Age Group: Preschoolers

lessons

3D Forms

In this lesson, children will construct various three-dimensional objects using toothpicks and modeling clay.

A Cat Quandary

In this lesson, children will use objects, pictures and numbers to play out scenarios that involve addition and subtraction.

Apple-Counting Fun

In this lesson, children will count the correct number of apples to match the numerals on the tree trunks.

Apples and Oranges

In this lesson, children will begin to develop an understanding of separating a set into a maximum of four parts.

At What Time?

In this lesson, children will connect activities in their day to the various times of the day.

Beaded Necklaces

In this lesson, children will create patterns using beads to string a necklace.

Bears in a Bucket

In this lesson, children will weigh and compare the Bear Family Counters using a balance.

Cereal Sorting

In this lesson, children will sort loop cereal such as Fruit Cheerios or Fruit Loops by color and then make patterned bracelets.

Chrysanthemum

In this lesson, children will use the number of letters that they have in their names to count and graph and then compare and contrast.

Circles and Bears

In this lesson, children will roll dice to determine the number of circles and then the numbers of bears in those circles. After collecting that data, they will determine how many groups of bears they have for a total number of bears.

Classroom Survey

In this lesson, children will use a survey sheet to determine whether their classmates have any pets and what pets they have.

Coin-Rubbing Matching Game

In this lesson, children will examine the attributes of coins to identify similarities and differences.

Counting Dice Roll

In this lesson, children will count by ones using counters to match the roll of a die.

Cracker Tangrams

In this lesson, children will use crackers with geometric shapes to form larger shapes on homemade pattern cards.

Dinosaur Hop

In this board game, children collect dinosaurs of different colors as they count their way around the board.

Dots of Fun

In this lesson, children will explore the concept of addition by counting the dots on a domino.

Dynamic Dominoes

In this lesson, children will be introduced to a variety of beginning math concepts using dominoes.

Eating Up Patterns

In this lesson, children will sort by color and then create and extend patterns using Fruit Loops cereal.

Estimation Destination

In this lesson, children will trace their own hands and estimate how many Fruit Loops it will take to the tracings.

Fill the Carton

In this lesson, children will practice counting and number recognition using numbers one thru twelve, an egg carton and small manipulatives such as pebbles.

Fire Truck Fun

In this lesson, children will make connections between the pre-drawn shapes of a fire truck and the shapes of various snack items.

Float, Fly, Drive

In this lesson, children will sort, classify, count and compare different types of transportation.

Flower Fun

In this lesson, children will use measurement vocabulary (e.g., “shorter” and “taller”) as they compare flowers of varying heights.

Fractionpillar

In this lesson, children will create and record the fractions for each color of their caterpillar using colored pompoms.

Grab Bag Fun

In this lesson, children will correctly count the number of objects representing the number on a card.

Groovy Buttons

In this lesson, children will read a book about Pete the Cat. As Pete loses the buttons from his shirt, the children will count down from four to zero.

Guess the Weight Scavenger Hunt

In this lesson, children will start with one object and decide which objects in the room are heavier or lighter than that object.

Heads or Tails?

In this partnered game, children will flip a penny and collect points, depending on whether the penny lands heads up or tails up.

Horizontal, Vertical, Diagonal

In this lesson, children will identify and sort pictures of objects with diagonal, horizontal and vertical orientations.

Hot Cocoa Math

In this lesson, children will count the marshmallows in their hot chocolate and write the number on their hot chocolate mugs.

How Big is a Foot?

In this lesson, children will use butcher paper to trace their bodies and measure their height and width with their feet.

How Many Beads?

In this lesson, children will string the correct number of beads onto pipe cleaners. The number of beads will correspond with the number on the label at the top of each pipe cleaner.

How Many Legos Tall?

In this lesson, children will use a nonstandard unit of measurement such as LEGO blocks to measure objects in their environment.

Hungry Alligator

In this lesson, children will determine if a number is greater than, less than or equal to another.

Inch by Inch

In this lesson, children will use colored measuring worms to measure the legs of the heron in the book

Jack and the Beanstalk

In this lesson, children will estimate and then measure how many beans fit in the giant’s hand and compare it to how many beans fit in their own hands.

Jumping Jacks

In this lesson, children will time themselves and chart their progress as they do sets of jumping jacks.

Laundry Sorting

In this lesson, children will sort “laundry” by color, size, shape and clothing attribute.

LEGO Math

In this lesson, children will practice counting and adding whole numbers using LEGO blocks.

Links and Length

In this lesson, children will measure common household items using standard and nonstandard units.

Making Shapes

In this lesson, children will construct and identify various two-dimensional shapes using color-coded craft sticks.

Measuring Straws

In this lesson, children will use pre-cut straws and match them up with a corresponding length on a piece of paper.

Monkey Mania

In this lesson, children will use subtraction by acting out the words to the accompanying book and song.

Mouse Count

In this lesson, children will count sets of mice and add sets of mice together up to 10 and subtract from the set of mice, from 10 down to zero.

Number Memory

In this lesson, children will match cards that display numbers with cards that display groups of objects that represent those numbers.

Number Sequence Puzzle

In this lesson, children will assemble a puzzle using number strips in the order of 1-10.

Number Yard

In this lesson, children will create their own number yard books by drawing the number of objects that correspond with the numbers on the pages of the book.

Odd or Even

In this lesson, children will differentiate between odd and even numbers by sorting numbers 1-20 into “Odd” or “Even” circles.

One Duck Stuck

In this lesson, children will read the book and begin to recognize that each number is one more than the one before it and that a growing pattern is a pattern that increases or decreases by a constant difference.

One Fish, Red Fish

In this lesson, children will sort, count and record piles of different-colored Goldfish crackers.

One, Two, Skip a Few

In this lesson, children will use skip counting by fives and tens to count large quantities of math manipulatives.

Over, Under, Through

In this lesson, children will navigate an obstacle course to learn directional concepts such as moving over, under, around and through.

Painted Rock

In this lesson, children will use rocks numbered from one to 10 to practice sequencing skills.

Picture Pie Fractions

In this lesson, children will identify parts of a whole and create pictures using a whole circle, a half circle, a quarter circle and an eighth of a circle.

Pinch a Penny

In this lesson, children will use a die to subtract pennies until the winner “breaks the bank.”

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

In this lesson, children will graph the different vehicles that they scoop out of a bucket and then analyze their collected data.

Probability Jar

In this lesson, children will examine three different jars filled with marbles and determine the probability of choosing various colored marbles.

Quack and Count

In this lesson, children will use manipulatives to form different groups that make up the number seven.

Remainder of One

In this lesson, children will arrange them 25 cubes into groups of two, three, four and five. The children will examine the different groups and learn about the concept of a remainder.

Roll & Record

In this lesson, children will develop visual images for quantities up to six and begin to understand and apply basic concepts of probability using dice.

Rub a Shape

In this lesson, children will make rubbings of foam board shapes.

Run, Walk, Crawl

In this lesson, children will measure the time that it takes to move quickly versus moving slowly.

Sandwich Shop Game

In this lesson, children look at a menu and count out sandwich pieces to build sandwiches and then calculate the prices of their sandwiches.

Shape Hunt

In this lesson, children will go around the classroom to identify the various shapes in a book.

Shape of Things

In this lesson, children will learn to identify the various attributes of 3-D shapes (cube, cone, sphere, cylinder, pyramid, prism) through games and Play-doh construction.

Shoe Sort

In this lesson, children will identify the attributes of shoes and sort the shoes by these attributes.

Silly Circles

In this lesson, children will identify, draw and describe the attributes of a circle.

Simply Symmetry

In this lesson, children will explore the concept of symmetry and become more aware of symmetry in the world around them.

Slide, Flip and Turn

In this lesson, children will recognize and apply slides, flips and turns using wooden pattern blocks.

Soft Patterning Fun

In this lesson, children will create and extend patterns using spoons and forks or counters from the math kit.

Sticker Shapes

In this lesson, children will outline pre-existing shapes to identify circles, triangles, squares, stars, moons and rectangles and create their own shape books using small stickers.

Subtraction Bowling

In this lesson, children will subtract the number of “bowling pins” that are knocked down and calculate the remaining pins left standing, using a base of 10.

Symmetry Game

In this lesson, children will pair up and use pattern blocks to copy one another’s patterns.

Take a Trip with Rooster

In this lesson, children will predict, sort, add and subtract the various animals that Rooster meets on his trip.

Take a Walk with Rosie

In this lesson, children will learn spatial vocabulary by reenacting Rosie’s walk around the farmyard.

Tally It Up

In this lesson, children will organize and present tally sticks/marks to represent the number counted.

Telling Time

In this lesson, children will tell time to the hour and recognize the times that they engage in familiar activities.

Ten, Nine, Eight

In this lesson, children will orally count backwards from 10 to 1.

The Tiny Seed

In this lesson, children will count the seeds by ones and twos and then put the packets in order from smallest to largest and vice versa.

Tod und Leben (Life and Death)

In this lesson, children will play a card game and try to accumulate as many cards as possible by identifying the higher-ranking cards.

Trucks and Blocks

In this lesson, children will build roads with blocks and compare their lengths.

Uno

In this lesson, children will practice sorting not-number cards from number cards and develop their number sense by identifying similar numbers, one below a number and one above a number.

Up Down Around

After reading the book, children will use a small toy and a box to represent positional words.

Vehicle Patterning

In this lesson, children will use vehicle counters to recreate existing patterns and find the unknown within a pattern.

What’s in a Name?

In this lesson, children will count, compare, contrast and graph the number of letters in their names.

Which is Tallest?

In this lesson, children will compare blocks of different lengths and lay them on a graphing map in order from shortest to tallest.

Who Sank the Boat?

In this lesson, children will be introduced to weight and balance experiences and apply these experiences at the water table.

Who’s Hiding?

In this lesson, children will analyze the book’s illustrations to determine which animal is hiding. The children will use the partial data in a guessing/thinking format to figure out which animal is hiding.

Wonderful Worms

In this lesson, children will use colorful plastic worms of different sizes to measure various objects around the room.

Yahtzee

In this lesson, children will add the numbers of two dice and cross out the sum.

Yummy Cookie Fun

In this lesson, children will match numerals with the correct quantity of chips on the cookies.