5 DIY simple math games for preschool and kindergarten children at home

It seemed what felt like a repetitive and monotone day around here. I wanted to get things back on track by creating a simple play to learn set of activities for my little ones.

I looked over at the leftover styrofoam cups in the kitchen and thought of a fun math game for my girls.  

These simple DIY indoor match activities are always a hit.

So, I decided to think of something creative with styrofoam cups and dot stickers that were not only engaging but educational and loads of fun.

You see, dot stickers, they are a favorite of ours. We can use these little stickers for so many activities in so many different ways. It is very open ended.

The best DIY math for all kids

We tried 5 different activities this time around, but we certainly could have kept going. It’s just amazing how open ended play can keep going and going.

Extending this to make it engaging for toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarten and elementary is also possible. That is what I love about this simple and easy DIY activity for early learners.

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• Dot Stickers

• Cups (We used styrofoam cups)

• Washi Tape or Painters Tape

Step one is to add the dot stickers to the outer bottom of each cup – I liked my choice to use styrofoam cups but you can feel free to use whatever cup is good for you.

Once the dot stickers were added the bottom of the cups, I started with the first activity of five in total.

First Activity: COLOR MATCH (Preschool)

• Remove dot stickers from its sheet and lay out each color of the dot stickers on a sheet of paper, desk, or floor.

• Your child will match the correct colored dot sticker to the correct dot stickered cup by stacking the cups in the correct dot stickers that is on the paper, desk or floor.

• Wooh! That was a tongue twister.

Second Activity: SKIP COLOR COUNT/ MATCH (Kindergarten)

• Use washi tape to create a 10 frame grid; Your child will skip colors and match

Third Activity: COLOR MATCH THE GRID (Prek)

• Add dot stickers to the 10 frame grid in each slot.

• Your child will match the correct dot sticker color cup to the correct dot sticker within each slot of the grid.

Fourth Activity: SKIP COUNT + COUNT BY TEN (Kindergarten)

• Add numbers to the dot stickers within the 10 frame grid slots

• Add numbers to the dot stickers on the bottom of the cups

• Your child will skip count by even numbers and odd numbers by placing the numbered cups to the correct numbered dot stickers within the 10 frame slots.

Fifth Activity: COUNT TO TEN (Preschool)

• Same steps of fourth activity except this time your child will add the correct numbered cups to the correct numbered dot stickers within the 10 frame grid 1-10 instead of skip counting by even/odd numbers.

Have you figured out how these games go yet?

The goal of the game is simple: learning math by engaging through play

Sounds simple enough, right?

Children.love.this. And I mean all kids. My three year old went crazy for it. My just turned six year old loved it. Im 32 and I thought it was amazing and didn’t want to stop!

They both took turns as each activity was specifically tailored to their age. Adding each cup over another one and engaging in moving cups around the 10 frame allowed for a great fine motor activity.

Then, they learn colors, skip color counting, skip counting, numbers 1-10, even/odd numbers. By the end of this, my 3 year old learned her colors and numbers 1-10 and my kindergartner could fly through her even/odd numbers and skip color counting + match up easily. It became a breeze for them.

Check out all the ways to make this fit for your kids:

• Instead of cups like we used, try a different manipulative, one that suits you.

• Not into numbers or colors, try shapes or matching letters.

• Ready for addition/subtraction? Try creating two grids instead of one and add and subtract.

• Need some competition: Race to see who finished first. This is a fun way to include a different play to learn activity for friends, children close in age…

Sometimes the day seems a bit boring and repetitive. All you’ll need to get things back on track and ready to go is a simple DIY fun math game with items you probably already own at home.

Will you try these 5 simple math games at home with your kids?

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