Kids need to move their bodies. Am I right? Preschoolers love to dance! In my house, they also love math because we play the Math Dance Game. Math can be fun!
This game helps children visualize real value and equations while practicing counting and number recognition. If you have a preschooler who likes to dance, get them excited to learn math with this simple game.
Learn Math with Preschoolers by Having Fun
To learn math with this activity, you only need music, paper (or free printable), a pencil, and a die. We like to play with our big die.
Learn math by playing multiple ways. We practiced addition.
The children take turns telling me a move they would like to do, like the “monkey.” I write it down while they roll the die. A four! They roll again, and we add the numbers together. The sum of the numbers is the number of moves we all must do.
Then we get down!
Equations can be difficult for young children because they are unfamiliar with the true value of the numerals. When solving the equations drawing dots above the numeral to represent the true value will help children understand the concept better.
Allow older children to solve these problems alone or even teach the younger children.
I love this activity because it is appropriate for multiple ages. While the older children learn to solve the equation, the younger children practice one-to-one correspondence by counting each movement as they do it.
It is also handy for getting the wiggles out on a rainy day!
Movement is a huge motivator and can easily be incorporated into daily learning activities. Sometimes I make my children run across the room and back or jump five times before they get to do a reading flash card or other learning activity.
These physical challenges bring renewed excitement to learning that your children won’t be able to resist!
Happy Dancing!
Janine