Let’s Play Math!

Kindergarten math should be all about playing. It’s not that you (as the teacher/mother) need to make learning fun. Learning just is fun!

Of course, anything can be ruined. When my kids are happily playing with soap bubbles as they wash dishes, I could yell at them and force them to stop being playful. But why would I do that if the dishes were getting cleaned? Children are naturally joyful and playful — let’s encourage that and use it to our advantage.

Why would we want to remove the fun of learning?

Put the worksheets away and instead cuddle up together and read books (did you know that hugging your child actually increases his intelligence?). Laugh together! Bake together! Count the steps at the park and talk about colors on your walk. You don’t need curriculum or expensive manipulatives.

This is how I teach kindergarten math in my homeschool, with just the things I have around my house:

(Please note that this post includes affiliate links. They’re boring, but you can read my full disclosures here if you want.)

 

Free Homeschool Kindergarten Curriculum for Teaching Math

Kindergarten math is all about counting and recognizing that a symbol represents a number. Here are the math objectives for kindergarten. Ideally, your child should know these things by the end of kindergarten:

1. Identify and sort basic shapes, and be able to make new shapes from them
2. Count by rote to at least 20
3. Count backwards from 10 to 0
4. Recognize that written numbers represent real items (number recognition and correspondence)
5. Be able to write numbers
6. Understand ordinal numbers: first, second, third, fourth…
7. Compare sizes, such as length and weight, in general using words such as taller, bigger, or shorter
8. The concepts of more, less and equivalence
9. Understand prepositions: up, down, under, near, beside…
10. Understand the concepts of addition and subtraction with single-digit numbers

 

That’s it! Easy, peasy! I hope seeing all of the standards laid out concisely like that (and seeing how simple they are) makes you feel better!

Each and every one of these objectives can be taught using a paper, pencil, and things you already have around your house as manipulatives. Turn learning into play time by counting, adding and subtracting as you go on walks and play with blocks or cars together. 

Your little one will be so excited about ‘math time’ that he will beg you to do math several times each day. Kindergarten math is the very best way to help your little one realize that learning is fun!

 

1. Shapes and Colors

Did you know that colors and shapes are taught as part of preschool and kindergarten math curriculum — prior to number and letter recognition?

The reason is that color and shape are two very noticeable attributes of the world around us. When your preschooler learns to discern the similarities and differences between colors and shapes, he is using the same skills he will need later on to recognize the differences between letters and numbers.

Colors and shapes are simpler and easier to recognize and memorize than numbers and letters, which is why they are learned first. If your child knows his shapes and colors, feel free to move on to counting and number recognition. But if he’s still working on shapes and colors, this book list will help!

>>> Picture Books That Teach Shapes and Colors <<<

You can probably find most of the books below at your local library, but it’s best to have a few of your preschoolers favorites on your own shelves for him to feel ownership over.

 

2.-3. Counting

Kindergarten math starts with counting. Even tiny toddlers will count by rote, and that’s a great place to start! Let children count all kinds of things they see or use in daily life.

Here are ideas for simple counting games:

• Lay a bunch of dominoes face down on the table. A child picks one, you pick one. The person with a higher “dot-count” gets both dominoes.
• Lay a bunch of dominoes face UP on the table. A child picks one and places it on the table to start the “train”. The next person picks one so that its end matches one end of a domino already laid.
• Let your child count out how many plates, forks, knives and cups you need for your family and set the dinner table.
• Choose something (trees, fire hydrants, red cars, porches) to count as you walk to the park.
• Count loudly together as you play on the seesaw or the swings, or each time you give the merry go round a push.
• Line the whole family up on the slide and shout ordinal numbers (first, second, third, fourth, fifth) as each family member goes down.
• Count the blocks in a tower or train.
• Count toys as you pick up the play room together.
• Tell your child he can choose THREE books for storytime and help him count them out loud.
• Let your child count out treats for the family: everyone gets 5 marshmallows or 5 m&m’s.
• Let your child count out eggs our cups of flour as you bake together.
• Hopscotch is a terrific counting game, especially if you yell out numbers as you jump.
• Jumping rope is great for counting skills.
• Practice counting backward, making toys blast off as you reach zero.
• Uno and Skip-bo, or any face cards with numbers, help your child that the concrete number 5 represents the abstract idea of 5 things.
• Cut out circles and label them with numbers, 1-12. Place the circles in the bottom of muffin tins. Give your child a huge handful of dried beans (or jelly beans, marshmallows, fruit loops or pennies)and have him count them into each muffin cup. Or you could use an egg carton and write the numbers in the bottoms of the egg cups. 
• Play with blocks, marbles or any small objects. You take a few of the objects, and ask the child to take for himself as many as you have, plus one more. Then it’s the child’s turn to take some, and you need to take the same amount plus one more. Reverse the game later to learn the concept of one less.
• Use a deck of playing cards with numbers, no pictures. Each person draws a card. The person with the highest number wins all the cards played in that round. This can teach both number recognition and counting.
• Many board games teach counting as the players roll a number and move that many spaces around the board. 

>>> Check out these fun picture books about Counting! <<<

 

 

4. Number Recognition And Correspondence

It is helpful to have plastic numbers (or foam) that your child can touch. One of the most difficult mathematical concepts for preschoolers to understand is that numbers represent something.

It’s pretty easy for preschoolers to memorize the sequence of numbers by rote — one, two, three, four, five. They can chant that after being exposed to it a few times. But understanding that the word “five” is represented by the number 5 and that both of them mean 5 objects — that can be a little confusing.

Don’t worry, though. Kids are amazing! It will take more exposure than just chanting a sequence of numbers a few times, but your child will pick it up and be off and running with the concept in no time at all.

The following activities and games are an excellent way to teach your child to recognize numbers and understand that those numbers actually represent a quantity of an object. 

Picture books are one of the best ways to teach kindergartners to recognize numbers, because it’s easy to point to the numbers on the pages as you say their names. And it’s fun to cuddle! Here is a list of our favorite picture books about counting and numbers.

>>> 75 Picture Books About Numbers <<<

• Uno and Skip-bo, or any face cards with numbers, help your child that the abstract number 5 represents the concrete idea of 5 things.
• Use a deck of playing cards with numbers, no pictures. Each person draws a card. The person with the highest number wins all the cards played in that round. This can teach both number recognition and counting.
• Pour your container of plastic numbers out onto the table. The leader of the game picks up a number and calls out it’s name (“number three”) loudly, then adds the number to his pile. The follower has to pick a matching number and follow the leader. When all the numbers are gone, have a race to see who can arrange the numbers sequentially. Take turns being the leader and the follower.
• Write the numbers 1-10 on index cards and have your child clip the corresponding number of clothespins to the card. Or he could spread the cards out and count corresponding numbers of pom-pom’s or marshmallows or any object onto each card.
• Another fun variation on the above game is to pick up a bunch of paint chips from your local home improvement store. Write numbers 1-10 on paint chips and let your child use a hole punch to punch the corresponding number of holes in each paint chip. Tactile activities, and ones that involve cutting or hole-punching and other fine motor skills are especially fun for kindergartners.
• Make your own dominoes out of paint chips, only instead of drawing dots on both ends of each domino, draw dots on one end and write a number on the other end. Then play dominoes as usual, but your child will be matching numerals to dots, requiring counting as well as number correspondence skills.
• Count while jumping on the trampoline together or playing leap frog. Lots of games lend themselves well to counting, if you just keep your eyes open.
• My kids love a game we call ‘Don’t Eat Pete’. I printed 100 numbers onto a paper (hundred numbers chart) and laminated it. I would use fewer numbers (like 1-20 at most) for a kindergarten-aged child. One person (the guesser) leaves the room.  The remaining players decide which number is Pete. We then cover each number with a skittle (or m&m, marshmallow, chocolate chip, etc…) The guesser comes back into the room and starts removing the skittles, one at a time, reciting the number while he does so. As soon as he picks up Pete, everyone shouts “Don’t eat Pete!” and his turn is over. All of the skittles her removed are his to keep, and a new guesser leaves the room. It’s simple, but your kids will beg you to play over and over, all the while better learning to recognize numbers.
• Don’t forget the power of reading aloud while snuggling! These books are fun and creative ways to learn about counting and number recognition.

Chicka, Chicka, 123 by Bill Martin One hundred and one numbers climb the apple tree in this bright, rollicking, joyous rhyme, now available as a Classic Board Book. As the numerals pile up and bumblebees threaten, what’s the number that saves the day?	Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins Ten red apples hanging on a tree. Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee! But they are not there for long. Horse, cow, donkey, pig, hen, and the other farm animals each eat one. “Save one for me,” calls the farmer. But what about the farmer’s wife?	One Hungry Monster: A Counting Book in Rhyme by Susan O’Keefe Fantastical creatures, somewhat reminiscent of Sendak’s Wild Things, fight and frolic their way through this counting book.

 

5. Writing Numbers

In young children, both visual perception and fine motor skills are still developing, making writing difficult. So teaching children to write the numbers correctly can be very frustrating!

And further, because our little ones love to discover math concepts in hands-on, multi-sensory ways, and we want them to enjoy learning, it’s tough to make them sit and write out worksheets of numbers. Writing numbers is an essential skill — it just seems arbitrary to insist that it’s mastered at age 5.

Who determined that was the right age? Or the best age?

I’m no expert, but I would recommend waiting to insist on this skill until your child is developmentally ready and eager to take it on. It’s a well known fact that boys and girls mature at different rates in different areas, and boys are often not ready to sit at a table and hold a pencil and form letters and numbers at age 5. That’s okay!

If your child does seem ready and wants to write with a pencil and paper, that’s great, too. Most of my kindergartners have used Saxon Math 1 (consumable workbooks) during kindergarten. But that’s because I am also homeschooling my older children, and my little ones just beg to be included in our homeschooling around the kitchen table.

They just want to do what the rest of us are doing — so they want to work with pencil and paper just like the big kids!

So at that point, I usually hand my kindergartner a Saxon Math 1 book (Saxon K and Math 1 cover the same concepts so it would be redundant to use them both) and turn him loose. In less than 10 minutes a day, he’ll complete the entire Saxon 1 workbook in about 7 months. 

I correct his work each day, and I constantly remind him to use the other numbers on the page to determine which direction his numbers should go. I lightly circle any incorrect numbers so he can reform them. My kiddos get plenty of number-writing practice as they complete these workbooks. And we use the suggested games, activities and picture books alongside Saxon, because nothing beats a tactile, visual, multi-sensory explanation of a concept.

I wouldn’t use the workbooks, though (the suggested games and activities cover all of the same concepts) if my children weren’t begging for them. Worksheets and textbooks just can’t compare with hands-on learning!

>>> Wanna know more about how I use Saxon Math? <<<

• Roll play dough into long ropes and use them to form numbers.
• Whip up a batch of sugar cookie dough and use number-shaped cookie cutters to cut out a number sequence.
• Or roll sugar cookie dough into long ropes and use them to form the numbers. Then bake and enjoy them.
• Pour a pound of salt into a baking dish and have your child use his fingers to write the numbers.
• Print out a blank hundred-numbers chart and have your child fill it in, using his best handwriting. Then laminate it and allow your child to use it as his “cheat sheet” to help him remember the direction of the letters. 

 

6. Ordinal Numbers

You don’t need to spend much time on ordinal numbers. Your kindergartner will pick them up pretty easily in the context of other math training. So once or twice through each of these activities should be plenty of practice.

• Once your child has mastered counting and number symbols, work on ordinal numbers: first, second, third, etc… by lining up a bunch of dinosaurs or lego men or hair bows and talking about which is first or second, etc… Make a twenty questions game of it, using ordinal numbers in questions. For example, you might let your child choose one of the lego guys. Then ask questions like, “Does he have black hair? Is he wearing a hat?” And when you finally guess the right guy, say “Oh, it’s the FIFTH guy! I almost thought it was the THIRD guy. Let’s count these guys: one, two, three, four, five. Number five is the FIFTH guy.” Allow your child to quiz you, too, and help him to use the correct ordinal numbers.
• Line up several several small appliances on your kitchen counter. Give your child hints about each of them (e.g. “I use this to mix bread dough”) and have your child identify the appliance by it’s ordinal number position. 
• Bake something together and emphasize the ordinal number of each step as you point out the corresponding numbers on the written recipe. FIRST, we beat the eggs. SECOND, we add the milk. THIRD, we add the flour…
• Line up your family members, or a group of friends at the top of the slide at your neighborhood park. As each person goes down the slide, everyone cheers and yells, “First! Second! Third!, etc…”
• Have a family relay race and use ordinal numbers to explain the directions and play the game. Divide your family into two teams. Give each team a box of winter accessories. Explain, “The FIRST person in line must put on the gloves, the SECOND person in line must put on the hat, the THIRD person in line must put on the coat…” The first team to finish is the winner. 
• Line up several kids in a row and make sure they know their position, using ordinal numbers. Toss a soft ball back and forth, yelling out the ordinal number of the intended recipient.

 

Henry the Fourth by Stuart J. Murphy Welcome to neighborhood dog show! First Maxie speaks. Second Baxter begs. Third Daisy rolls over, but will Henry the fourth steal the show? Learning ordinals with this pack of playful pooches will have readers sitting up and begging for more.	Albert the Muffin Maker by Eleanor May Albert is making muffins―but he’s missing some ingredients! His friends are happy to share, but when Albert borrows more and more, it’s up to his big sister, Wanda, to help him find out what it really means to be “happy to share!”

Patterns

Patterns are an essential building block in a child’s number foundation. What begins as making pretty patterns eventually leads to skip counting, multiplication and division and eventually algebra! So it’s important that these kindergartners start with a solid foundation.

• Use toys and other objects to practice making patterns. For example, green lego, green lego, brown lego, green, green brown… Challenge your child to continue the pattern. Let him make up patterns and challenge you to contine them.
• Use your laminated hundred-numbers chart and a dry erase marker to practice skip counting. It’s amazing to watch your child pick up and master the patterns that skip counting creates.
• String fruit loops onto thread and make pattern necklaces. Take turns creating and copying patterns.
• Use pattern blocks to create size patterns, such as big, big, little, big, big little.
• Use dried legumes to create patterns: kidney, kidney, kidney, pinto, pea, kidney, kidney, kidney, pinto, pea. You don’t have to purchase expensive manipulatives — just use what you have. 
• Finally, use numbers themselves to create patterns. Basic number patterns would be 12121212, but you could help your child create patterns that involve skip counting or more.
• Don’t forget to read a pattern book or two to further explore patterns! The following are fun and can probably be found at your local library!

TEDDY BEAR PATTERNS by Barbara McGrath This book uses rhyming verse to explain the concepts illustrated by the colorful teddies. Children follow along as the teddy bears sort by color, and arrange into patterns. Learn to use patterns to skip count.

Pattern Bugs by Trudy Harris Patterns are found in math, reading, science, music, art, dance, and poetry―and in the world all around us.  Children will love the humor and predictability of this story. They’ll return to the book looking for more patterns again and again.

Patterns by Henry Pluckrose This fun book shows kids a variety of patterns found in nature and in artificial objects.

 

8. Comparing Numbers in Kindergarten Math

It’s important for kindergartners to understand the concepts of more than, less than and equal. It doesn’t need to be confusing or elaborate. In fact, they don’t even need to know the mathematical signs, as long as they understand the concept.

However, I do teach my little ones that alligators are smart and they want to always eat the biggest number. But I mainly focus on the concepts, using literature to explain in fun ways.

• Play with blocks, marbles or any small objects. You take a few of the objects, and ask the child to take for himself as many as you have, plus one more. Then it’s the child’s turn to take some, and you need to take the same amount plus one more. Reverse the game later to learn the concept of one less.
• We play a fun game with our hands. I hold up both hands with several fingers up and shout out “one more”, “one less” or “equal”. My child has to quickly match what I said. For example, I hold up six fingers and yell out “one more” so my child has to hold up seven fingers.
• Give your child a dry erase board and a dry erase marker. Use a pile of small toys, like blocks or marbles or something. Hand your child a small number (fewer than 8) of toys and have him write how many there are on his dry erase board. Hand him one more (or take one away) and have him erase the old number and write the new number on his board. After a few tries, he’ll realize that one more is just the next counting number and one less is the previous counting number.

Just Enough Carrots by Stuart J. Murphy As a little rabbit and his mother walk through the grocery store, they compare the amounts of carrots, peanuts, and worms they have in their cart to other carts. Concepts include more, fewer, and same.

Equal Smequel by Virginia Kroll Mouse and her friends want to play tug-of-war, but they’ll need to use some everyday math to figure out how to make teams that are equal. As Mouse looks at various solutions she is not sure what it means to be equal. Nothing works until Mouse starts to think about it mathematically and divides the teams based on weight. Wonderful illustrations capture Mouse and her animal friends from whiskers to tails as they work to measure and equalize their teams based on size, weight, and effort.

 

9. Position Words in Kindergarten Math

Comparison words, such as big, bigger, biggest and position words (prepositions), such as over, under, inside and through are very important spatial relationship concepts that should be taught in kindergarten math.

• Using playground equipment, play a Simon Says game where Simon only uses prepositions, and all of the participants have to obey. For example, when Simon yells, “Simon says get UNDER the monkey bars” everyone scrambles under.
• Play a similar game using a box. It would be fun to read the Berenstain Bears book first.
• Play a hide and seek game where “it” hides an object and gives only one clue to the seeker: a preposition word.

Around the House the Fox Chased the Mouse by Rick Walton This frolicking adventure teaches children about prepositions as they follow a very focused fox in his chase for a mischievous mouse.

Outside, Inside, Upside Down by Jan and Stan Berenstain Brother Bear gets into a box. Papa Bear turns the box upside down, takes it outside, and puts it on a truck. The simple art and rhyming text make this a perfect choice for teaching spatial concepts.

Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins Rosie the hen leaves the chicken coop and sets out for a little walk. Right behind her is the fox, slyly trying to catch up with her. Rosie’s walk is quiet, uneventful and eventually leads her back to the coop, blissfully unaware of the fox’s travails as he tries — unsuccessfully — to navigate the obstacle course that Rosie has led him through.

 

 

10. Kindergarten Math: Addition and Subtraction of one-digit numbers

Once your child is familiar with numbers and understands what they represent and how to identify and write the, he’s ready to begin to manipulate them. If you use concrete objects, like cookies, these concepts are really quite simple.

• Once your child has mastered all of the above concepts, start adding and subtracting. I always start by helping my little ones use their fingers to add and subtract, because fingers are just so darn handy, lol!
• Treats are very enticing to my children, so we use skittles or whatever I have on hand to work out word problems. For example, “You had 7 skittles and your brother gave you three. Now how many do you have?”
• Again, let your child set the table, but be sure to have him do it when a family member is missing. Talk him through the process, “We have seven people in our family, but Daddy is away for business, so how many plates should you set?”
• Teach your child how to draw pictures to solve equations. Ask him if it’s a some, some more problem or a some, take some away problem. Have him draw pictures to represent the objects in the story. This helps children visualize problems as they solve them.
• Use a sectioned plate and small objects to practice solving equations. Write out a math problem on a white board, and have your child count objects into different sections, then move them to find the answer. 
• Take advantage of daily, real-life learning opportunities. When your child asks an addition or subtraction question, remind him of the strategies he’s learned and let him solve his question for himself.
• If your child grasps this concept easily, feel free to work up to two-digit numbers. Group small items (again we use candy) into groups of ten and start adding two-digit numbers. Using candy, show your child how the ones column can only hold 9 before you have to trade all of the single candies for a group of tens, and move the candies around as you do so.
• Play store together. Making purchases is a fantastic way to practice two-digit subtraction.

Animals on Board by Stuart J. Murphy Ride along with trucker Jill and her dog as they add up the animals zooming by. But these are no ordinary animals, and they’re bound for a surprise destination!

Monster Musical Chairs by Stuart J. Murphy Every time the music stops, one more monster is OUT! Kids won’t be able to sit still for this musical introduction to subtraction at its simplest.

 

 

 

Beyond Addition and Subtraction (Multiplication, Division, Measuring, Time and Money) in Kindergarten Math

You will quite possibly be amazed at just how much your child can learn, and how quickly! There is a good chance your child will be ready to advance beyond the kindergarten math standards before you know it! Especially if he is just allowed to learn, and isn’t slowed down by worksheets and busy work.

When you introduce multiplication as doubling numbers, or adding multiples of numbers, the concept is really simple. 

It’s also a fantastic age to start talking about time, since you’re probably already talking about days, months, seasons and years. Kindergartners are curious about the ways their days are structured, so start by just answering their questions and showing them their answers using a clock face with numbers.

Just keep it playful! Supply measuring cups, rulers, scales, clocks, coins and other fun, real-life math manipulatives for your child to explore and make sense of. Trust me, he wants to make sense of his world!

• Using candies we talk about ‘doubling numbers’ for multiplication, and we chop up cookies and pizzas and cakes for division.
• We play pizza fractions using real pizza (or cookies, pies or cakes) as well as the game
• We talk about time (we eat breakfast at _______ time and go to bed at ________ time)
• We play a fun game with money. I gather several items from my house (e.g. a notebook, paper clips, a pencil, a hairbow, a candy bar, an apple, etc… ) that my child would like to have. I write prices on small stickers or pieces of tape and label each item. I hand my child my wallet, full of change, and we play store, counting out money, making change, etc… You’ll need to play this over and over, starting very simple, with items that cost 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents and 25 cents and working up to more difficult, including paper bills. Don’t worry, though, your child will never tire of this one, especially if you let them keep the items they can correctly purchase.
• Give your child an analog watch. As you make a schedule and set timers, he’ll learn about reading the time as well as passing time and time in general.
• Let your child earn real money and shop with you. Let your child make small purchases (all by himself, right down to counting out the money) at the dollar store or at garage sales. This is great practical experience. 
• Give learning games like pizza fractions and a cash register and a pretend clock as birthday and Christmas gifts.

Pizza Fractions

Cash Register

Kindergarten Clock

 

 

 

Read great kindergarten math books together.

Reading is not just for phonics and literature! Great picture books can introduce math concepts to a kindergarten-age child in a more fun and memorable way than any worksheet could.

In fact, one of the most effective things I’ve done as a homeschooler is to bring these math stories to life and involve my child in the story. Great stories have a magical way of simplifying mathematically difficult concepts and presenting them in silly and entertaining ways. The results are nothing short of magical!

For example, One Hungry Cat (pictured below) is all about division and fractions. Fractions themselves may not excite kindergarteners, but a lemon cake for a party with friends does, especially if you actually bake the cake together and talk about fractions as you cut the cake up and enjoy it yourselves!

 

One Hungry Cat by Joanne Rocklin

Tom the cat likes to bake yummy things, and he begins by making a dozen chocolate cookies. He invites two of his friends over to enjoy his treats, but this weak-willed feline devours the cookies before they arrive. The story proceeds in a predictable way as Tom continues to bake goodies, which he carefully divides to share fairly, and ends up eating them also. Throughout the story, subtle math problems arise. How does one divide eight cookies onto three plates, or cut a square, lemon cake into three equal pieces?  

 

 

Place Value by David Adler

You had better not monkey around when it comes to place value. The monkeys in this book can tell you why! As they bake the biggest banana cupcake ever, they need to get the amounts in the recipe correct. There’s a big difference between 216 eggs and 621 eggs. Place value is the key to keeping the numbers straight. Using humorous art, easy-to-follow charts and clear explanations, this book presents the basic facts about place value while inserting some amusing monkey business.

 

 

 

A Place for Zero by Angeline LoPresti

Join Zero on his math adventure as he discovers his place through multiplication. Zero is lonely in Digitaria. He can’t play Addemup with the other numbers because he has nothing to add. All the other numbers seem to belong and they all have a place, but when zero discovers multiplication he thinks he might have a place there. He sets out to find King Multiplus who also is curious about what will happen when Zero gets thrown in the mix. With math and wordplay A Place for Zero is a playful way to make math less intimidating and more fun to explore.

 

 

 

 

 

The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat by Theoni Pappas

Penrose, a cat with a knack for math, takes children on an adventurous tour of mathematical concepts from fractals to infinity. But he keeps them all simple enough for little ones to appreciate and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

Jack the Builder by Stuart J. Murphy

Jack stacks up blocks high. Two make a robot, five make a boat, and fifteen make…whatever you can imagine! Math becomes child’s play as young readers are introduced to the skill of counting on, a first step toward mastering addition.

 

 

Give Me Half! by Stuart J. Murphy

How do you share a pizza? You split it in half! Two siblings split a yummy lunch and discover that using fractions can be messy. We love these funny stories that show kids that they use math every day, even outside of the classroom! You’ll love the activity guide about the kindergarten math concepts presented in the story.

 

 

The O’Malleys are off to the beach! But it’s a long, hot, boring drive. What can Eric, Bridget, and Nell do to keep busy? Play tally games, of course — counting up all the gray cars or green T-shirts they see. Whoever has the most tally marks at the end wins the game.

Eric wins the first game. Bridget wins the second. It seems like poor Nell will never win a game! But Nell has the luck of the Irish on her side, and a surprise in store for her big brother and sister.

 

 

 

Monster Musical Chairs by Stuart J. Murphy

Every time the music stops, one more monster is OUT! Kids won’t be able to sit still for this musical introduction to subtraction at its simplest.

 

 

 

If You Were a Plus Sign by Trisha Sashkan

What could you do if you were a plus sign? You could add things together. You could add people and animals. You could add up and down or side to side. Discover even more answers in this installment of the bestselling MATH FUN series by Trisha Speed Shaskan! With creative examples, easy-to-understand text, and engaging art, these entertaining and educational picture books books are perfect for kindergarten math lovers to read aloud or read alone.

 

 

Are you homeschooling a kindergartner? Check out  this! ∇∇∇

>>> Homeschool Kindergarten (for free!) In Under 20 Minutes A Day! <<<

 

How do you teach kindergarten math in your homeschool? Please share your wisdom with us all in the comments below!

 

 

Pin these great activities for teaching kindergarten math!