It’s A Zoo! A Counting and Graphing Game for Preschoolers

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Looking for a playful way to teach math? This graphing game for preschoolers is perfect for building early math skills in a fun way! Our “It’s a Zoo! Counting and Graphing Game” is a colorful, hands-on printable your preschoolers are going to love. Be sure to keep this will all your preschool math activities.

Whether you’re a parent or a preschool teacher, this activity fits beautifully into your graphing lesson plans or quiet time routines. Not only is it super easy to set up, but it also teaches important concepts like counting, comparing, and graphing—all through cute zoo animals! It’s the kind of learning that feels like play, and we all know that’s the best kind.

It’s A Zoo! A Counting and Graphing Game for Preschoolers This free printable graphing game uses kids' favorite animals to teach them counting and graphing!

If your preschooler loves animals and games, you’re going to love this! Our zoo-themed graphing printable combines early math with board game play. Kids roll a dice and move along the game board, and then graph their results on a colorful animal chart.

This activity encourages counting, number recognition, comparing quantities, and of course, graphing.

It’s also a wonderful way to sneak in fine motor practice as kids place items on the graph. With minimal prep for you and maximum fun for them, “It’s a Zoo!” is a must-have for your preschool toolkit.

Read this: Winter Graphing Games for Preschoolers.

What Kids Learn with the “It’s a Zoo!” Graphing Game

This printable offers a variety of early math skills wrapped in playful zoo-themed fun. Here’s what your preschooler will be learning:

SKILL #1: Counting and Number Recognition

Every time your child rolls the dice and moves their game piece forward, they’re building those early math skills. They get to practice subitizing and one-to-one correspondence, and then match the animal on the game board to their graphing sheet. This kind of hands-on counting helps numbers feel real and meaningful.

SKILL #2: Graphing and Comparing Quantities

Once the animals are counted, it’s time to graph—and that’s where the real excitement begins! Watching the columns grow taller with each new card is a treat and a great way to introduce basic data collection. Kids get to see which animals appear most and which are rare, and they’ll naturally start comparing quantities without even realizing it. This opens the door to simple math talk like “more,” “less,” and “same,” which builds confidence with comparing numbers.

Shop our Math Preschool Lesson Plans

Simplify instruction with ready-to-use lessons on measurement, sorting, and graphing.

These daily lessons in measurement are available in our preschool measurement lesson plans. They provide engaging daily lessons, hands-on activities, centers, and much more.

Counting and Graphing Game for Preschoolers

I printed several copies of this game to keep on the shelves of our math center. Children can play it together or individually.

Materials

The Set-Up

Print out the graphing game printable at the end of this post. Cut apart the graphing sheets. Laminate everything for added durability. Label a blank dice with the numbers 0-3, using 2 and 3 twice. Put buttons into a small bowl for everyone to share.

Now invite your little one to come and play!

How to Play It’s a Zoo Graphing Game

The object of the graphing game is simple: move your game marker from start to finish, collecting as many math counters along the way as possible to add to your graph.

Students roll the dice and move their game marker the same number of spaces.  The player then identifies the zoo animal on the space and adds a button to the corresponding space on his graph. Play continues until all the players reach the end of the game board.

The Winner

There are two, possibly three, ways to “win” the game.

  1. Each player “wins” the game simply by making it to the finish.
  2. The player with the highest graphed animal wins the game.
  3. Or, there is no winner and players are commended on how well they graphed their zoo animals.

I prefer the last. My preschoolers didn’t care too much about who had the most or who was the fastest, but they were actually interested in telling stories about the animals as they added to the graph.

Tips for Teaching During Play

Even though my preschoolers play table games frequently, I noticed a few things during play.

  • Some preschoolers may move their game pieces in the wrong direction; this isn’t a major issue unless teaching game rules is the goal.
  • Direction doesn’t matter much if the focus is on counting or graphing skills.
  • Some children may count the space their piece starts on—only important if teaching standard board game rules.
  • The priority should be on practicing one-to-one correspondence accurately.
  • If the game has no winner, the direction and exact counting rules matter even less.
  • Each turn involves multiple steps (roll, identify number, move piece, add to graph), so children may need guidance at first.
  • Use a 0–3 numeral dice to reinforce smaller numbers and provide more opportunities to roll and graph.
  • Avoid dot dice in this context, as combining subitizing, counting, and graphing can be too much at once for some learners.

Preschool Graphing Games

Preschool graphing games are a fun, hands-on way to introduce young children to early math concepts like counting, comparing, and organizing data. These games support number sense and build foundational skills through playful, engaging activities.

Zoo Animal Activities

Need more zoo animal activities to pair with your graphing games for preschoolers? No problem!

Get this FREE Graphing Game for Preschoolers

Think this zoo graphing game is something your preschoolers will enjoy? I’ll bet they will! You can grab your free copy by clicking the giant red button below.