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Math in early childhood is a crucial stepping stone for development, which is why it’s so important that the little ones can explore and experience it in an enjoyable way. We’ve carefully chosen some fun activities and games to promote early math learning of numbers through play.
DIY Lego Pattern Cards by A Crafty Living
Legos. Useful in so many different ways, including making math exciting. Prepare some cards with colorful blocks on them and let children discover color patterns and reproduce them with their LEGO bricks.
What you need:
Missing Number Math Activity by Planning Playtime
Write number sequences on craft sticks and remember to leave some blanks in between. Next, you write the missing numbers on some clothes pins and give them out to the players. Now the children use their fine-motor skills and clip the pins on sticks and complete the sequence.
The best thing about this fun and inexpensive math game is that you only create the props once and they’re ready to be used as many times as you like.
What you need:
Smack the Number Counting Game by Fun Learning for Kids
Prepare some sticky notes with various numbers and place them in front of the children who are armed with fly swatters!
Roll the dice to get your target number. The goal of this simple, but fun game is for the little ones to identify the number on the dice and match it with the ones written on sticky notes by smacking the correct answer with a fly swatter!
What you need:
Number Dots and Easy Touch And Count Activity by Busy Toddler
Tape some paper to the wall and write several numbers, each decorated with dots, to match the quantity the number represents (like 4 dots on the number 4).
Now, the players can touch each of your dots with their favorite marker pen and see the number and the quantity altogether! You can also put the paper on the floor but holding a marker up and out makes this not only a fun game for the kiddos, but also a good way to strengthen those little arm muscles.
What you need:
Magnetic fishing number game by Messy Little Monster
First, you or the children need to cut your paper into fish shapes and add a paperclip. Next, write the numbers on the fish using a pen. For the fishing rod, tie some string (with a magnet on the end) to your stick! Now the whole class can “fish” for numbers!
What you need:
**Always supervise children very carefully with magnets.
Egg Cracking Counting Activity by Modern Preschool
Create “eggs” by cutting out oval shapes from cardboard or paper and writing different numbers on them. The children identify the numbers and “crack the eggs” by punching the corresponding number of holes in them - you could always make one first, as an example. This exercise can also help develop muscles in those tiny hands.
What you need:
Top 10 Counting Songs by Super Simple Songs – Kids Songs
According to the BBC “When children are singing they are taking in information and training the brain but they don’t think they are, they think they are just having fun. Singing is an aerobic activity that boosts oxygenation in the bloodstream, increasing mental alertness”. We agree! Check out these 10 lovely songs to give it a go. (Or check out our article on all music and movement activities!)
What you need:
Valentine Math Activity – Broken Heart Numbers by Fun a Day
It’s a great themed activity for Valentine’s day, but honestly, it’s great for any time of the year to get the math wheels turning!
Sometimes the most fun games are the classics. A simple matching game for one player, two players, or the whole classroom! Simply cut out some hearts and cut each in half using different zigzags, squiggles and other connecting shapes. Then write a number on one side and draw a corresponding number of hearts on the other. Well done, you’ve just created puzzles! Challenge the children to see who can find the matching hearts card to their number cards.
What you need:
Corn Counting by Happy Toddler Playtime
Draw 4-6 cobs of corn on the ziploc bag. In each cob, write a number. Then, in the Ziploc that is filled with hair gel and water, place all the kernels of corn. Then, have the little ones move the number of kernels in to each cob, to match the number of the cob. For example, 7 kernels of corn in the cob of corn that is labeled with the number 7.
They’ll love the use of touch while counting!
What you need:
Guidance from the Danish Health Ministry, translated in full to English.
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The full recommendations from a working group of over 70 nursery chains in the UK.
Please note: here at Famly we love sharing creative activities for you to try with the children at your setting, but you know them best. Take the time to consider adaptions you might need to make so these activities are accessible and developmentally appropriate for the children you work with. Just as you ordinarily would, conduct risk assessments for your children and your setting before undertaking new activities, and ensure you and your staff are following your own health and safety guidelines.
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