Are you curious about the best way to teach math to young kids? The answer might be simpler than you think: through PLAY, of course!  Kids absorb so much through play, and the preschool years are the perfect time to make learning fun and interactive.

In this post, I’ll share some awesome math games for preschoolers that will spark their curiosity and lay the groundwork for future math skills. While we’re not diving into division or multiplication just yet, these playful number activities will help your child build a solid foundation and strengthen their core math abilities.

FREE Printable Number Cards

Before we start, you’ll want to grab your FREE Number Cards, and sample from my resource Play into Kindergarten Readiness! This amazing printable includes number cards from zero to ten, number formation rhymes, and five ways to learn and play with the cards. You can get your copy right here:

Math games for preschoolers can be so simple. As I watched my little guy play, I thought of some helpful little number tricks I could add. The result? 50 Fantastic math games for preschoolers. Let’s get started!

50 Fantastic Math Games for Preschoolers

1. Scavenger hunt: Go on a hunt to find something of which you have one (maybe a pet), then two (firefighters hats), three, and so on.

2. Play hide-the-number with a Kleenex box: Place a number of blocks inside a tissue box, and have your child use only his sense of touch to figure out how many blocks are inside.

3. Write chalk numbers on the sidewalk and erase them with a squirt gun: Call out a number and have your child erase it using a water-filled squirt gun.

4. Eat your numbers: Prepare a snack with yummy food shaped like numbers.  Food math games for kids are always a hit! “You ate three blueberries; how many do you have left? Let’s count them!”

5. Put numbers on the floor with painter’s tape: Hop the numbers, scavenge the numbers (2 hats for number 2), or trace the numbers. These activities are my favorite number activities for preschoolers! So simple!

6. Play hopscotch: Outside with chalk or inside with tape.

7. Count at the park: Whether it’s pushing on a swing, times down a slide, or counting the number of rings on a ladder, the learning games for kids at a park are endless.

8. Use playdough to write your numbers: You can do this to mold your numbers or flatten the playdough and use finger impressions to form numbers. I have an amazing no-cook playdough recipe you can use to make your own!

9. Write numbers in the dirt: Using a stick, write out all the numbers you know, or tally marks and count them!

10. Apple Stamp: Write numbers on a piece of paper and stamp apples 5 times on the number 5, etc.

11. Play simple card games: Play a game of Snap or War (these are simple matching learning games for kids where you seek cards that are the same or are higher than your partners).

12. Finger Counting Poems: Use your fingers as five little monkeys and say, “5 little monkeys swinging in a tree, along came a crocodile quiet as can be, the first monkey said you can’t catch me – SNAP! … 4 little monkeys, etc.” Finally, the last lucky little monkey laughs – saying ‘missed me’!

13. Put 100 items in jars: 100 buttons, Cheerios, pasta noodles, anything! These are great math games for kids that help them understand that 100 things can look very different. One hundred toy cars will look very different from 100 beans, but they both contain 100 items.

14. Write numbers on paper plates: Have your kids use them as stepping stones to get across hot lava, calling out the numbers as they go.

15. Put beads on pipe cleaners: You can put beads in order or label them with numbers.

16. Match the number cards: Using cards or paper with numbers written on them, match each number to a pile of Smarties or pasta.

17. Put numbers in a bin of water: Have kids explore and search for specific numbers.

18. Freeze peas in ice cubes: Have your child count the peas. If they can’t see all of them, let them come up with ways to melt or break the ice. 

19. Hide numbers in a sensory bin: Ask your child to find and put them in order.

20. Play with stickers: Put the correct number of stickers beside each number.

21. Clothespin match games: Make a card with number dots and add numbers to clothespins for matching. Clip the clothespin to the correct number of dots for more structured learning games for kids. Sometimes, little ones need a bit more structure when they are learning skills.

22. Fill a bin with items and sort them into number groups: For example, five buttons go in a group with five pasta.

23. Make shape pictures (or shape snacks!): Cut out numbers from construction paper and let your little one construct a number house, people, animals, etc.

24. Paper Chains: Count how many paper links you can make on a chain.  This is a great learning game for kids to do during the Holidays.

25. Duplo Block Match: Write numbers on Duplo blocks and write corresponding dots on other Duplo blocks.  Then, have your child match them.

26. Write numbers on a piece of paper and dot: Call out a number and have your child dot them with a bingo dabber

27. Make Popsicle stick puzzles: For example, use popsicle sticks to write the number 8 and let your little one try to construct the puzzle.

28. Roll dice: Race your little one to call out the number that lands on. 

29. Build towers: Start at one block tall, two blocks tall, three, how tall can you get?

30. Number Rhyming: Use the number formation printable with the fun little rhymes, or a song like the ants go marching one by one.

31. Go fishing: Catch magnet numbers with a fishing rod using a paperclip ‘hook.’ These learning games for kids are engaging–and great for the kitchen sink when preparing dinner!

32. Use a calendar: Mark special days and count how many days are left until an event!

33. Use bingo dabbers to trace numbers: This is a lot of fun and much easier than using crayons or pencils for little hands.

34. Give your child socks: Need some help folding with laundry? Have your child count all the socks, then match them.

35. Use plastic Easter Eggs to match dots with numbers: One half of the egg contains dots, and the other half contains numbers.

36. Cut up pool noodles and throw them in the bath: Your child will get clean while learning to count. Add more, or take some out, and keep playing.

37. Write numbers on balloons: When the balloon comes to you, bounce it as many times as the number on the balloon.

38. Glue buttons onto people: Use snowmen or gingerbread men and add some fun buttons to count. 

39. Bake: For the bigger kids, teach them how to follow a recipe and measure, or for the little ones, have them follow a visual recipe.

40. Go on a number hunt: Go for a walk outside and look for numbers. Start with 1, then 2, then 3, and see how high you can count, finding each number as you go.

41. Put numbers on bottles and go bowling: Try to get the most points by hitting the biggest numbers.

42. Give your child baggies labeled with numbers: Ask them to head outside and put the collection in the bag. Four rocks in the #4 bag!  

43. Tape string across a hallway: Tape the string like a ladder lying down, then label each string with a number. Jump and count!

44. Read a number book: A good example is “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” By Eric Carle. Number learning games for kids can happen very naturally while reading. Ask your little ones questions as you go.

45. Sing number songs: Some great ones are This Old Man and 5 Little Monkeys, or check out this blog post for more number song ideas!

46. Play with dominoes: Build, match, count.

47. Throw a sticky ball of tape at numbers: Whatever number the ball sticks to, do an action that many times (touch the ground, run in a circle).

48. Play simple board games: Roll a die and count the squares. These learning games for kids teach much more than math—they teach turn-taking, social skills, and sportsmanship!

49. Play the game “What time is it, Mr. Wolf?”: Take turns letting your child be the wolf and you being the wolf. 

50. Play the game “Guess How Many Steps”: Throughout your house. Guess how many steps it will take us to get to the kitchen? Guess how many steps to the store? Count as you go. This math game for preschoolers can serve as a great distraction to get your child where you need them to go.

That is a lot of math games for preschoolers! So the next time you feel overwhelmed about all you need to do as a parent–take a minute to play!

To keep all that fun learning going, check out my resource Play into Kindergarten Readiness. Each day, you’ll receive a play-based activity with minimal prep that’s designed to be both fun and developmentally appropriate. These activities cover all the core skills, including literacy, math, motor skills, social-emotional wellness, and more. If this sounds like something you’d love to try with your little one, click the link below to explore the shop!

Play into Kindergarten Readiness 

https://shop.howweelearn.com/products/play-into-kindergarten-readiness-curriculum