Top 15 Kindergarten Math Games

Audio Article

It can be difficult to find new, attention-keeping, accessible games for kindergarteners. In this article, we’ve brainstormed and linked all of our favorite kindergarten math games. Keep reading to discover free Kindergarten Math Games, printouts, and more!

1. Build 3D Shapes

Use magnetic tiles for hands-on learning that keeps kindergarteners engaged. By manipulating these tiles to form 3D shapes, children improve their fine motor skills while grasping key geometric concepts. These magnetic connections make learning feel like play, encouraging creativity and spatial reasoning. Additionally, creating 3D shapes introduces basic mathematical language, laying a strong foundation for future learning.

2. Make 10 with Magnetic Tiles

Use magnetic tiles to create 10-frames, serving as excellent tools for practicing the foundational skill of making 10. Arrange the tiles into rectangular frames, each with 10 spaces. Children can then fill these spaces with different colored tiles, exploring number combinations that add up to 10.

This hands-on activity helps solidify the concept of number bonds, making abstract ideas more tangible. As children manipulate the tiles, they reinforce basic addition skills while honing problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities. Engaging in this playful math game encourages persistence and patience, essential traits for any successful learner.

3. Roll It and Color It

Incorporate Roll It and Color It to boost number recognition and counting skills. Each child gets a worksheet with a grid of uncolored squares and a die. The game begins with everyone taking turns to roll the die, and then coloring the corresponding number of squares indicated by the die’s face. For instance, if a child rolls a four, they color in four squares.

This playful activity encourages fine motor skills as children carefully fill in each square. The anticipation of rolling and the race to finish add excitement that keeps kids engaged. Moreover, counting out the squares reinforces understanding of numbers and quantities in a context that feels more like play than work.

As they color and count, children practice patience and turn-taking, key aspects of social development. Watching their paper fill up with vibrant colors provides a satisfying reward, making learning numbers a joyful experience. This simple yet effective game turns any moment into an opportunity for educational growth, keeping children motivated.

Free Roll It and Color It Resource

4. Sort Shoes with Pete the Cat

Inspired by the Pete the Cat books, this activity brings sorting and classifying to life. Gather various pairs of shoes, ensuring a mix of colors, sizes, and types. Introduce the activity with a Pete the Cat story or video to set the thematic mood.

Once familiar with the narrative, explain that they’ll sort shoes by specific criteria. Start with color, then introduce more complex classifications like size or type. This hands-on activity enhances cognitive skills by encouraging observation, comparison, and categorization – foundational skills for understanding more complex mathematical concepts.

Moreover, sorting teaches children to organize thoughts and items systematically, reinforcing logical thinking. Turn these tasks into a game by racing to sort the fastest or create the most accurate groups, adding a competitive yet fun element.

The tactile experience solidifies learning, as children remember concepts they’ve physically engaged with. Engaging in this fun, themed activity builds essential math skills in an entertaining and memorable way.

5. Play Hopscotch to Practice Counting On

Hopscotch blends physical activity with math learning. Instead of the traditional board starting at one, get creative and start at any number that suits your child’s current learning needs. This twist allows kids to practice counting on from any given number.

Draw a hopscotch board on the pavement, but instead of numbering from one, choose a starting number like 5, 10, or 20. As children play, they’ll jump from one number to the next, saying the numbers aloud. For example, if the board starts at 10, they jump from 10 to 11, then 12, and so forth. This counting-on activity reinforces understanding of number sequences beyond the basic 1-10 range.

Beyond counting, hopscotch encourages gross motor skills, memory, and concentration. Playing with friends adds a social element, teaching turn-taking and collaborative learning.

Let your children jump, hop, and count their way through numbers with this entertaining twist on a classic game. It’s an excellent way to make math active, fun, and an integral part of their playful experiences.

6. Conquer Cardinality with Penguin Dominoes

For kindergarteners, mastering cardinality – understanding that numerals correspond to actual quantities – is crucial. Use adorable penguin-themed dominoes featuring friendly penguins and their corresponding numbers to make this concept engaging and fun.

Arrange the dominoes face down and have your child pick them up one at a time, matching each one to the dominoes already laid out based on the number of penguins and the numeral they represent. As they draw a domino and count the penguins, they’re connecting the numeral to the quantity it represents, reinforcing cardinality.

Encourage your child to count the penguins out loud as they go, solidifying their grasp of one-to-one correspondence – a foundational math skill. The playful penguin theme adds motivation and excitement, making the learning process feel like a game.

As they lay the dominoes and see the growing chain of penguins and numbers, children feel a sense of accomplishment. This visual and tactile representation further ingrains the concept, making abstract numbers tangible.

The combination of fun graphics and hands-on manipulation makes penguin dominoes a delightful way to conquer cardinality, turning an essential math skill into an enjoyable adventure.

Link to buy penguin dominos

Other animal-themed dominos from Amazon

7. Put Together Puzzles to Gain Number Sense

Enhance your child’s number sense with puzzles designed to make learning numbers fun and meaningful. These free printable puzzles serve as a resource for kindergarteners to explore different facets of numbers in a hands-on way.

Each puzzle piece represents different forms of a number, such as numerals, dot patterns, counting fingers, and ten frames. When children put these pieces together, they get to see a number expressed in multiple formats. This multimodal approach reinforces comprehension and enables them to recognize numbers across different contexts.

As they sift through the pieces to find matching parts, they practice identifying and associating different representations of the same number. For example, matching a puzzle piece showing “5” with another piece that has five dots develops their ability to understand that these different symbols represent the same quantity.

This puzzle activity also stimulates discussion about visualizing numbers. You might ask, “How many dots are there?” or “Can you find this number with fingers?” This engagement deepens conceptual understanding and encourages critical thinking about numbers.

Completing number puzzles strengthens mathematical skills, and promotes fine motor development, concentration, and problem-solving abilities. The process requires precision and careful observation, honing attention to detail and spatial reasoning.

These puzzles can be tailored to your child’s learning level, starting with simpler ones featuring 1-10 and gradually introducing more complex ones. You can even make it collaborative, inviting siblings or friends to join, fostering a sense of community and shared learning.

Puzzles provide a visual and tactile way for children to build number sense, setting a solid foundation for future math success.

8. Play Teen-Number Bingo

Introduce your kindergarteners to teen numbers with a lively game of Teen-Number Bingo. This printable game helps children master the numbers from 11 to 20, offering a dual approach that includes recognizing numerals and understanding their representation on 10-frames.

Download and print the Teen-Number Bingo cards. Each card displays numbers from 11 to 20, while the calling cards feature numerals and corresponding filled 10-frames. The 10-frames provide a visual cue, showing quantities in groups of ten plus additional units.

Distribute the bingo cards and markers, then call the cards one by one. As you call out a number – both as a numeral and by describing the 10-frame – children search their cards for the match and place a marker on the corresponding square.

Playing Teen-Number Bingo solidifies number recognition for these tricky numbers, which can often be confusing. By seeing them frequently and in different forms, children become more familiar and comfortable with them.

Additionally, the game encourages attentive listening, sharpens focus, and introduces a fun element of competition and excitement, as everyone vies to complete a row, column, or diagonal first.

Teen-Number Bingo can be adapted for different challenge levels, such as requiring players to complete four corners or a specific pattern, ensuring continuous learning opportunities.

By turning learning into a playful activity, Teen-Number Bingo makes mastering numerals from 11 to 20 an enjoyable and interactive experience. Children gain a profound understanding while having fun, ensuring they remain motivated about their math journey.

This engaging game fosters a deeper comprehension of teen numbers and paves the way for future numerical confidence and success.

10. Visit the Skip-Counting Store

Transform your living room into a mini market to reinforce essential math skills through pretend play. Gather small toys or household items as merchandise, labeling each with a price tag in 10-cent increments from 10¢ to 100¢. Equip your child with plastic dimes as currency.

To purchase an item, your child counts out the correct number of dimes to match the price. If they choose a toy car priced at 40¢, they should count out four dimes, reinforcing counting by tens and understanding the base-ten system.

Engage further by swapping roles, letting your child be the shopkeeper. Occasionally use incorrect amounts to test their ability to spot and correct mistakes. Introduce scenarios where multiple purchases require calculating the total, practicing addition.

The Skip-Counting Store promotes social skills, turn-taking, and collaborative learning through role-play interactions. By turning math practice into an imaginative shopping spree, you make learning numbers a delightful experience for young children.

11. Have a Rubber Duck Race

Turn bath-time rubber ducks into a racing game combining competition with essential math skills like counting, basic addition, and reaching an exact target number.

Each child chooses a duck “racer,” the goal is to move their duck to number 10 by rolling the exact number needed. Mark a path with numbers from 1 to 10, and each child places their duck at the starting point, 1.

Players take turns rolling a die and moving their ducks the rolled number of spaces. To add challenge, reaching 10 requires an exact roll. If a child is on 8, they need to roll a 2 to move exactly to 10 and win.

This race subtly teaches addition and the importance of precise calculations. As children determine spaces left to reach 10 and what to roll, they perform mental addition and develop strategic thinking.

The game encourages perseverance, patience, and the joy of eventual success. Cheering adds a wonderful social element.

For an advanced variation, consider a longer numbered path or using two dice for addition with larger numbers, adjusting to your child’s learning stage.

12. Practice Counting On with Cards and Dice

Engage young learners by combining cards and dice to practice counting on from a given number, reinforcing counting and introducing basic addition interactively.

Each child draws a card and places it face up as their starting number for counting on. They then roll the dice, add the two numbers, and verbalize the process: “I have 5, I rolled a 3 and a 2, so 5 plus 5 is 10.”

Counting on from a fixed point helps children move beyond reciting numbers in sequence, developing their understanding of numerical relationships and addition.

Introduce various challenges, such as:

• Drawing multiple cards and rolling to count on from the sum
• Using two dice and having children choose to add or subtract the numbers rolled, reinforce counting on while introducing basic subtraction and decision-making

By practicing counting on, young learners build confidence in their math skills, setting the stage for more advanced mathematical learning.

13. Skip-Count with Craft Sticks

Engage your kindergartners in a colorful, hands-on activity using craft sticks to practice skip-counting by fives, laying a solid foundation for future multiplication and number sequencing skills.

Assign each color a different numerical value by fives, writing the corresponding numbers on each stick. Demonstrate arranging the sticks in sequence by skip-counting by fives, and saying the numbers aloud.

Invite the children to take turns organizing the sticks, recognizing patterns, and understanding skip-counting. Add challenge by mixing higher numbers or introducing missing gaps for children to fill.

Incorporate game elements, such as setting a timer or using playing cards with matching sequences to find the corresponding craft stick to place next in order.

This activity promotes skip-counting, fine motor skills, critical thinking, and collaborative learning opportunities. Using different colors aids in distinguishing and remembering numerical values, supporting visual learning.

Skip-counting with craft sticks can be adapted to different learning levels, making it a versatile, hands-on learning experience kindergarteners will look forward to.

14. Match Teen Numbers

Introduce your kindergartners to teen numbers with a matching activity using printable cards illustrating numerals and corresponding bundles of sticks, making it easier to understand how numbers combine to form teen numbers.

Lay out the numeral cards on one side and the visual representation cards on the other. Have the children match the numeral to the correct visual representation, helping them see how numbers like 13 are composed of ten items plus three more.

Encourage them to verbalize the number: “Ten plus two equals twelve.” This reinforcement helps solidify the connection between the numeral and the quantity it represents, introducing them to addition intuitively.

Add excitement by shuffling the cards and timing the children to see how quickly they can recreate the matches, motivating them to think quickly and accurately.

Adapt the activity for collaborative learning by dividing the children into pairs or small groups, promoting teamwork and social interaction.

By engaging with these matching activities, children will gradually develop a deeper understanding of teen numbers. The visual and hands-on approach makes abstract concepts more concrete, allowing young learners to build a strong numerical foundation.

15. Compare Numbers with Dominoes

Transform a classic game into an educational tool with Compare Numbers with Dominoes. This activity helps kindergartners grasp the concept of comparing numbers, using simple visual aids to make learning meaningful and enjoyable.

To set up, you’ll need a standard set of dominoes and a collection of math cubes or any small stackable objects like blocks or LEGO bricks. Spread out the dominoes across a table, ensuring each side displays a different number of pips (the dots). Instruct the children to choose a domino and examine the two sets of pips displayed.

For instance, if a child picks a domino with three pips on one side and six on the other, ask them to stack math cubes to match these numbers. They would then create one stack with three cubes and another with six cubes. This physical representation helps them see that the stack with six cubes is larger than the one with three.

Next, guide the children to place the two stacks side by side to visually compare their heights. This direct comparison makes it easy for them to understand which number is bigger or smaller. Encourage them to describe what they see, using language such as “six is more than three” or “three is less than six.” This reinforces their numerical vocabulary and comprehension.

Take turns allowing each child to select a new domino and create corresponding stacks. This provides repeated practice, which is essential for mastering the concept. As they become more comfortable, introduce more complex comparisons by choosing dominoes with larger numbers.

To add an element of excitement and encourage critical thinking, turn the activity into a game. Challenge the children to stack their cubes as quickly as possible, while ensuring accuracy. Alternatively, create a friendly competition by having children predict the outcome before building their stacks.

For an additional learning opportunity, introduce basic subtraction concepts by asking how many more cubes one stack has than the other. This helps them understand the numerical difference between the two numbers and begins to lay the groundwork for future subtraction lessons.

By incorporating playful methods, children not only grasp foundational math skills but also develop a love for learning that will serve them well in the future.