 24 Activity Ideas | Izziwizzi Kids on May 25, 2011
[...] I was absolutely delighted when Maths Insider created an article for us to give some ideas for you with 24 short and simple maths activities. [...]
Joan Jackson on September 15, 2011
Great resource for preschool math activities.
RheaFlor on September 25, 2011
I like this. I also prefer less usage of computer when it comes to learning yes I know alot of information we could get but I will still have the guidance on don’ts in from of the pc.
RheaFlor recently posted..How to trade forex successfully
Anna on October 8, 2012
Wow! Those short and sweet preschool math activities are really cool and awesome. For sure the kids will love this. Thanks for sharing this to us.
Jenny on January 2, 2013
Great and really helpful post for teachers as well as the parents. For sure the kids will really love doing these stuff while learning. Keep posting!
davidsmart on April 7, 2013
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