Preschool Games: Math Games at the Mall

Here are some ideas for adding very simple math games to your next trip to the Mall:

Counting

There are so many opportunities to count.  Everywhere and everything can be counted and counting itself is a great preschool game!  We counted the tiles on the floor, the spindles on the railing, and the stairs.

Patterning

Malls are full of patterns.  See how many your wee one can find in this preschool game.  Have your preschooler search for a pattern in whatever store you are in.  Luckily patterns are everywhere.  Have them say it out loud when they find one: ‘pink, grey, pink, grey’ (Sammy first found a pattern on some rather scandalous underwear, so I opted to take a picture of some shorts instead)

Shape Hunt

As we were walking through the Mall I started a game of eye spy.  I told Sammy that I spied a shape with no straight sides.  Because we had been working on shapes he recognized right away it must be a circle and found one right away.  This preschool game is great as it can be customized to any level of shape understanding.  You could hunt for: circles, squares, shapes with straight sides, shapes with curved sides, anything!

 Number Hunt:

Just like shapes, numbers are everywhere in a mall.  Playing a numbers math game is a great way to keep your preschooler busy and learning.  We attempted to find numbers in order: We found a 1 on the elevator, a 2 on the wall, and a 3 on a birthday card.  Then we tired of the number hunt 🙂

 Quick Colours

My preschooler can’t stay still for too long.  This preschool game is a great one to do in the Mall when your wee one needs to stretch his legs.  There are so many bright and beautifully arranged colours in most stores: Sheets, towels, or clothing are all great.  Find a quiet aisle and let your little one play a colour math game.  Call out a colour and have your little one touch it as quick as he can, then call another colour.  This can, again, be made simpler or harder depending on your child’s development.  You could even throw in some language and say, ‘Touch the colour that starts with P’ – or for your too smart for their own good wee ones, you could say, ‘Touch the colour above the colour that starts with Y’.  My little guy had a great time simply running to the colours I called out.

 3D Shapes

A preschool game of learning about 3D shapes is perfect for the Mall.  The idea of 3D shapes can be a bit tricky for preschoolers, but you can certainly expose them to the shapes and talk about them.  This early introduction will provide them with a steady foundation for growing their learning when they are a bit older.  Look at posts and columns, boxes and cans.  Comment on how they look similar to some 2D shape (squares, circles, etc) but that they look thicker or rounder – whatever the case may be.  That’s enough of an introduction for most wee ones!

 Not only will these preschool games add some wonderful learning to your Mall adventure – they may actually make the trip more enjoyable!  My preschooler loves shopping because he knows he will get to play lots of new games (or at lest the same games but in a new place!)

How do you keep your preschooler busy at the Mall?