Looking for fun and educational ways to keep your kids learning this summer? These summer math activities are perfect for preschoolers! Designed to blend learning with play, each hands-on idea introduces important preschool math concepts, such as counting, sorting, number recognition, and simple patterns, without making it feel like a lesson.
Whether you’re outside soaking up the sunshine or inside staying cool, these math activities will spark curiosity and reinforce key skills in a way that’s exciting for little learners. Summer is the perfect time to explore numbers through real-world experiences like water play, nature walks, and outdoor games.
You’ll love how easy these ideas are to prep, and your preschooler will love how fun they are to do! From scavenger hunts to DIY counting games, this list will help you turn everyday moments into learning opportunities all season long. Let’s dive into summer fun with math at the heart of the adventure!
How Do You Teach Math to Preschoolers?
Math should be fun for preschoolers. An easy way to work on math is by using everyday objects to teach basic concepts. For example, count the number of spoons in the utensil drawer or the number of steps it takes to get from the kitchen to the living room.
You can also use nature to introduce math concepts. Count the number of trees in your backyard or the number of ducks you see in the pond.
With a little creative thinking, you’ll find fun ways to teach math to your preschooler in your everyday activities. But if you’re looking for a little extra practice, these engaging summer math challenges are here to help.
Basic Math Skills for Preschoolers
Wondering which math skills your preschooler needs to master? Here are the early math basic skills that they’ll learn in pre-K:
Number recognition (1-10 or 1-20)
Counting
One-to-one correspondence
Identifying basic shapes, like circles, triangles, and squares
Comparing differences (more/less or bigger/smaller)
Simple addition and subtraction
Identifying patterns
The important thing to remember is to make it fun. Practice math through games, puzzles, and other playful activities to get kids excited for learning.
Frog Math Game for Counting and Addition
Practice counting and adding to 10 with this hopping good frog math activity for preschoolers. You'll need a pair of dice, plastic frog counters, and our printable worksheets to set up this simple activity. Focus young preschoolers on number identification, counting, subitizing (recognizing small groups of objects without counting), and one to one correspondence. Older kids can practice adding to 10.
Any ice cream-loving kid will adore this activity. Make ice cream cones out of brown construction paper, and gather loads of pompoms to serve as the ice cream. Practice fine motor skills using tongs to add the ice cream scoops (pompoms) to the cones. This activity helps preschoolers practice number recognition, ordering numbers, counting, one to one correspondence, and patterns.
Grab your thread and needle to sew up a few of these cute strawberries to add to your sensory bins. While the sewing is a bit of effort, it's so worth it. Your preschoolers will have a blast adding button seeds to their strawberries while they practice number recognition, counting, and one to one correspondence.
Use these popsicle stick printables to practice number formation. You'll need both regular and mini popsicle sticks to make the numbers. All out of popsicle sticks? No problem—use play dough, buttons, or any other manipulative to form the numbers instead.
Practice counting while using playdough to decorate the mats. This cute printable pack is 10 pages with backgrounds ranging from the park to the backyard to a pond. Add flowers, toys, butterflies, and more to complete the scenes. This no-prep activity will be a hit with parents and teachers alike. Just print, grab some playdough, and get started!
Ice Cream Cone Number Counting, Tracing & Writing Mats
Here's another ice cream-themed activity to get preschoolers excited to practice number recognition and other early math concepts. The sheets include a cone to practice one to one correspondence, numbers to trace, an area for writing the numbers, and a ten frame to fill in.
Use this flower power pack to practice important math skills like number recognition, number words, writing, and counting. The printables include three activities: flower counting cards, flower counting puzzles, and flower count and clip cards. They're perfect for a spring or summer math center.
Scoop up these watermelon count and clip cards to add to your garden or fruit unit. The printables include cards comparing numbers (more or fewer objects) as well as cards that ask the child to count to a specific number. Cards have answers on the back, so they're self-checking.
Your zoo-loving preschoolers will have so much fun with these four counting activities. Included in this pack are zoo-themed counting puzzles, a counting mat, number cards, and a zoo train with numerals, counting dots, tallies, and number words.Use the activities to practice counting to 10, reading number words, and working on number recognition.
Grab this fun game to work on graphing skills. The printables include dice (or dice inserts) featuring six fun summer activities for kids to graph. It's as simple as rolling the dice and coloring in a box on the graph. Keep going until one reaches the top!
Young children will be buzzing about these preschool math activities featuring a cute bee theme. This pack focuses on numbers 1 through 10. Count, practice number recognition, and write the numbers. It includes a maze, a roll and cover activity, I Spy, and other engaging math games for young kids.
Gather some tiny seashells from your collection (or make some out of playdough) to go with these counting shells printables. What a fun way to add math to an ocean themed unit study! This activity focuses on one to one correspondence and counting in a hands-on way. Kids will also use their fine motor and problem solving skills.
Grab this printable pack from our shop to work on counting, writing numbers 1-10, and graphing. Preschoolers will love these cute and colorful I Spy pages. You'll get 6 different themes, all perfect for summer: bees, ice cream, insects, ocean animals, zoo, and jungle animals. They're a great way to introduce terms like more, less, most, least, and all together.
Outdoor activities are the best part of summer, so why not take your math lessons outdoors? This math movement game combines learning with physical activity and competition. You'll need a large concrete or asphalt area, five rocks, and some sidewalk chalk to draw a 30-square grid. The goal of the game is to get your rocks to land on the highest numbers. The person with the highest score after moving across all five columns wins the round.
Reinforce early math and fine motor skills with these summer-themed color by number sheets. Preschoolers will have so much fun coloring in flip flops, a sandcastle, and six other summertime scenes.
The perfect quiet time or road trip activity, these Lego challenge cards are great for playful learning. Work on counting, adding, subtracting, and building in one great activity. You'll need 100 bricks total with 20 of each of the basic colors (red, green, blue, orange, and yellow).
Practice number recognition and color words while working fine motor muscles with these beautiful ocean-themed color by number sheets. You'll get seven different pages focused on learning numbers 1-7. The pack includes seven different ocean animal scenes with a whale, shark, octopus, and more.
Get beach vibes while practicing counting with these adorable beach-themed counting cards and puzzles. The counting cards go to number 12, while the puzzles go all the way through 30. One includes a fun skip counting activity that's perfect for older preschoolers or kindergarteners.
Sneak in some number recognition and counting practice at the end of the year with these fun preschool math worksheets. Each page features a large number, objects to count, and a ten frame for developing number sense. Laminate the pages to protect them if you're using playdough as the manipulative. Other counters you can use are buttons, mini erasers, and counting bears.
Take your math lessons outside! Build numbers using tally marks, build numbers using natural materials, and practice geometry. You'd be surprised at how many math concepts you can practice using sticks, rocks, and plants.
Summer is the perfect time for some strawberry math fun. This printable pack includes eight pages of math problems and activities including graphing, sorting by size, counting, and number order.
This roll and color game is an easy way to practice the concept of “one less” with your preschooler. The fish-themed printables focus on numbers that are one less 5-10. It's great for older preschoolers or K students who can think more abstractly with numbers.
Who says summer school can't be fun? Younger kids will have a blast with these honey bee math sheets featuring a roll and cover game, I Spy, pattern work, counting to 100, and four more fun activities. All you need to start is a printer, some dot markers, and a die.
Count to 10 with these summer themed math flashcards featuring beach balls! The printables include a full-color version and a line art version that kids can color in.
Look forward to those warm, sunny days with this super cute sun craft. It helps kids work on fine motor skills (squeezing the clothespins to open them) as well as number recognition.
Perfect for spring and summer, these bird-themed math printables will get preschoolers excited about counting. They'll form small bird eggs out of playdough and match the number of eggs to the number shown on the bird.
Learn basic shapes with this engaging ice cream shape sorting activity. You only need a few minutes to prepare this activity that helps children pair shape words with their respective geometric shapes.
Identify numbers that are one more or one less with these fun fish-themed math challenges. You'll need number magnets or foam numbers, mini fish erasers, and a printer. That's it! It's an easy activity kids will ask to do again and again.
Ladybug Math for Preschoolers (Free Printables Count & Clip)
Kids who dig learning about bugs will adore these bright and colorful ladybug count and clip cards. Practice numbers 1-20 while working on fine motor skills.
Encourage preschoolers to work on their early math skills using playdough. Make enough flower petals to match the corresponding number given. They'll love this hands-on idea for practicing counting.
Summer is a season full of sunshine, laughter, and learning opportunities—and with these summer math activities, your preschooler can explore numbers, patterns, and problem-solving in fun, hands-on ways.
By turning ordinary moments into playful lessons, you’re helping your child build a strong preschool math foundation that will benefit them all year long. Whether you’re counting seashells at the beach, creating sidewalk chalk number lines, or sorting snacks for a picnic, math is everywhere—and it’s more fun than ever!
Keep the learning going with just a few simple supplies, a little creativity, and a big dose of summer joy. Don’t forget to bookmark this list or share it with a fellow preschool parent so everyone can make the most of these warm, wonderful days. Happy summer learning!
Tara is the brains behind Homeschool Preschool, where her journey from preschool and public school teacher to homeschooling mom of three fuels her passion for early childhood education. With a blend of expertise and firsthand experience, Tara’s writings offer practical tips and engaging resources to support families in creating meaningful learning adventures at home.
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