Summer reading clubs and story times can help with early literacy and reading, but it might seem daunting to figure out how to prepare a young child for math. Here’s the great news: you’re the right person for the job.

Preschool-age children are ready to explore more than one might think! Parents often focus on counting from one to ten, but there are many other skills that children are ready and able to investigate.

As adults, we can tend to over-think how to go about teaching math to young children but promoting mathematical thinking and basic math concepts can come through all kinds of simple hands-on activities. Here are some of great math activities to integrate into your homeschool.

Parents may think counting and recognizing numbers are the nuts and bolts of preschool math. While these are important skills for young mathematicians to master, building a foundation for complex mathematical thinking begins in the early childhood years. Sorting and classifying objects helps children begin to notice how items are alike and different, and creates an awareness that is vital for math learning.

Preschool and Kindergarten – what fun ages! Play is learning and learning is play. Perhaps you’re looking for some ideas for your formal Tot School or perhaps you just want to make sure that your little ones will be ready for first grade when it comes along.

As the parent of a preschooler, you probably enjoy experiencing the world through your child’s eyes (and hands and feet!) as he or she explores and learns with great enthusiasm. And as your child’s first teacher, you can start teaching the basics of reading, writing, and math. Giving preschoolers a solid foundation in early math literacy is critical to their future academic success, not to mention how important it is to their day-to-day functioning.

There are many natural ways to teach preschool math. Everyday activities, like cooking and grocery shopping involve mathematical concepts.

Children’s ability to understand mathematics takes a big leap forward in the preschool years. Their strengthening ability to represent using manipulatives, symbols, and signs opens up many new possibilities. Children also make strides in algebra and patterning. They can sequence events in time by age three. By age four, they can re-create patterns or make their own repeating pattern. During the preschool years, the child’s ability to problem solve takes on a new zeal. Children’s ability to classify objects is more developed; they can sort and organize objects into different categories and tell which pile has more. This chart details the skills that children can exhibit at different ages.

Mathematical experiences for very young children should build largely upon their play and the natural relationships between learning and life in their daily activities, interests, and questions.

This youtube video demonstrates some great strategies to help preschoolers learn counting by tens and odd and even numbers.

These are ideas and strategies to incorporate math learning into everyday life.

Learning about numbers is a preschooler’s first step toward becoming a budding young mathematician. And in preschool, math learning is all about counting, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence. If a child doesn’t ace these seemingly simple skills in a timely manner, don’t fret: even math whizzes need time to blossom. But with age appropriate techniques, helping your child to master these math milestones will be as easy as 1, 2, 3!

Anyone who is pushing arithmetic onto preschoolers is wrong. Do not hurry child. No math in preschool! Preschoolers can and should engage in mathematical thinking. All young children possess informal mathematics and can learn more. A combination of an environment that is conducive to mathematical explorations, appropriate observations and interventions, and specific mathematical activities helps preschoolers build premathematical and explicit mathematical knowledge.

Parents are bombarded with messages to read with their children, but it’s rare to hear about the importance of doing math with them. Here are some helpful tips on why and how to instill a love of math in your children.

Teaching math to young learners at home can be successful if you respond to your child. Children learn best when they aren't forced to learn. Introduce them to ideas, books, educational television, and most importantly, show them how this stuff is used in everyday life. they will catch on and learn it at their own pace.

This list is a great start to incorporating fun activities and games into your homeschool math curriculum.

This wonderful blog is written by a homeschooling mother who wants to make learning math fun. It is a place where you can learn about new ways of learning, teaching, and understanding math. Math is a game, playing with ideas. This blog is about the ongoing adventure of learning, teaching, and playing around with mathematics from preschool to precalculus.

Math teaching ideas, links, worksheets, reviews, articles, news, Math Mammoth, and more--anything that helps you to teach math.

Learning shapes and colors may well be a young child’s first educational endeavor. Although recognizing objects as red or blue, round or square might seem like child’s play, it’s actually integral to a young child’s cognitive development, and sets the stage for math concepts from sorting and patterning to geometry, and beyond! What can you as a parent do to help your young learner master these academic milestones? You may not have to look beyond the backdrop of your life for the perfect learning tools. Try a few of these fun activities to help your child master colors and shapes.

HomeschoolMath.net is a comprehensive math resource site for homeschooling parents and teachers: find free worksheets, math ebooks for elementary grades, an extensive link list of games, a homeschool math curriculum guide, interactive tutorials & quizzes, and teaching tips articles. The resources emphasize understanding of concepts instead of just mechanical memorization of rules.

A simple activity to teach measuring and number lines. Easy to put together and understand.

This 49 page pdf file contains scores of activities to teach math concepts to preschoolers.

The best way for preschoolers to learn math is through lots of fun and creative games that let them explore and discover new concepts about the world of numbers.

Use 1 x 1 Lego bricks and a 12-sided math die to encourage counting and learning.

When it comes to math, a good foundation is essential. With these fun math activities for kids, numbers become friends and the basic foundation for the subject is established at an early age. Different math activities for kids of different age groups can be effective in teaching them basic but essential math concepts. Here are some interesting grade-based math activities that parents and teachers can use to make math a whole lot of fun!

Children should gain an understanding of math concepts at an early age. This can best be done through every day life experiences and through play. these are great ways to introduce math concepts to kids in fun way. Many of the activities are also appropriate for kindergarten and the early elementary years.

These simple early learning math activities teach skills like number recognition, counting, simple addition and subtraction, sorting, sequencing numbers, and measuring.

This inexpensive and easy to create game uses small toy cars to teach numbers.

These cute math songs help young children learn about addition, money, time, and skip counting.

These number recognition games are simple, don't require any fancy materials, and preschoolers love to play them.

How to make a homemade version of the Montessori seguin board, a board with lots of 10s in a column.

Kids love to pretend and test their limits within boundaries of make believe. Combining pretend play with math is a great way to challenge your kids without making them feel like it’s a test. Pretending to be a postal worker gives the task of sorting meaning and with that meaning their learning is deeper and better retained.

This activity helps children to model basic numbers and use counting and grouping strategies to demonstrate and verbalise relationships between basic numbers--in this case, the numbers 1-3. Using the well loved and well known tale of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears will help engage your child and also give them a greater understanding, meaning and depth.

These fun math games help encourage counting and color matching using pom poms.

This great video shows different activities that can be used to teach young children how to count.

These manipulatives are easy to make at home. They provide early learning supplies for anyone on a budget.

A list of games that make learning math concepts fun and easy.

This list is a great start to incorporating fun activities and games into your homeschool math curriculum.

Learn 10s with these free printable cards that offer a fun way to practice. Read about different ways to use the cards for enjoyable math games to teach this concept.

Practicing math skills like spatial awareness and geometry can be fun, especially when the math activity involves Legos! Here’s a free printable math challenge for kids using Lego or Duplo bricks!

Finding the right homeschool preschool curriculum is important. For many children, this will be their first introduction to organized learning. Giving your child the right introduction to the world of knowledge can help them become life-long learners. To learn how to choose the right homeschool preschool curriculum for your child, consult the resources offered at Sonlight.

The Numbers Plus Preschool Mathematics Curriculum is a comprehensive set of detailed plans for small- and large-group early childhood mathematics activities, with ideas for extending learning throughout the program day. What’s special about Numbers Plus is that children’s mathematical learning is sequenced within activities — each activity has a built-in progression so children of different developmental and ability levels can participate together and have a positive and meaningful learning experience. By actively engaging young children with materials and ideas, Numbers Plus builds on the latest knowledge from research and practice about early mathematics learning and how adults support it.

Making Math Meaningful is a wonderful beginning. It lays the strong foundation for understanding math. Every concept is introduced with a simple conversation (which is provided for you) using math manipulatives. You are spending quality time with your children talking about each math concept. The conversations are simple. The activities are easy to do. The lesson plans tell you exactly what you are to do and what you are to say. Perfect for the busy mom. There are no seminars to attend and no videos to watch! Simply pull the book from the shelf and start teaching. Each child has his own student workbook. Levels K through 4 give you a written script to teach each concept and skill. Levels 5 and 6 and Algebra are written directly to your child. Your child will simply pull the book from the shelf and teach himself. There is no easier math manipulative program for mom.

Ray's Arithmetics teach arithmetic in an orderly fashion, starting from rules and principles, building knowledge piece by piece, leading pupils from simple to complex. From the very first pages, Ray's Arithmetics incorporate what has become the scourge of today's math students - story problems. Students must READ simple sentences which pose real life problems, decide whether to add, subtract, multiply or divide, and finally arrive at the answer - sometimes mentally - sometimes in writing.

Singapore Math books are clear, logical, and sequential. There is a strong focus on mental math. Word problems and geometry are integrated throughtout the series. Singapore Math® books are a popular choice of homeschool families and for parents looking for math activity books to support what their child is learning in school. There are also titles to help home educators understand the foundations of Singapore Math® methodology, giving you tools to help your student be successful and have fun.They offer math texts from pre-K to 12th grades. This series challenges children to think through and understand mathematical concepts instead of simply memorizing facts and algorithms. One of the benefits of using this program is its affordability. The textbooks are inexpensive and are reusable. The consumable workbooks are priced so that even families with multiple children using this program will find it affordable.

In the Primer level your child will learn not only how to write numerals but also addition and subtraction, basic counting, skip counting, geometric shapes, telling time, and they will be introduced to the manipulative block system. It’s a gentle introduction to "doing math."

Everyday Mathematics is a comprehensive Pre-K through 6th grade mathematics curriculum developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project and published by McGraw-Hill Education. Everyday Mathematics is a research-based and field-tested curriculum that focuses on developing children’s understandings and skills in ways that produce life-long mathematical power. The Everyday Mathematics curriculum emphasizes:

• Use of concrete, real-life examples that are meaningful and memorable as an introduction to key mathematical concepts.
• Repeated exposures to mathematical concepts and skills to develop children’s ability to recall knowledge from long-term memory.
• Frequent practice of basic computation skills to build mastery of procedures and quick recall of facts, often through games and verbal exercises.
• Use of multiple methods and problem-solving strategies to foster true proficiency and accommodate different learning styles.

This set of books is unlike any other textbooks. Each text is written in the style of a novel with a humorous story line. Each section tells part of the life of Fred Gauss and how, in the course of his life, he encounters the need for the math and then learns the methods. Tons of solved examples. Each hardcover textbook contains ALL of the material – more than most instructors cover in traditional classroom settings. Includes tons of proofs. Written by Dr. Stanley Schmidt with the intent to make math come alive with lots of humour, clear explanations, and silly illustrations that stick in the mind. The student will learn to think mathematically. Completion of this series prepares student for third year college math.

Mad Dog Math is a fun, exciting, motivating, and challenging supplement to any math curriculum. They've taken the basic facts and broken them down into bite-sized pieces that any child can master. A child progresses through a series of timed drills at his own pace.

The Time4Learning preschool program combines technology, animated characters, original stories and fun music to inspire a love of learning in the littlest e-learners. Ed Mouse and his friends guide children through more than forty topics such as numbers, letters, rhymes, self, time, music and colors.

These printables are free and help provide extra support for teaching preschool math. You'll find calendars, number tracing cards, number mats, patterns, and more.

Preschool math worksheets help your young learner develop essential early math skills. From number recognition to counting to addition, preschoolers learn a lot about numbers in one year. Our collection of preschool math worksheets is designed for kids who want to build skills that will prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. These preschool math worksheets help present new number topics to kids in a way that's fun and easy to understand. Help foster a culture of learning by doing these preschool math worksheets with your child.

Learn 10s with these free printable cards that offer a fun way to practice. Read about different ways to use the cards for enjoyable math games to teach this concept.

HomeschoolMath.net is a comprehensive math resource site for homeschooling parents and teachers: find free worksheets, math ebooks for elementary grades, an extensive link list of games, a homeschool math curriculum guide, interactive tutorials & quizzes, and teaching tips articles. The resources emphasize understanding of concepts instead of just mechanical memorization of rules.

Practicing math skills like spatial awareness and geometry can be fun, especially when the math activity involves Legos! Here’s a free printable math challenge for kids using Lego or Duplo bricks!

Fun and free printables that are great for preschoolers. These activities make learning fun!