If you’ve been following Frugal Fun for Boys, you know that I am homeschooling a 4th grader and a 1st grader while also caring for their 3 year old and 1 year old brothers!  It’s like a three four ring circus most days!  I am always looking for ways to keep Owen busy while we’re doing school, and now that he’s almost four, he can be working on some academic skills as well.

Five Number Activities for Preschoolers

Here are some ideas for number activities that can be set up quickly with materials you already have on hand.

1.  Make a counting worksheet.  Draw columns with a marker, put a number at the bottom of each column, and give your child a sheet of stickers.  When we did this, Owen could only go up to 6, but now he can handle larger numbers, making the activity last longer!

 2.  Put number cards in order.

 3.  Then build towers with linking cubes on top of your number cards. (Or use any type of counter you have on hand – have them place the correct number on the card.  We like the Learning Resources linking cubes – affiliate link)

4.  Practice writing letters by tracing.  A light colored marker works much better for tracing than trying to make dot-to-dot numbers (or letters).

5.  Use an egg carton for counting practice.  I got this idea from a comment on my post about preschool counting.  I gave Owen some little vase filler pebbles, and he had fun counting them out and putting them in the sections.  He also enjoyed examining the rocks, which kept him constructively occupied while his brothers were working.  Win-win!

Five Hands-On Number Activities for Preschoolers

More Activities for Preschool Math:

Counting practice for preschoolers

Practice counting and greater than/less than with a construction truck and blocks

Pattern Towers

How Many Legos Does it Weigh?

5 Comments

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  1. sarahelisabeth Apr 4, 2013

    The sticker sheet sounds like something that we need to do. Laying the table for guests or when older siblings are out, helps with simple addition and subtraction.

    Reply
  2. Sheri Apr 4, 2013

    LOVE this! Thanks for the ideas~

    Reply
  3. Erica Aug 27, 2013

    Great ideas!! My little guy is not a sit down and color kind of kid either as it is with most boys. ;) I love that these ideas are so simple and can easily be done with things I already have. I'll be referencing your site a lot for ideas!

    Reply
  4. Teresa Oct 9, 2014

    I have a 1,3, 5 and 8 year old and this week (after my first month of homeschooling) I have felt almost constantly near tears and overwhelmed. You and your website are a God-send! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful ideas--I love the materials you use, and how creatively you use them! Simple but quite effective--I am excited once again to teach my kids!

    Reply
  5. Yullanda Thelwell Mar 31, 2019

    Super coool! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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