Does your kindergartener think math is boring? Well, you are not the only parent facing this issue. It’s no news that most kids don’t find math appealing as a subject. If we dig deeper, we get to know that the most common reason for this dislike is the complexity math carries.
The only way to make this happen is to indulge children in math activities for kindergarten. However, if kids are schooled correctly during their preschools, this problem can be resolved.
Therefore, experts suggest using fun math activities for kindergarten. These are known to make math a happy space for children. Additionally, these also help kids in developing analytical abilities making them more rational from the beginning. Therefore, if you are also looking forward to helping your kid fall in love with math, then try out the kindergarten math activities we’ve picked out.
Related Reading: Exciting Tips & Activities to Prepare Your Child for the First Day of Kindergarten
15 Best Math Activities for Kindergarten
1. Shape Hunt
The first math activity for kindergarten is a shape hunt. The agenda of this activity is to help kids learn different shapes and their names. This one of the most fun hands on math activities for kindergarten that is perfect for children who find it difficult to remember shapes. It also acts as a foundation for geometry, which kids encounter in higher grades.
What you’ll need
For this activity, you will need colored cutouts of different shapes and a notebook.
What to do
You can hold a cutout of any shape and tell your child the name of that particular shape. Then, ask your kid to color or mark the shape in their notebooks.
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Color matching is one of the most effective activities when it comes to teaching counting to your little one. The bonus in this activity is that your kid not only learns to count but also memorizes the names of different colors effectively.
What you’ll need
For this activity, you will need colorful balls and matching buckets.
What to do
Ask your kid to match the colors and put balls in the bucket while counting them. For example, if there are five red balls. Then, ask the child to put it in the red bucket while counting the balls.
3. Button Counting
Button counting game is one of the most fun activities for kindergarten. This activity helps in improving the analytical skills of a kid from a very young age.
What you’ll need
Colorful buttons of different shapes, cups of different colors with cutouts having a width that allows the buttons to pass through it.
What to do
Ask the child to first sort the buttons according to color and put each pile into the cups that match the color. Make sure that the child notes down the number of buttons while putting them inside the cups.
4. One Bowl Two Fish
This math activity is full of fun as it involves using thinking skills. Also, this is the first step toward simplifying math problems. The core value of this activity is to teach kids to break numbers in various ways.
What you’ll need
You will need an activity book or notebook with one bowl and two fish patterns.
What to do
Teach your kid that they can get number five by doing 2 + 3 or 1 + 4. Make them practice this technique for different numbers. However, always begin with single-digit numbers having fewer combinations.
5. What Comes Next?
These math activities for kindergarten can be done very easily and help in testing children’s memory. The simple logic behind this activity is to check kids’ memory by asking them what comes next when counting.
What you’ll need
Colorful cutouts of different numerals.
What to do
Arrange the cutouts of numbers in different orders and ask them what comes next? For example, put four or five numerals in front of your child and ask them what comes next in the order.
6. Stacking
Stacking is one of the finest fun math activities for kindergarten. It is very simple to do and therefore is one of the most preferred activities that most preschools add to their curriculum. The major aim of this activity is to improve the analytical ability of the child in a fun way.
What you’ll need
Colorful blocks with different numbers written on them in bold.
What to do
Divide the kids into small groups and ask them to stack the cups while reading out the numbers written on it.
Related Reading: Best Math Activities for Preschoolers
7. Number Hunt
Engaging your child in hunting numbers in newspapers is a fun math activity for kindergarten. This activity helps in increasing the thinking ability of kids and persuades them to think out of the box.
What you’ll need
A newspaper or magazine and colored pencils
What to do
Say a random number and ask your child to search for it in the newspaper or magazine and circle it with their pencil.
8. Number Bingo
Number Bingo is next on our list of kindergarten Common-Core math activities. This activity is for those kids who have learned numerals up to 20 or 25.
What you’ll need
A square board, pen markers, and colorful buttons
What to do
Take a board and cut it in the shape of a square. Next, write numbers randomly on it. Now, ask the kid to put the buttons on the number that has been read out.
9. Board Game
If you are looking for hands-on math activities that kindergarten students can do, then board games can be a good option. With the help of this game, kids can improve their skills of identification and learn how to do simple mathematics.
What you’ll need
Any board game with numbers printed on it and a dice
What to do
Ask the child to roll the die on the board and then make them move their token to the number that has appeared on the dice. For example, if the current position of your kid’s token is 4 and on rolling, they get 3. Then, help them in moving 3 spaces forward to 7.
10. Monster Eyes
Kids easily lose interest in anything they find boring. Therefore, the teachers have to add an element of fun in online math activities for kindergarten regularly. Monster eyes are one such activity that is not only fun-filled but also promises to improve the kid’s observation skills.
What you’ll need
A worksheet with drawings of monsters, and small monster eyes.
What to do
Draw a monster in the child’s worksheet and write some numerals on the top or bottom. You can also include signs of addition or subtraction to make it more learning oriented. Now, ask the child to add the numerals and fill the activities with the number of eyes they have calculated.
11. Number Line
The main aim of this kindergarten math activity is to introduce mathematical operations, i.e., addition and subtraction on number line in the most amusing way. Participating in this activity makes them grasp the basics of these operations easily.
What you’ll need
A sheet of paper with printed numerals, small toy cars
What to do
Take the sheet and ask the learner to place their toy on any number, say 4. Now, direct them to add 2 to their current position, i.e., 4, and move the car to the number that is obtained as the sum.
12. Learning with Balloons
Learning math with balloons—isn’t that just one of the most fun-filled activities that you have heard of? It’s a great activity to indulge in with your child while helping them learn to count.
What you’ll need
Colorful balloons with different numerals written on them.
What to do
Hide the balloons in the room and ask the kid to find them in the room. Next, ask the kid to read out the number aloud. Another way to indulge the kids in this activity is to read out a random number and then ask them to pick out the balloon matching the number.
13. Building Blocks
This super fun math activity for kindergarten helps the kid in developing organizing skills. It is also helpful for those kids who find difficulty in remembering the names of colors.
What you’ll need
Different colored blocks
What to do
Ask your younger one to build a tower with a fixed number of blocks. For example, ask them to build a tower with five blocks.
14. Hopscotch
Hopscotch is one of the traditional games that have been known to polish a child’s recognizing skills.
What you’ll need
Colorful chalk, cutouts of shapes
What to do
Draw the hopscotch pattern on the floor and then write numbers and different shapes. Now, ask your kid to jump on a number and follow the directions.
15. Learn with Snowballs
The last in our list of math activities for kindergarten is learning with snowballs! This activity can be performed by the kid alone. Alternatively, you can also organize it as a friendly match. The major aim of this math activity is to improve your child’s counting and motor skills.
What you’ll need
Paper or cotton balls and a bucket
What to do
Crumple the paper into the shape of a snowball or cotton ball. Read out a random number, say 5, and ask the kid to throw the same number of snowballs in the bucket, until the count goes to 5.
Related Reading: Best Math Books For Kindergarten that Kids Will Definitely Enjoy
Helpful Tips to Make Math Activities Fun for Kindergartners
Whenever we talk about kids’ activities, the materials involved have to be very colorful and engaging as kids tend to lose interest very easily.
Now, as you have learned about the top fun math activities for kindergarten. Let us learn the ways you can indulge your child in participating in these regularly.
- Help your child in developing a perception that math is not complex, it is as easy as any other subject. For this, you can always talk to them about your learning days and ways you made math a very easy subject for yourself.
- Include math in their everyday life. For example, ask them to do simple calculations while buying groceries. In this way, they can relate to the concepts more easily.
- Introduce your child to visual learning. There are numerous online math activities for kindergarten that presents these concepts and activities visually, thus giving it a new twist.
- Use art to teach math to your kid. Take the help of paintings or sculpting such that they are able to grasp the concepts easily.
- The last tip to encourage your child to try out kindergarten math activities is positive support whenever they fail or are stuck somewhere.
Related Reading: Extracurricular Activities Examples for Kids
Final Note
This list contains various types of games to provide insight into the top math activities for kindergarten, which you can include in your child’s everyday learning. Math is one of the most feared subjects amongst the younger generations.
However, there are simple ways that are helpful in making the foundations strong for math right from the beginning. Apart from these fun-filled learning methods, the only thing that a child needs is a pinch of encouragement and appreciation.
Related Reading: Best Indoor Games to Play With Kindergartners
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What should kindergartners be learning in math?
Kindergartners have a bold understanding of colors, letters, numbers, and sounds. This is a great foundation to introduce fundamental mathematical concepts like addition and subtraction of small numbers. As they feel comfortable, start introducing bigger numbers, like two-digit numbers or larger ones if they want to!
The topics they learn and how much time it takes for them to get good at it depends largely on kids’ individual interests. So the best parents and teachers can do is nurture and encourage them.
What math games can kindergartners play?
Math is a subject that can quickly become uninteresting for kids, and they may even build a dislike for it if left unchecked. Games are a way to blend concepts with engaging tasks and activities that hold children’s attention.
Math games such as Counting Games, Sing-the-Number, or Identify the Number games provide the perfect balance between enjoyment and development, and these games are available in great variety, such as online, math board games, or even games like chutes and ladders!
