My daughter is just about to turn three. She is wildly inquisitive and wants to know and understand everything. She is coming out of that infant and early toddler stage of exploring mostly with her senses and is now starting to ask questions all about how things work and why different things happen… it’s such a great age! She is also starting to represent different things in her drawings and art, as well as including elements of early numeracy in her imaginative play.
About once a month I rotate all the materials on our playroom shelves and create new explorations for Sarah and her older brother (5yrs). Here’s some of the numeracy explorations I have out at the moment. Sometimes Sarah will take a basket or tray off the shelf and play by herself, other times we will work together in a more focused way.
12 Hands-On Math Activities for 2- and 3- Year Olds
All of these explorations are simple to put together. You can use almost any materials you have around the house. I like to use beautiful, natural materials as much as possible – they are so aesthetically pleasing that I just can’t seem to go pass them.
Some use small parts so please use your own common sense when preparing similar explorations for your child.
1. Mark making with numerals (shown above): Present a paintbrush and a set of large format numeral cards alongside shallow tray of coloured sand and invite your preschooler to form the shapes of each numeral by ‘drawing’ in the sand with the brush.
2. Colour sorting: Present an upcycled wooden sorting tray (try your local thrift store or op shop) with a collection of felt balls, coloured pom poms or pretty buttons to sort.
3. Sorting by size: Collect a series of natural items, such as pine cones or gum nuts and invite your preschooler to sort them by size from smallest to largest.
4. Sorting by length: Collect a series of feathers or leaves and invite your toddler or preschooler to sort them by length from shortest to longest.
5. Sorting sets: Invite your toddler or preschooler to sort a series of two or three different types of shells into matching sets.
6. Counting stones: Create a set of counting stones to order and match by drawing numerals and dots onto smooth stones with permanent marker. Use these to play a matching game or to order the dotted stones or numeral stones from one to ten.
7. Counting purposefully: Lay out a series of numerals or number cards and a small basket of manipulatives (wooden tokens, buttons, pom poms) to count and invite your preschooler to count out a set of objects for each numeral.
8. Matching pairs: Present 5 to 8 matching pairs of shapes (these Pattern Blocks are perfect (Amazon link)) for your child to sort into pairs. Using a small felt circle or placemat helps define a dedicated working space.
9. Pattern making: Invite your child to match or continue a simple repeated pattern using coloured Pattern Blocks.
10. Matching pin patterns: Use a cork placemat and coloured push pins to invite your child to match or continue a simple repeated pattern.
11. Making shapes: Use a cork placemat, coloured push pins, rubber bands and a set of simple shape cards and invite your child to make shapes by pressing the pins into the cork and stretching the rubber bands around the pins to form each shape.
12. Making shapes: Invite your child to make shapes from lengths of thin wire.
I encourage you to create some simple math activities for your older toddler or preschooler to explore. When you’re arranging them on your play shelves, present each in a nice thrifted tray or cane basket, including a simple placemat for your child to work on.
More Preschool Math Resources
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