Math Activities for Preschoolers & Early Learners

Early learning can easily include mathematics. Check out these math activities for preschoolers & early learners to help them reach their milestones.

Why are math activities important for preschoolers and early learners?

Your young learner may be too young for school. They also may be too young for a structured math program, but they are not too young to learn. The amount of information children learn by the age of 3 without structured learning is absolutely incredible.

Speaking, feeding, crawling, and grasping, are all milestones they reach without even forming sentences. It’s just truly amazing. That is why when I say that early learners can learn math, I completely believe it and know it.

Grasping Math Concepts at an Early Age

Your children may not be able to read or write but they are able to grasp basic mathematical principles. They can especially do so through hands-on activities, engaging games, and in simple ways. The reason why we should start math early is simple.

Early math skills through activities help kids be enthusiastic about numbers, patterns, and other concepts. Activities make learning math fun and interesting. Starting early is a key to making math less intimidating.

What math concepts should kids learn in preschool or earlier?

Children learn differently and some learn earlier than others. It is important to know that this is totally fine. We shouldn’t push math concepts on children before they are ready.

However, there are math concepts which kids should be comfortable with before kindergarten. Here are a few:

• Recognize numbers.
• Numbers can be expressed by words (written or spoken) and by symbols.
• The idea of numbers represents an amount of objects – that can be counted.
• Amounts can have things added to or taken away from them.
• An amount can be described in various ways like “more,” “less,” “smaller,” “bigger,” etc.
• Count from one to ten.

The hands-on activities below will go great alongside your pre-k pages for early learning math practice.

Math Activities for Preschoolers & Early Learners

Math Activities for Preschoolers

Preschool Color Pattern Math Activity – Patterning with colorful dots preschool math activity is a great way for students to explore in a hands-on way. All you need is some recycled plastic cups and self-adhesive dots to count the number of dots with each task.

Math Activities for Preschoolers – As children learn to speak and gain vocabulary they also can learn math and how to count. Enhance your preschooler’s learning experience with these hands-on math activities. Kids combine fine motor important skills with important math concepts.

1 to 1 Correspondence Math Activities – Help your young kids to focus on math activities for preschool education with 1:1 correspondence. The activities come with free printables like a free printable apple play mat or activity pack but mostly are just hands-on math ideas.

Fingerprint Math Activities and Preschool Printables – Since young children use their fingers in beginning math instinctively, these math activities and free printables are a fun way for little hands to explore math. From a fun game to number activities, just grab a piece of paper or cardstock to begin fingerprint simple math activity explorations.

15 Activities for Math Hands-on Learning – Check out these 15 hands-on math activities for preschoolers to enjoy. Explore the daily activities that incorporate math. In addition to math worksheets, add in some hands-on and engaging activities through play. Formal math is overrated at times. ;-)

Math Activities for Early Learners

Play-Based Toddler Math – Explore these play-based math activities for toddlers in your home. These fine motor skills activities help your young children get into math concepts in a simple way with things they interact with throughout the day.

10 Math Activities for Early Childhood – These math activities for 4-year-olds help you teach them through hands-on great practice and in a playful way. This resource explores math in different ways like understanding basic different shapes, classifying items in groups, learning/making their own patterns, basic addition, and more.

25+ Easy Math Activities for Little Ones – Toddlers can learn math with a number of items around your home even. Embed simple math skills into simple activities via real world knowledge like measuring, counting activity, identifying more/less and more in engaging ways.

15 Early Math Skills Activities – Starting math early is a great way to help kids develop a love of numbers and to make math fun as a favorite subject. This simple math activity resource produces the best ways to introduce mathematical concepts to your busy toddler.

Super Fun Hands-on PreK Math – PreK students will enjoy this list of super fun hands-on math activities. The math fun includes small blocks activity for building and measuring, play dough mats, corresponding number roll & dot activity, and more.

Counting and Numbers Worksheets 

Free Counting Bears Worksheets & Printable Activities – If your children enjoy counting, they are going to have a lot of fun with these counting bears worksheets and printable activities. 

Free Counting Numbers Worksheets & Activities – Grab these Free Counting Numbers Worksheets & Activities to assist you in helping your students to understand what counting really means. 

Numbers Printables For Early Learners – These numbers printables can introduce your children to numbers and teach them the important skill of number recognition. 

Free Number Find Worksheet Printables for Early Learners – Number find worksheets can be useful for number recognition, finding missing numbers, and some even use number words. Print some great free printable number find worksheets for your student and watch them have fun. 

Free Tracing Numbers Worksheet Printables for Preschool – These Free Tracing Numbers Worksheet Printables for Preschool will assist your child with more than number recognition, but to actually write numbers.

Early Learning Math with Manipulatives in Your Home

9 Craft Math Ideas – Small objects in your household can be put to good use to teach early math skills like number recognition, number sense, and more. Little learners can make circle prints to count, make play dough tin foil number mobiles, and enjoy more fun basic math skills activities.

Snack Math for Preschoolers – Small items to use in math just aren’t as fun as snacks for math like fruit snacks or cheerios. Check out these snack math for preschoolers that are easy, fun, and engaging for younger learners and older kids alike. Who doesn’t like snack time?

Pipe Cleaner Math for Counting and More – These engaging activities include counting, making patterns, and making addition flags with pipe cleaners. Kids will have fine motor fun with these easy hands-on math ideas.

20 Craft Sticks Fun Math Activities – Whether you call them popsicle sticks or crafts sticks, use these 20 fun math activities to make the most out of them in your math center or lessons. Chances are you have this simple math manipulative in your crafts area. If you are looking for a great activity or math ideas to spruce up your homeschool, just head over to the Dollar Store to begin.

In Conclusion

Remember that most of these activities include concrete objects, visual learning, and physical engagement. All of these help your students develop an understanding of mathematics prior to them starting worksheets and structured math programs.

Use these math activities for preschoolers & early learners before starting the hard stuff to possibly develop a love for learning math. Foster a fun and positive attitude towards math. Allow kids to make mistakes, and get ready for this important math journey in homeschooling.