Counting Activities for Preschool

This week we focused on counting activities as our math skill. Now please don’t get me wrong, we work on counting all the time, but each week I pick a preschool math skill to focus on and we really dive deep into practicing that specific skill. Since counting and number recognition are so important for preschoolers I wanted to share a few different activities you can do at home.

B, although she amazes me at what she is learning and really grasping each day, still struggles with number recognition. With each of these activities there are ways you can differentiate for your little one(s) if they do not know numbers by sight.

Counting Activities

 

Marshmallow Math by the Measured Mom is such a cool and fun activity especially for this time of year. After printing the hot chocolate mugs out, you can set your little one to work counting out marshmallows to place on the cups. If your kiddo recognizes numbers then they can do this independently. B recognizes some numbers so she did those on her own, then I helped her with any that she did not know. The key to this is helping them learn to put a marshmallow on and count, “1”, then add another and say, “2”. You may have to model this and they may need help, but that’s all part of the process. The great news is that when you are done, it’s SNACK TIME!

Counting Frozen Worksheets by Learning2Walk are also fun because who doesn’t love Frozen! I enjoy these because there is a variety of things you can do to emphasize a number. You can have your kiddos trace, count, color, and more. You can have them work directly on the worksheet or stick it in a sleeve so that you can reuse it.

Counting Beads on Pipe Cleaners by LaughingKidsLearn is a super simple but multi-purposeful activity that B just loves. She saw a picture of this activity on my phone because I’ve been meaning to set it up for her for forever (and a day), and since then she hasn’t let it go. So this week we implemented Counting Beads on Pipe Cleaners into our plans. As I mentioned before, you may have to help your kiddos with identifying the correct number but then let them work on counting out the beads as they place them on their pipe cleaners. Part of the process involves them going back to count if they lose track, picking up where they left off, and getting to the right number. B was easily frustrated once we got to some of the higher numbers so make sure you are there to support your kiddos and point out strengths. PS. this is also a great fine motor activity.

 

 

Cupcake Counting by GluedToMyCrafts is a favorite at our house. The cupcakes are so bright and cute, and who doesn’t love cupcakes. We have used this as a busy bag by just laminating the cupcakes and placing the cupcakes and some buttons/pom-poms in a bag. This week we used it on a cookie tray with some magnetic pom-poms. You could use mini M&M’s or another small candy if you wanted to use food and then make it a snack treat afterwards. Either way, these cupcakes are great!

Fingerprint Counting by FunHandPrintArtBlog is another great activity. I know, I know it isn’t quite spring (as I sit here looking at 11″ of snow on the ground) but it gave us a little hope this week! These counting activities are great because it allows the kiddos to get hands on (literally) as they use their fingerprints to create artwork while they count. Since our letter this week was B, we did the ladybug (BUGS, right?) page. WARNING: if you have a budding artist on your hands they may not enjoy just placing one dot on a ladybug or having an odd number of dots but hopefully they will still have fun, while they count! We have also done this multiples ways, using finger paint, dot markers, or placing it in a sheet protector and using a dry erase marker.

Pom-Pom Counting Mat by Sew Fantastic was fun, easy, and colorful! As you see in the picture, you can glue magnet pieces onto pom-poms and use this as a cookie sheet activity or you can just use regular pom-poms. You can also put this sheet in a sheet protector and use dry erase markers or dot markers. I love the bright colors! It’s a fun,  easy, and quick way to work on counting and number recognition.

Last but most certainly not least, the Bugs in a Jar Game by The Measured Mom is always a hit at my house. This week I could not for the life of me find any dice so I just called out number and had B place them in the jar. You can easily change this game so that it fits your needs and your family. B loves the colorful bug and that they are BUGS, which also fit in well with our B week. For older kiddos, you can have them place 2 red bugs and 4 blue bugs in the jar and have them find the sum. Or you can randomly add bugs for a few rounds and then graph the different bugs in the jar.  Again, possibilities are endless!

 

Hopefully, these seven activities will offer you and your family countless (sorry, I couldn’t resist) opportunities to play, laugh, and learn together. Remember it is perfectly okay for your kids to be at different levels with these activities or to not enjoy some of them. One activity may be more challenging than another and that is OKAY! Be sure to give your little ones the support that they need so that they are able to be successful while they are learning!

I’ve learned that B retains what we are doing so much better if she is enjoying it! Laughter while learning is always a bonus!

 

Warmest wishes and happy counting,

Dani

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to protect your resources and make them reusable, try these great dry erase sleeves:

 

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