25+ Hands-On Preschool Math Activities

Explore math concepts with your preschooler with these fun, hands-on math activities!

Preschool is a great time to begin strengthening math skills by giving your preschooler plenty of opportunities to gain an understanding of what numbers mean, how they are used, and how they relate to the world around us.  

I have found teaching my preschooler math to be so fun!  

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Who knew math be so exciting?!  A few weeks ago, we joined our Creative Preschool friends and shared some Preschool Math Activities; here is what we came up with:

Your dinosaur fan will love this Dinosaur Graphing Printable from ArtsyMomma. 

Work on simple addition with this cute Bumblebee Bee Addition printable from I Heart Crafty Things.

Practice counting, making 10, adding, and subtracting with LEGOs from A Little Pinch of Perfect.

Build Mathematical Understanding Through Play from Pink Stripey Socks {also check out the amazing list of math books!}

Work on 1:1 Correspondence through art from HandMadeKidsArt

Get messy and have fun exploring subtraction with this Shaving Cream Subtraction Smash Activity from us at School Time Snippets.

Hands-on Preschool Math Activities

But I couldn't just share those awesome preschool math activities with you!!

Here are more activities to explore number sense, shapes, patterns, and measurement-- all important preschool math skills to be explored!  

Give your preschooler a solid grasp of number sense by doing a lot of counting to reinforce 1:1 Correspondence!  

Your preschooler will likely begin recognizing numerals, counting past 10 or 20, and begin to understand simple addition and subtraction problems.

• Rings on Fingers
• Counting Crocodiles
• Catch a Bug Printable
• Butterfly Counting Busy Bag
• Robin Eggs Math Game
• Creative Drawing Math Prompts
• Number Sense with Pipe Cleaners and Beads
• DIY Kid Made Abacus

Reinforce shape recognition and expose your preschooler to more complex shapes with these hands-on activities:

• Make and Play Shape Dice
• Shape Touch and Find Game
• Heart Shape Puzzle
• Exploring Shapes with Noodles
• Sorting Shapes Activity
• Play dough Geometry: Making Shapes

Have fun exposing your preschooler to patterns.  "Patterns" might seem like an abstract concept, but it is just a repeated sequence.  Try these hands-on patterning activities:

• Exploring Patterns by Making Jewelry
• Making Patterns with Tacky the Penguin
• Leaf Patterns Printable
• Dot and Build Patterns
• Colorful Butterfly Symmetry Painting

Preschoolers often begin exploring measurement through non-standard units of measurement, such as measuring with paperclips, etc.  

Preschoolers will also begin to understand classifying objects by weight {heavy/light}, capacity {more/less}, and length {long/short}.

• Measuring Paper Tube Towers
• Measurement Garden with Printable
• Measure Your Feet Activity
• Measure Life Sized Gingerbread People

Also, fill up your game closet with these fun Preschool Math Games that we love:

• Chutes and Ladders for number sense, counting, concepts of "before/ after"
• Candy Land for colors and counting
• Don't Break the Ice explores logic and reasoning/ cause and effect.
• Inchimals for measuring and beginning addition/ subtraction
• Sneaky Snacky Squirrel for colors and number sense

See!  I told you teaching preschool math concepts was FUN!!

Don't forget to gather a collection of manipulatives to be used for any of these concepts and enjoy exploring these skills in creative, hands-on, and playful ways!