15+ Best Math Activities for Preschoolers

The first five years are crucial for a child’s brain development. Almost 90% of the brain develops before kindergarten. Therefore, including interactive math activities in the preschool curriculum is very helpful.

It can improve attention, memory, and basic cognitive skills among kids. However, simple flashcards or counting blocks do not motivate preschoolers to learn math. Instead, teachers have to practice engaging and fun math activities to set a strong math foundation for students. 

Let’s explore fun math activities for preschoolers in detail. 

15 Fun Math Activities for Preschoolers to Boost Their Overall Growth 

Math can build confidence, logical mindset and improve academic performance among students. But that’s only when you make math fun for them instead of their arch-enemy. So, let’s check out some fun and easy math activities for preschoolers: 

Online Math Activities for Preschoolers

1. SplashLearn

Best For: Immersive math practice basis common core standards

SplashLearn covers over 400 math skills in engaging game forms. It is a gamified platform for preschoolers to learn basic math concepts while playing free games. The platform has a vast 4000+ content library to make math fun and simple for preschool students. It is a web and mobile app-based learning platform offering activities like counting in groups, comparing numbers, and more. 

2. Number Songs

Number songs are a fantastic way for preschoolers to learn numbers and counting. These catchy tunes incorporate numbers into their lyrics, helping children to memorize and understand numerical sequences through repetition and music. By singing along, kids not only improve their counting skills but also develop a sense of rhythm and auditory discrimination. Number songs are engaging and can be a fun part of daily routines, making learning feel like playtime.

For fun and educational number songs, check out SplashLearn’s YouTube channel. Animated characters and catchy tunes make learning numbers enjoyable for young learners. Explore more videos here.

3. Moose Math

Best For: Multi-level math training 

Moose Math will take your kids on a mathematical adventure. The program offers multiple math activities for preschoolers to engage them in counting, subtraction, addition, and more. Through interactive graphics, kids will better understand the relationship between numbers and quantities. They will also learn geometry a bit better from quirky ducks. 

4. Monster Math

Best For: National curriculum math standards 

Take your child on wonderful math adventures and story rides under the national curriculum math standards with Monster Math. This application will introduce a friendly monster, Math, to your students and help them practice addition, subtraction, or division with fun games. Preschoolers will learn math and an exciting storyline while interacting with other players. It is a fun virtual community to learn math through games. 

5. Marble Math Junior

Best For: Common core curriculum 

Marble Math Junior is an engaging mental math platform for early math skills development among students. It has an interesting storyline where students have to earn marbles and watch out for math whizzes. It lets students replay the question or move to the next one. Preschoolers can learn to do many basic things with the app, like telling time, addition, subtraction, shape matching, and more. 

6. Math Kids 

Best For: Basic math for preschoolers 

Math Kids is a simple application to teach addition, subtraction, counting, and basic math to kids. Through games and interactive storylines, toddlers can learn math without even realizing it. It is a free app with several puzzles and mini-games to teach math in a fun way. 

DIY Math Activities for Preschoolers

7. Cup Stacking 

Best For: Counting double-digit numbers 

This is a simple math activity that requires 100 plastic cups and markers. You have to label all cups from 1 to 100. Ask your kid to stack cups in numerical order while counting aloud. You can even jumble cups a bit to make it harder to stack all 100 cups. 

8. Sorting Candy Shapes

Best For: Learning patterns and shapes 

Kids are going to love this math activity. You need to get different shapes of candies, jelly beans, M&M, and whatnot. Put together all the delicious treats in a bowl and ask your kid to sort them into different shapes like circles, squares, etc. And finally, let them devour some candies as their reward. 

9. Math Twister 

Best For: Counting and recognizing shapes 

As you might have already guessed, this preschooler activity contains lots of bending, twisting, and fun. You need to grab a big piece of paper, divide it into different squares, and write a number or shape on each square. Now, spin the twister and ask your students to step on a certain number or shape. 

10. Guess the Weight 

Best For: Counting and measurement 

Teachers can include this math activity in preschoolers’ homework curriculum to improve their measuring skills. In this activity, ask your students to guess the weight of different things lying around their home, like onions, teddy bears, etc. Later you can ask them in class questions like “Which is heavier — the apple or the can of soup?” 

11. Make a Number Collage 

Best For: Counting 

Give your kids a stash of old newspapers, magazines, and books. Ask them to search for the numbers from 1 to 30 in them. Once they find numbers, give them child-safe scissors to cut those numbers and glue them to paper to form a pretty collage. 

Group Math Activities for Preschoolers

12. Let’s Play Cards 

Best For: Addition and subtraction 

You can play some cards with your preschoolers to teach them addition or subtraction. Grab a deck of cards containing numbers 1 to 10. Have each student pick two cards at a time and ask them to add or subtract the numbers together. 

13. Find the Shape 

Best For: Recognising shapes

You can ask your class to bring everyday objects like socks, cups, or water bottles to class. Then, place all items on a table and ask students to find different shapes from the pile of objects like round, cylindrical, etc. 

14. Math Tic Tac Toe

Best For: Addition and Subtraction 

Put an addition or subtraction problem in each 3*3 tic tac toe. Divide your class into two teams and give each team one chance to solve the problem to place their Xs or Os. 

15. Burst Your Number 

Best For: Numbers recognition 

Grab colorful balloons from your nearest supermarket and blow them with your class. After that, label balloons with different numbers and ask your students to burst the balloon with the said number. 

16. Pouring and Comparing 

Best For: Measurement 

Give a plastic cup containing rice to your students. However, pour rice up to different levels in every cup and ask your students to compare the rice amount in their cup and their friend’s cup. 

Why Are Math Activities Important for Preschoolers?

Math is an important subject in a preschool curriculum. It helps kids learn basic things like seeing time, checking calendars, etc. With fun math activities, preschoolers not only learn math more easily, but it also helps in: 

1. Developing Interest 

It is a common misconception that math is a tough and boring subject. Many kids don’t even try math because they think it is hard. So, you can break this myth when you make counting and measuring fun with math activities. You can spike preschoolers’ interest in math and make them less nervous about pursuing it in kindergarten.  

2. Use Math in Real Life 

Math activities for preschoolers are set in a real environment. It allows students to understand how they can use basic math skills in day-to-day life. For example, counting can help students see how much time remains for a lunch break. 

3. Build Confident Personality 

According to NAEYC, early math experience can build a child’s confidence regardless of math skills. When children solve math problems every day, it will give them confidence. They feel that if they can solve complex math problems, they can solve any hardship in their lives. That is very useful for a child’s overall character development.  

4. Logical Mindset 

Mathematics is not all about number crunching. It is also about the presence of the mind and observing small things. Thus, early math training will make your child develop a logical mindset that first observes the situation and then reacts. 

Let’s Have a Playdate With Math 

There you go, teachers! You can now organize a playdate with math using different engaging math activities in your classroom. When you make math fun and simple for preschoolers, they will not hesitate to learn new math formulas and concepts in higher classes. 

This will also build their overall character and brain. So, try to include as many math activities as you can in your preschool curriculum to motivate more students to learn math.

Let’s find more online educational resources and printable math worksheets for preschooler that will help with their learning experience and make them smarter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is math important for a child's early development?

It is very important to introduce math early in your child’s life. Mathematics teaches several life skills to children, like measuring, problem-solving, and understanding different shapes and patterns. Math is important for overall cognitive skills development in a child’s life. 

How to select math activities for preschoolers?

While selecting math activities for preschoolers, ensure that the activity must teach a math value to students, like counting, addition, patterns, etc. Besides this, an activity has to be fun to keep students engaged and motivated.