This activity has the “key” to keeping students occupied while learning. A little hardware and handiwork are all it takes to create an engaging lock and key station that covers shape matching, shape identification, hand-eye coordination, hand strength, cause and effect, and engineering…all in one compact activity center! Shape Games Create an irresistible way for…
Math
Shape Train Interactive Bulletin Board
Bulletin boards are not just for display! This interactive shape bulletin board is a fun and engaging way to teach 2D shape identification and sorting. The adorable train cars and easy train track tape make it a popular learning center in any preschool classroom. Bulletin boards at a child-friendly height can be used to develop…
Foam Math Cards
These easy Foam Math Cards “hit the spot” when you want to add something new to your Math center! This activity invites students to take some time for independent, hands-on practice on one-to-one correspondence and other counting skills. It’s as Easy as 1, 2, 3! The Foam Math Cards are a snap to put together with…
10 Chip Clip Poems
Young children are natural learners who form ideas about math when they experience it in their daily lives. Setting the table for snack, counting the friends in their class, using a timer to share a toy, and measuring sand at the sensory table are all ways that children begin to understand mathematical concepts. One of…
Fruit Loop Graph
Fruit loops are a great learning manipulative! Students who are otherwise unlikely to work at a math center will jump at the chance to sit and play with cereal. I like to buy the big generic bag at the dollar store for this center. For this activity, I paired it with a foam block and…
Pumpkin Counting Mats
One of our early math goals is to develop a strong number sense in children. We want them to be able to identify numbers, use one-to-one matching while counting, and also to be able to subitize (visualize) quantities. These Pumpkin Counting Mats are a great way to practice all of these essential skills, in a very fun, playful and developmentally…
Sorting by Color
Sorting is such an important early math skill. As adults, we sort all the time! We sort the mail into keep and trash. We sort the laundry, the bills and the utensils in the drawer. Our brains sort bits of information into categories for easy retrieval. Young children are just learning to sort when they start preschool….
Apple Counting Mats
Last winter, we started using Snowball Number Mats with our preschoolers to reinforce counting, number recognition and subitizing. Some of our students loved them (of course!) but many students just moved right past the center. We had to find a way to jazz it up a bit. The same is true with these Apple Counting…
Make Calendar Time Meaningful for Preschoolers
Each morning at preschool after the students have completed their morning work, we spend a few minutes together at Circle Time. At the beginning of the year with our younger students, it lasts about 5 minutes– just enough time to sing a hello song and practice each others’ names. By the time our students are…
Exploring Capacity
This simple light table center — transparent pony beads and tiny clear plastic cups with lids from the dollar store — created an engaging math activity for our preschoolers! Preschoolers just love to fill things up, don’t they?! Whether it’s the cups in the kitchen or bowls in the rice table, the simple act of…