STEM with the creative addition of art is essential for our young learners. The FREE STEM E-Course, challenges parents, teachers, and care-givers to include more science, technology, engineering, art, and math into every day.
Join in today, with our playdough math-smash challenge!
Amazon Affiliate Links to BooksThis activity has been reprinted with permission from STEAM: Preschool Activities for STEM Enrichment
Preschool STEM Activity: MATH SMASH
Learning Objective:
Count and add numbers 1-5
Materials Needed
- Play Dough
Directions for Activity
1. Allow time for material exploration. Encourage squishing, pinching, and rolling. Demonstrate how to roll a snake and spheres with play dough.
2. Make the numbers one through five with the play dough snakes.
3. Have the child roll the number of spheres needed to match the written number.
4. Count the spheres and let her smash them to make play dough pancakes as they count.
Activity Extensions
Need a challenge? Bring addition into the activity and make a + and = sign out of your play dough snakes. Have the child pick two numbers and put them between the signs.
Encourage her to roll enough spheres to match the number. Then, let her smash and count the numbers. Count how many are there all together.
Additional Preschool Math Resources
- The Everything Kids’ Math Puzzles Book: Brain Teasers, Games, and Activities for Hours of Fun
- STEAM: Preschool Activities for STEM Enrichment
- Shoe Box Learning Centers: Math: 40 Instant Centers With Reproducible Templates and Activities That Help Kids Practice Important Math Skills-Independently!
- Hooked on Math Kindergarten Math Activities Workbook
- More Than Counting: Math Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten, Standards Edition
- Preschool Math
Watch as Jamie Hand, creator of Hand Made Kid Art and Amanda Boyarshinov co-author of STEAM: Preschool Activities for STEM Enrichment discuss how this preschool math investigation went with our own preschoolers.
We will be sharing even more tips and tricks on making math an everyday experience for your child.
FREE STEAM Preschool E-Course Classes
