Let’s be honest… math can feel like a monster under the best for our little ones (and for us, too!) It can be one of the most challenging subjects to teach in school, which makes it intimidating to work on at home. But, I do have good news! Teaching numbers early on can have a significant impact on children’s confidence in math and their success in the subject.

When kids get a solid grasp with numbers, they’re unlocking the door to a world of problem-solving and critical thinking! That’s why today, I’m sharing effective (but fun) ways to teach numbers to your little ones in a way that gets them excited about counting!

Fun Activities for Little Learners: How To Teach Kids Numbers

Stay Consistent in Practice

You know the phrase “practice makes perfect”? This applies to teaching math skills, too! Repetition is key for teaching little ones’ new concepts. Make it a part of their daily routine! Consistently exposing them to numbers and counting is a great way to build confidence and familiarity.

Remain Patient and Expect Mistakes

Learning and teaching numbers takes time, so it’s important to be patient throughout the process! Show them that they are allowed to make mistakes while you reassure and guide them through. A patient environment equals a positive learning space!

Make the Activities Fun

If there’s one thing I encourage, it’s combining learning and playing. Kids are much more likely to retain information when they associate learning with a fun game or task! And when a learning activity is fun, it makes children actually want to engage!

Use Everyday Objects

Incorporating everyday objects into teaching numbers allows the subject to make a bit more sense to our kids. When you ask them to do things like count the apples in the fruit bowl, or count the number of blocks during playtime, it makes math more relatable and easier to grasp!

Incorporate Lots of Hands-On Learning

Hands-on activities can be incredibly beneficial for information retention and engaging both sides of the brain! Which makes total sense when you think about sensory play and how kids use all 5 of their senses to learn. This doesn’t mean there’s a right way or wrong way to teach kids numbers, it just means that hands-on learning can be a fantastic tool to implement!

Celebrate Small Wins and Stay Positive

Offering praise and encouragement, even for completing smaller tasks, is incredibly motivating for kids. When we celebrate our children’s milestones and remind them that we’re proud of them, it builds their confidence! It makes them want to continue learning.

Teach at Their Pace

There’s no rule book for the speed at which kids should learn it’s not important how fast or slow they grasp things! What is important, is tailoring their lessons to the speed they’re learning at. Instead of playing the comparison game, focus on your kiddo’s individual journey so they don’t feel overwhelmed or pressured!

11 Fun Ways to Teach Kids Numbers

Number Sticks

I’m a big fan of combining arts and crafts into learning it’s SO beneficial to our little ones’ development. That’s why I’m also a big fan of this number sticks activity! It’s easy, it’s fun, and most importantly, it’s educational.

For this activity, grab some play dough (here’s my play dough recipe if you want to get creative!), popsicle sticks, permanent markers, and clothespins. Start off by numbering the popsicle sticks, and then rolling up a piece of play dough for each one. Once you’ve got your dough in little balls, place the sticks in the center of each ball in numerical order and have your little one add the correct amount of clothespins to each stick.

You can even visit the link to see a few more fun games you can do with this activity based on your kids’ age and their current needs!

Number Hunt

Sensory bags are one of my favorite activities when I want to incorporate some serious hands-on sensory play, because they’re so developmentally beneficial!

For this activity, start by writing numbers randomly on white paper, and filling a gallon size freezer zip lock bag with hair gel. Add some food coloring and glitter into the bag, remove all the air, seal it up, and mix it up until the color is blended. Next, tape the paper to the back of the bag (number side down) and use packing tape to adhere the bag to the surface you’re using the activity on.

Place different numbers next to the bag and have your kid search through the gel until the numbers show through. Not only is it an interesting texture, but they’ll be enthralled as the numbers magically appear!

Math Tree Activity

It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to teach your kids if stickers are involved, they’ll be interested! That makes this activity a dream for teaching numbers.

Start off by cutting a piece of parchment paper into a square and taping it to a table. Draw a layout of a tree, writing down math problems inside of the tree bushes and the solutions to the problems on the adhesive circle labels with permanent markers.

Now, just ask your kids to paste the correct solutions on top of the math problems to “solve” them! You can adjust the difficulty level based on age, as well.

Homemade Counting Box

This activity is fantastic for visually showing your little ones how two numbers can make one.

Begin by getting a cardboard box (ideally one with the lid still attached), and hot gluing two lids from disposable wipe cases onto either side of the lid of the box. Next, open the lids and make a small hole on the box in the middle of the openings, and then place a tape in between the two wipe lids. Now, using a dry erase marker, write an equation on the tape!

For example, say the equation is 2+2… The goal is for your little one to add the corresponding amount of Pom Poms in each side (2 in one side, 2 in the other), and then open the box to count the total amount of 4 Pom Poms! Ta-da!

Colored Salt Tray

This activity is fantastic because it’s both easy and inexpensive, offering engaging visual and tactile experiences!

First, pour some salt into a zip lock bag and add in a few drops of food coloring. Remove all the air from the bag, making sure to close it completely, and shake it until all of the salt is evenly coated. Now, pour the salt onto a tray to dry for a few minutes. Once it’s dried, shake the tray to make an even layer of salt, and begin your activity!

There’s tons of different things you can do with this activity. Ask your little ones to trace numbers in the salt, have them write solutions to problems, and for a more advanced activity, ask them to create their own math problems! Endless fun, and endless learning.

Dot the Heart Activity

This is a great activity if you want to work on teaching the numbers in order! Plus, creating an activity with bright colors will make learning much more intriguing to kids.

We’re gonna add a little twist on this activity though—let’s draw numbers instead of hearts! Just take a piece of paper, draw some numbers with markers, and have your child dot the numbers, decorating them as they go!

This is a great way to visually enhance the shape of each number, so they’re more memorable as your kids continue to learn!

Multi-use Tape

Tape is perfect for repurposing into tons of different projects. It makes for easy-to-create activities, easy-to-clean activities, and my favorite perk, it’s inexpensive!

All you need is some painting tape or masking tape, and a surface to use like a recycled cardboard box! On the box, make numbers out of the tape for your little ones to decorate. Grab your Pom poms, glitter, sequins any kind of small, decorative material you want and let them get to work!

The act of decorating the numbers allows kids to actively engage in the number shapes, making them a bit more visually appealing!

White Crayon Magic Paint

If you’ve always wondered what the white crayon in the crayon box is there for… you’ve just found your answer. It’s for this activity! This is one of the simplest activities to create, but your little ones won’t be able to get enough of the “magic” they unveil while learning!

Just grab some water color paper, a white crayon, and some water color paint. (If you don’t have water color paint, you can just use water and food coloring!) Use the white crayon to draw numbers or math problems depending on the difficulty you want to achieve, and have your kids paint over it to reveal the hidden drawings!

It’s a great way to introduce numbers to your kiddos in a fun and creative way! Think about it… would they be half as interested if you just used notebook paper and a pencil?!?

Number-Themed Sensory Bin

For this activity, we’re making a 2-in-1! We’re combining colored rice dye for an engaging sensory base, and adding in some 3D letters and shapes for a fun tangible learning experience.

I don’t want to bore you with super long instructions for each recipe, so feel free to click the links for in-depth tutorials of both!

But essentially, we want to create an activity that’s both visually and texturally appealing. The colorful rice makes for a bright and inviting base that your little ones will be intrigued to dig through, and the 3D letters add a fascinating interactive element!

Marshmallow Treats

Working on numbers can be an exhausting task, which is why this marshmallow treat activity is a fun (but educational) project!

To make these monster marshmallows, put 1 bag of Candy Melts into a melting pot, stirring occasionally. After they’re fully melted, insert a lollipop stick into the bottom of a marshmallow be careful not to poke it through the top! Gently dip the marshmallow into the melted Candy Melts, ensuring you have a thick coat on before the next step.

Now, you can add some candy eyes to the marshmallow, having your little ones count the eyes as they put them on. To finish, just place them in a stand on some parchment paper and let the chocolate set in the refrigerator. Super fun, super yummy, super sweet!

Numbers and Math Activity Pack

Activity packs are fantastic ways to teach numbers to kids! Whether you use them on a standalone basis or integrate them into other sensory play recipes, they’re extremely useful and beneficial when you’re working on achieving those important developmental milestones.

On the Mothercould in your Pocket resource, I have a numbers and math activity pack that you and your little one will love. It’s got 18 interactive pages of number puzzles, coloring by numbers, addition and subtraction problems, and plenty more.

Not only do you get an activity pack, but you also receive access to lots of play recipes, helpful hacks, and fun tutorials!

Teaching kids numbers can be even more enjoyable than you thought!

Using sensory activities to teach your little ones numbers is such an easy and engaging way to introduce the topic! Especially because the activities are so interesting, your kids won’t even realize that they’re working on one of the toughest subjects in school! Numbers start looking fun!

For lots of other activities, recipes, and easy-to-follow tutorials, visit the Mothercould blog! If you want some behind-the-scenes explanations, fun activity packs, and plenty of play recipes, download Mothercould in your Pocket!

FUN ACTIVITIES FOR LITTLE LEARNERS: HOW TO TEACH KIDS NUMBERS