Number and counting skills are generally taught in both preschool and kindergarten. Here are some fun number and counting activities for kids that will help teach children these skills.
Number activities for kids
Edible Numbers (Special Activity)
Get a box of Graham Crackers, white frosting, decorative cake icing, & M&M candies. Cover each graham cracker with a thick layer of frosting, and use the cake icing to write a number on their graham cracker. Next, have children count out a number of M&M’s to match that number and place them on their cracker. It’s a fun and tasty way to get kids excited about numbers and counting!
Notice: You can find a recipe for generic icing to use for this activity in our parent and teacher reference book of our members area. It works great for decorating on top of the frosting.
Counting activities for kids
Clothes Pin Counting Game (Math, Fine Motor)
Cut sheets of heavy card stock into different shapes. Decorate them if you’d like, and write a different number (anywhere from 1-20) on each one. Set them out at your table along with a tub of clothes pins. Have kids pick a card, and clip on as many clothes pins as the number on the card. You can also do this activity using paper clips as a substitute.
Egg Carton Counting Activity (Math, Fine Motor)
Collect 3 or 4 egg cartons. Use a sharpie marker to label each pouch of the carton with a different number. Set out counting bears, pennies, beads, or any other counting tool, and have the kids fill the egg pouches according to the number assigned to them.
Number Lottery (Math, Group)
Create a classroom “number lottery.” It can be done daily to teach the kids number recognition. To start, write the numbers 0-9 on small pieces of paper (like raffle tickets) and make 3 sets of them. Place the numbers inside a paper bag. Every group time, have the kids each pick 3 numbers for the lottery. Write their names and picks on your dry erase board or a large sheet of paper. Shake up the bag, and pull out 3 numbers. Consider offering a reward for kids who ‘win’ the lottery by picking all 3 numbers correctly.