For many, Mathematics is a dull and boring subject. Yet, it is important. From simple everyday calculations to complex problems, one simply cannot ignore maths.
It is essential that kids understand the basic concepts of the subject such as being able to do simple calculations, from an early age. You don’t have to exclusively rely on tedious and mind-numbing methods to teach maths to young children. It can be fun and enjoyable too!
Math games help children to develop a love for numbers.
Hence, here are some fun and engaging math games and activities for your kids to enjoy and learn from, and get in love with the subject at the same time!
Maths Activities for 3-Year-Olds
- Number line: draw a big number line with chalk or tape, on a safe road/pavement or indoors, for kids to walk, run and hop on. Not only will this activity help with basic counting and understanding the concept of a number line, but will also keep them physically active.
- Object sorting: have kids sort toys or objects based on different types in separate boxes or containers (such as separating toy animals from other toys, or sorting objects based on their shapes) and count the total number of toys/objects in each group.
- Splash!: get some water balloons and label them with different numbers and draw the same numbers on the ground or a wall. Let kids choose one balloon and throw it on the same number on the ground or wall. Things might get a little wet but they will have a fun time for sure!
- Find the shape: point out shapes of different items in the house such as a square table or cylindrical water bottles. Let kids identify as many shapes as they can in a time limit and (optionally) list them all down.
- Observe and count: similar to the previous activity, this also involves observing the surroundings and counting things such as the number of windows in a building or flowers in a garden.
Maths Activities for 4-Year-Olds
- Scavenger hunt: map out the garden/playground on a graph paper and mark different points on it. Hide some candies or toys on those points and let the kids find them using the map. You can even let them draw the map themselves through guessing.
- Pour and arrange: get beakers of different sizes and let kids pour water into them. Ask them to arrange and line the filled beakers in order of their size i.e. from smallest to largest or vice versa. This activity can help kids grasp the concept of measurement and comparison.
- Hit the target: draw circles of different colours like red, green and blue on a piece of paper and stick it to a wall like a target. Give kids a ball to throw on the target and record their hits i.e. how many times they hit the different colours. You can even use tally marks to record the observations!
- Roll the dice: take two normal dice and an action die (you can make one yourself with simple actions such as clapping, jumping, blinking etc. on a small block). A kid will then roll all of them together and do the action that falls for a number of times equal to the sum of the pair of dice. For instance, if the action is jumping and the numbers on regular dice are one and three, then the kid will jump four times
- Flashcard race: put flashcards with basic calculation questions on the ground. Kids move from one flashcard to the next on correctly solving the question on each flashcard to reach the finish line!
Maths Activities for 5-Year-Olds
- Salute: two kids stand and face each other with a numbered card (any number from 1-10) on their forehead. Both players have to figure out what number is on their own forehead through the number on the other’s head and hints such as what the sum or product of both numbers is.
- Yes/No: similar to the last game, you can also use shapes in place of numbers. The player with the card on his/her head asks questions such as if the number is even, if it’s between 5 and 10, if the shape has 3 sides etc. from others to guess the number/shape on the card.
- Be the clock: draw a big clock on the ground and give a time to two kids such as 10:15. One of them will become the hour hand and the other- the minute hand. They have to figure out their correct positions on the drawn clock.
- Maths ball: take a beach ball with different numbers marked on it (you can mark them yourself). Kids throw the ball to each other calling the number that their right thumb touches and add, subtract or multiply the touched numbers on every subsequent throw.
- Jump measuring: kids jump or hop and then measure the distance from the starting point using a measuring tape. It can even be competitive fun by involving more children.
Conclusion!
We have looked at various different games and activities in each age group to make maths more fun for your kids. These activities will teach them basic and essential concepts of the subject while at the same time ensuring that they are having a great time. Maths will not feel like a burden anymore but a subject as easy to grasp and approach as any other!
Mental Math Kit by ClassMonitor
Do you know about our Mental Math Kit for 4-6 Year old?
Our skill booster Mental Math kit helps children understand math concepts better and solve mathematical problems mentally with speed and accuracy.
Trusted by 200k+ Parents, our kit contains a year’s worth of material (worksheets, activity sheets, board games, sight cards, fact cards, brain teasers & more) to help your child master essential math concepts.
And there’s more:
- Gamified learning material for easy understanding
- An app-based library with educational material to support your child’s learning
- Screen-Free entertainment and engagement
- Fun addition, subtraction, and multiplication activities for conceptual clarity
- Activities designed to enhance parent-child bonding
