5 Fun Maths Activities for preschoolers using CONNETIX

$5 Fun Maths Activities for preschoolers using CONNETIX$

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5 Maths Activities for 3-4 year olds

Incorporating Maths into everyday activities help children to understand it is part of their everyday life. We can set up invitations to play and learn by using games that involve mathematical concepts. This creates an enjoyable learning environment for maths exploration at home. Each activity using these magnetic tiles takes less than 5 minutes to set up and are aimed at young children around 3-4 years old.

1.Muffin tin counting

Counting food or any loose parts that children use is a great way to incorporate 1:1 correspondence counting in a natural and relevant way. This is an important skill that involves counting each object in a set only once. It teaches children to associate each item to one number and to count in the correct order. It sets the foundation for other numeracy concepts they will encounter later on.
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Activity: Using a chalk marker, write the numbers 0-11 on a magnetic tile and fill each compartment of the muffin tray with counters, buttons or whatever you can find at home. For this activity, I placed popcorn into the muffin tin and my 4yo counted each one, then placed the corresponding number tile on top.

2. Magnetic number line

A number line is a horizontal line that shows numbers in order. It is a visual way to help children understand place value, counting forwards, counting backwards, comparing numbers and even for learning addition, subtraction and fractions. Being familiar with a number line helps develop number sense, that is, the ability to work with numbers in a flexible way. When a child has a strong grasp of the relationship between numbers rather than through memorisation, they are better equipped to use efficient strategies when problem solving. Children will eventually move on to visualise number lines in their heads and this will develop their mathematical fluency and mental arithmetic strategies. Number lines are also used in the older years as they look at decimals and negative numbers.
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Activity: There are many ways to use number lines. For this activity, I used a chalk marker to write the numbers 0-20 on our pastel CONNETIX small squares and placed them on our garage door as it has a large magnetic surface. I include the digit “0” on it so that children can see how it relates to other numbers and that it is smaller than one. This activity can be done on the floor or dining table too, but using a vertical surface encourages more movement and strengthens other physical motor skills. Having the surface at eye level also helps the child to focus better on the activity.

3. Fill in the shapes

Shapes are a fundamental part of the world around us. A strong knowledge of shape helps children with counting, problem-solving, patterns and spatial recognition.﻿﻿We can point out shapes we see in everyday life and play shape games like this ‘Fill in the shapes’ activity. Children learn to manipulate shapes in a hands-on way and investigate how they can rotate a shape and use it to fill a specific shape. This helps to develop spatial awareness, understanding how things move in the space around them. They learn how different shapes put together form a new shape. This lays the groundwork for understanding higher order mathematical thinking skills and everyday life skills such as efficiently packing the boot of a car or cutting equal sized slices of a cake.﻿﻿Activity: Use masking tape/painter’s tape to create shapes (I used our dining table). Take out CONNETIX and ask children to fill in each shape. They can use the magnetic tiles to fill in the shapes in as many different ways as possible. Through tactile exploration, children can discover how different shapes can be combined to create a new one e.g. a hexagon can be made up of 6 small triangles or 2 trapeziums.﻿

4. Continue the pattern

Understanding patterns form a key component in Mathematics and develop from a young age. Children often recognise patterns such as the red and white on a candy cane or the repeating pattern of a striped jumper. They may be building with CONNETIX and design a road using blue and red tiles in an alternating pattern. This early exposure to patterns lays a foundational framework for critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It enhances a child’s ability to predict outcomes, make logical deductions and apply mathematical principles in various real-life scenarios.﻿﻿Once children learn to recognise the patterns around them, we can help deepen their understanding by asking them to describe it and to create their own. We can make the most of teachable opportunities that arise when we notice patterns in their play and extend them by asking “What comes next? Before? After?” and “Can you finish the pattern?”﻿﻿For younger children, colour and shape patterns are the easiest to recognise. CONNETIX comes in so many colours and shapes, making it the perfect tool for integrating patterns into play. As children dive deeper into numeracy concepts and learn to skip count, they also recognise more number patterns (e.g. in the pattern 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 etc the numbers are increasing by 3). By finding the rules in underlying patterns, children are engaging in algebraic thinking. This provides the gateway to interpreting number sequences, geometric shapes and algebra.﻿﻿Activity: Start a colour, shape or number pattern using CONNETIX and invite your child to complete it. I started the pattern on our fence as it provides a large magnetic surface to work on. I focused on colour and shape but for number patterns, you can use a chalk marker to write on the magnetic tile.﻿﻿

5. Symmetry puzzles

Similar to patterns, the concept of symmetry will often arise as children play and create designs with a symmetrical pattern. When we observe children creating a symmetrical structure, we can introduce this concept by discussing the shape, pattern and lines of symmetry. We can teach the vocabulary and mathematical language, for example: “When we draw a line down the middle, this side reflects this side. This is called symmetry” or “This is symmetrical.”
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Once children understand symmetry, they will start to notice it everywhere and learn to visualise how shapes can be mirrored. When children predict and complete a symmetrical pattern, they are exercising their cognitive skills as they engage in logical thinking and problem-solving. Symmetrical puzzles or “draw the other half” activities are tactile ways to engage children in learning symmetry.
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Activity: Using a chalk marker, draw symmetrical images or patterns on 2 CONNETIX. Split them up and mix them around for your child to put together. Alternatively, create a symmetrical pattern on one half of the table and invite your child to finish the other half.

Written byJessica Chu

Jess is a primary school teacher turned stay at home mum. She has 5 children ranging from 8 months old to 7 years old. Jess believes learning happens naturally through play. She has intentionally curated open-ended toys in her home to foster creativity, a love for play and a desire for learning.