Teaching Math to Preschoolers: Making it Fun and Foundational
Teaching math to preschoolers isn’t about memorizing complex equations! It’s about building a strong foundation for future math skills through play and daily activities. Young children naturally explore their surroundings and rapidly develop their cognitive skills. Teaching preschoolers to math concepts during this time is not only important, but also convenient.
So, how do you make math fun and effective?
Many online resources offer engaging strategies and activities to nurture numeracy skills. At Stay At Home Educator we have loads effective math activities for preschoolers, and this post is all about how use math activities to teach preschoolers.
Preschoolers are generally children between the ages of 3-5 years old. At this young age, they learn best through play that engages multiple senses. Parents and teachers can nurture a love of math in young children by making math interactive and fun.
In preschool, it’s important to focus on simple topics relevant to their daily lives. The basics of counting, sorting, shapes, patterns, and comparisons lay the groundwork for more complex math. These skills can be taught independently and within daily activities.
With the right approach, preschoolers can grasp early math concepts and gain confidence in problem-solving abilities.
The key is finding a comprehensive preschool math curriculum that covers all the major math concepts preschoolers should learn and allows them to build skills through engaging hands-on activities.
How Do You Teach Math to Preschoolers?
Teaching math to preschoolers requires hands-on activities and math games that make learning feel like playtime. Remember that young children learn best through interactive activities that allow them to see, touch, and manipulate objects.
This is also true when looking for math printables for preschoolers. Printables should have pieces that can be moved around manipulated, or include manipulatives that will make learning more action-based.
Using visuals like pictures, graphs, and charts helps the concept stick, too. Songs, rhymes, and movement also reinforce learning. (And we include all of these strategies in our Daily Lessons in Preschool Mathematics Curriculum!)
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How Do You Ensure Meaningful Math Experiences?
The easiest way to make math meaningful is to include them in everyday routines. Here are some examples of what meaningful preschool math can look like:
- Counting:
- Count steps while walking upstairs.
- Count how many plates and cups you need for dinner.
- Sing counting songs while waiting in line.
- Sorting:
- Sort laundry by color while folding clothes.
- Group toys by type (cars, dolls, blocks).
- Separate silverware at the table (forks, spoons, knives).
- Patterns:
- Clap out simple rhythm patterns while singing songs.
- Create repeating patterns with blocks or beads.
- Notice patterns in everyday objects (stripes on a shirt, bricks on a wall).
- Shapes:
- Identify shapes in the clouds or on buildings (circles, squares, triangles).
- Cut out different shapes from construction paper and decorate them.
- Play with shape sorting toys.
- Measurement:
- Compare the size of toys (big vs. small).
- Pour liquids into different sized containers and compare the levels.
- Use measuring cups while helping with baking.
What Math Does a 4-year-old Learn?
At 4 years old, math is all about building a strong foundation through fun and exploration. Here’s what a 4-year-old might typically learn:
- Number Sense Skills:
- Counting: Counting up to at least 20 objects accurately.
- Recognizing numerals: Matching numbers (written digits) to their spoken names.
- Early addition and subtraction: Solving simple problems (like 2 + 2 or 4 – 1) with physical objects to help visualize.
- Shapes and Spatial Reasoning:
- Recognizing basic shapes: Circle, square, triangle, rectangle, etc.
- Sorting objects by shape, size, and/or color.
- Understanding spatial concepts: Above, below, in front, behind, next to.
- Measurement:
- Comparing sizes: Bigger, smaller, taller, shorter, etc.
- Understanding simple comparisons: More than, less than, one more and one less.
- Patterns:
- Identifying and replicating simple patterns in colors, shapes, or objects.
- Continuing a counting pattern.
- Filling in missing parts of a pattern.
These are all stepping stones towards future math skills. It’s more about building a foundation of understanding than memorizing complex concepts.
To understand more about what kind of math is appropriate for preschoolers, read these articles:
- A Guide to Preschool Math Skills
- Everything You Need to Know About Teaching Math in Preschool
- How to Teach Math to Preschoolers
- Building Early Foundations in Math for Preschoolers
How to Teach Math to Preschoolers
While fostering foundational mathematical understanding in preschoolers may appear straightforward when integrated into daily play, exploration, and discussion, a prior grasp of core mathematical concepts is a crucial foundation for effective instruction.
Preschool Math Concepts
Early childhood education serves as a critical foundation for numeracy and mathematics development. While establishing a grasp of fundamental mathematical concepts is essential, fostering a love of learning through engaging play activities proves far more effective than traditional drill-and-fill worksheets.
Our Daily Lessons in Preschool Mathematics Curriculum provides short daily lessons in math in a fun and playful way, making the work of learning feel like playtime.
Here are some of the math lesson plan units for preschoolers included in the curriculum. Click on each one to read more about what’s included.
- Comparing & Sorting
- Counting 0-5
- Shapes
- Counting 0-10
- Positions & Patterns
- Counting 0-20
- Measurement
- Graphing
- Addition & Subtraction
Read Preschool Math Books
Aside from fun games and activities, reading math counting books is a great way to introduce mathematical concepts to young children. The stories and illustrations provide real-world contexts for math while letting them practice counting, visualizing quantities, and learning basic number sense.
Here are some of my recommendations for math-focused children’s books:
- Chicka Chicka 1 2 3
- Hardcover Book
- Bill Martin Jr. (Author)
- Crews, Donald (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 32 Pages – 09/21/1995 (Publication Date) – Greenwillow Books (Publisher)
- Phyllis Root (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 40 Pages – 03/01/2003 (Publication Date) – Candlewick (Publisher)
- Seuss, Dr. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 64 Pages – 03/31/2022 (Publication Date) – HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks (Publisher)
- Carle, Eric (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 20 Pages – 07/16/1996 (Publication Date) – World of Eric Carle (Publisher)
Use Math Manipulatives
Math manipulatives are physical objects that help preschoolers understand mathematical concepts in a hands-on, tactile way. Using manipulatives takes advantage of young children’s natural inclination to learn through play and exploration.
Manipulation of objects engages multiple senses and allows children to move at their own pace as they discover how numbers, shapes, patterns, and other math fundamentals work.
Great math manipulatives for preschoolers includeÂ
- Counting Bears
- Linking Chains
- Pattern BlocksÂ
- Unifix Cubes
- PlaydoughÂ
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- Perfect for measuring, counting, and patterning
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- Cubes come in 10 different colors
Preschool Math Games
Playing games is a great way to build math skills in preschoolers while keeping them engaged and having fun.
Here are some fun math games for preschoolers:
Pattern Block Path
Using colorful pattern blocks, have your child build a path to get a toy character from point A to point B. Count the blocks as you go and discuss the shapes and patterns used. Get creative by making paths that curve, turn, and go up and down.
Counting Bears
Roll a die and have your child count out that many teddy bear counters. Take turns rolling the die and counting bears to build up counting skills. Variations include counting out different colors or sizes of bears.
Best Preschool Math Curriculum
When choosing a math curriculum for preschoolers, it’s important to find one that focuses on building a strong foundation in early math concepts through hands-on activities, exploration, and play.
Stay At Home Educator’s math curriculum is an excellent choice that covers counting, numbers, shapes, patterns, measurement, addition, and subtraction. It uses math manipulatives, games, books, and printables to make math fun and engaging for preschoolers.
When teaching math to preschoolers, keep lessons short and hands-on. Make real-world connections to help concepts stick. above all, nurture their natural curiosity and approach math in a playful, age-appropriate way.
With the right foundation and positive attitude, preschoolers can gain critical early math skills that prepare them for future academic success.
Making math relatable, tangible, and enjoyable for their developing minds is key. By incorporating the strategies outlined in this article on teaching math to preschoolers, parents can feel confident their young children will gain essential early math skills.
Free Printables for Teaching Math to Preschoolers
- Gum Ball Counting Mats
- One More One Less Counting Mats
- Shape Matching Cards
- Addition Mats
- Kindergarten Addition Worksheets
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Product on sale*** Daily Lessons in Preschool Mathematics CurriculumOriginal price was: $135.00.$99.00Current price is: $99.00.
