Preschool Counting Printables for Valentine’s Day

Let your little learners’ hearts soar as they count their way through our festive heart-themed grid games! Perfect for your Valentine preschool lesson plans, these counting printables for Valentine’s Day are math centers that are sure to add a bit of joy to learning.

Printable Valentine’s Day Activities for Preschoolers

What are some ways you teach one-to-one correspondence?

I rely on many important resources. My counting lesson plans, my number identification games, several different kinds of math manipulatives, and especially counting printables.

So needless to say, when Valentine’s Day rolls around I rely on these heart themed counting printables for my preschoolers. I like that they fit into all traditional aspects of Valentine’s Day, but I also like that they fit into my friendship themed lesson plans, too.

Hearts are friendly shapes, I think.

Tips for Developing One-to-One Correspondence Skills

Before I share my Valentine’s Day counting printable, I wanted to offer a few tips for teaching one-to-one correspondence to preschoolers. Some preschoolers struggle with mastering this concept, so it’s important that as effective teachers we have the right knowledge of how to teach counting.

Here are a few tips are teaching counting to preschoolers.

• Start with small, manageable numbers.
• Model then practice.
• Use a variety of materials to maintain interest.
• Try different counting activities that are skill level appropriate.

Related Reading

Valentine’s Day Grid Games for Counting

Counting is something we practice all year long. And every single day. These grid games teach so many number sense skills. We love the colorful, valentine colors of the hearts while we practice counting in preschool.

We also have this fun Valentine’s Counting & Addition Game, too!

Materials

• Free printable heart grid game
• heart shaped manipulative (or buttons or another counting manipulative)
• Dice (preferably with numerals instead of pips)

The Set-up

Place the printable grid games on a tray with some counting manipulatives in a small bowl. I love these acrylic hearts and Melamine bowls are very durable and kid-friendly. The acrylic hearts come in lots of colors. You can get them in packs of red and pink, and also purple, too!

And the Melamine bowls come with some tasting spoons (like the kind for Miso soup) which are perfect for sensory bins!

The acrylic hearts and fun for the light table, too, but if you don’t have acrylic hearts small buttons or even Conversation Hearts candies will work. Check out these cute rainbow-colored heart shaped buttons! I am such a sucker for holiday buttons!

How to Use These to Teach One to One Correspondence

These grid games are designed to zig-zag from one side of the paper to the other. This gives the children a lot of practice in one-to-one correspondence.

• Roll the dice and identify the numeral.
• Then cover the corresponding number of hearts on the grid game.

Each game printables has a special story. A bird trying to find his friends. A bee trying to find some flowers. A butterfly trying to find his caterpillar friend. So the children start at the beginning of the page in the upper left corner and cover hearts with each roll moving along the grid.

Now, I prefer to use dice with numerals (which I often make myself by writing on foam cubes), but you can just as easily use dice with pips.

There are advantages to both.

Dice with numerals will reinforce number identification skills. Dice with pips will develop subitizing skills. Both are an intricate piece of teaching one to one correspondence and number sense skills in preschool.

Four More Ways to Use Grid Games in Your Preschool Math Centers

As with any counting activity for preschoolers, you may need to make accommodations for the different skill ranges of your learners.

• For your youngest preschoolers, have them just match the heart manipulative to each heart on the grid.
• Have young preschoolers count on a counting card first, before transferring the hearts to the grid.
• Or, have them roll the dice and add the corresponding number of hearts anywhere they would like, rather than following the zig-zag path of the grid.
• Older preschoolers will enjoy using two dice and adding the numbers together so they get to practice counting larger quantities at once.

What are some other creative ways to use the Valentine’s counting printable? I love a printable with multiple uses!

Grab You FREE Counting Grid Games for Valentine’s Day

Think this is something to add to your Valentine’s theme or Friendship theme in preschool? You can grab your free printable below.

Then keep reading for even more free printables and ideas for your Valentine’s of Friendship theme in preschool!

Favorite Valentine Activities for Young Children

Children love fun valentines and preschool valentine activities. Try some of these other math activities fr Valentine’s Day.

Sarah Punkoney, MAT

I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.

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