Children just start their educational journey in preschool. Therefore, giving them the stress of academic learning at such a young age might not be a good idea. This is why the top preschools focus on leveraging fun maths activities to help children learn while playing. There are numerous fun maths games that preschool teachers can use to teach young kids. We will be discussing some of the most effective ones in this article:
Fun Math Activities to Teach Numbers
1. Maths Problem Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt is one of the best fun maths activities for preschoolers. You can prepare chits of numbers between 1-10 and ask children to pick one chit and pick the respective number of objects from their surroundings. For example, if a child got 7 in the chit, he/she will have to put 7 random objects on the table.
2. Addition and Subtraction Bingo
Addition and subtraction bingo is one of the effective maths addition games for preschoolers. You can draw a Bingo box with random numbers between 1 to 15 on the board. Now, ask children to create number cards between 1 to 15.
Now, they can use their number cards to claim the space on the Bingo board. For example, a child can claim a box with ‘11’ number by adding number cards ‘6’ and ‘5’. Similarly, another child can claim the box with a ‘1’ number by subtracting number cards ‘6’ and ‘5.’ The child who claims the maximum boxes wins the game.
3. Guess My Number
Guess My Number is one of the easiest yet effective fun games to help children learn basic maths. You can ask children to guess a number that you have in your mind. Give them a range of numbers within which your number lies. Now, once they call out a number, keep saying ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ until they reach the right number.
4. Shape Scavenger Hunt
This is yet another type of scavenger hunt where you can help children learn about different geometric shapes. Draw different geometric shapes on different sheets of paper. Now, pick one shape and ask the children to find the maximum possible objects of that shape. The child who identifies the maximum number of objects of that shape wins the game.
5. Number Songs and Rhymes
Number songs and rhymes like counting to 100, 1 to 10, 1 to 100, five little ducks, five little monkeys, etc, can be highly effective in teaching numeracy to young children. Songs and rhymes make it interesting for them to understand and learn numbers in the right order.
6. Number Matching Games
Number matching games help children recognize and memorise numbers. You can organise basic games like Uno cards. You can create cards having particular sets of numbers. For example, 4 cards of ‘1,’ 4 cards of ‘2,’ and so on. They keep passing on cards to the next until they have an entire set of the same number. The child who gets a complete set of a particular number first wins the game.
7. Number Sense
With number games, puzzles, riddles, etc, children learn to make sense of numbers. They recognize numbers by seeing them and also learn number pronunciations with number games. It helps them understand how to use numbers in real life. This is the reason why top schools in Bhilwara encourage fun maths activities, especially among preschoolers.
8. Hopscotch Numbers
For this, you can draw a hopscotch squares table on the ground using chalk. In each square, write multiples of a specific number and ask children to hop into it in a specific order. For example, if you have written multiples of 10, they will have to hop into 10 first, then into 20, then into 30, and so on.
9. Number Puzzles
Number puzzles are among simple yet effective fun maths games for kindergarten kids that many top schools in Udaipur are already using. Take a paper and on one side, write specific numbers between 1 to 10. On the other side, draw the respective number of dots but in a different order. Ask children to match the digits with the correct number of dots.
Benefits of Making Math Fun for Preschoolers
When maths is connected with fun activities, it becomes more interesting to learn for children. With these activities, children build a love for mathematics instead of getting a phobia of it. By including these fun activities in classrooms, preschool teachers can ensure that children make better sense of numbers, recognize them, and are able to perform basic calculations.
Conclusion
Fun maths activities can make learning more effective and interesting at the same time. With activities like scavenger hunt, addition and subtraction bingo, guess my number, number songs, hopscotch numbers, etc, children learn to recognize numbers and make sense of them from a young age itself. Teaching numeracy and basic maths calculations to such young kids can be challenging otherwise, but these activities make it much easier. This is the reason why top CBSE schools in Rajasthan are already leveraging fun maths activities for preschool kids.