Candy Corn Math Activities

Last year I wrote a post of learning activities using candy corn (or related to candy corn) and as controversial as eating this candy is, it’s clearly a favorite of folks who make printables and learning activities for kids. So this year I wanted to look exclusively at candy corn math activities, which give learning a colorful, triangular twist.

Everyday Chaos and Calm has some simple ideas for using candy corn on basic math activities for preschool and kindergarten, such as estimating and counting candy pieces, measuring the length of an object with candy corn and using them as game pieces for other math games.

Work on one to one correspondence with candy corn by printing out these candy corn counting jars from Math Geek Mama. Each one has a picture of a jar with a number of candy corn pieces in it (the number is also shown) so kids can add the same number to their empty jar on the page.

Learning Lattes and Literacy has printable candy corn counting sheets with ten frames to make it easier to count the number of candy corn pieces. These printables show numbers from 1 to 20 and include both the numerals and the word for the number.

Primary Playground has printable flash cards with numbers and the candy corn shape. You can use these to practice counting with candy corn, pom poms, little erasers, or anything else you have on hand. I love this option with putting little erasers into a cauldron using tongs. It’s math, fine motor skills and seasonally fun. They also have a cute greater than/less than activity for older kids using candy corn.

Make math time into a candy corn shaped puzzle with this activity from 123 Homeschool 4 Me. Each puzzle includes a math fact for multiplication in the orange section and division in the yellow section; the answer to both is the white piece. This is a great activity for third and fourth graders working on multiplication and division up to 18.

Royal Baloo has a great free candy corn math printable pack that’s perfect for kids ages 5-7 or so. It includes candy corn addition and subtraction puzzles, estimating, word problems, skip counting and more.

My daughter has always liked math, which is a relief to me as someone who never really got math when I was growing up. (As a knitter I use math a lot now and have managed to learn what I need, but not much else.)

For kids who aren’t fans of math who could use a little encouragement and understanding of what math is for, there’s Dear Math, We’re Not Friends by Lina Chopra Haldar with illustrations by Teresa Martinez.

Nikil starts school not liking math and his teacher has him write letters to math. He complains that math makes his tummy hurt but thinks it’s funny when his teacher says talking about shapes and drawing are part of math.

As the year goes on he learns about skip counting, counting backwards, fractions and the special names for different shapes. When he learns about octagons he starts seeing them everywhere. He discovers that math is part of being an astronaut and an artist, two things he might like to be when he grows up.

Math helps him with soccer and helps bees make honey, and he uses it in his art projects, too. In the end he decides that math really is his friend because it helps you make things and understand the world around you.

The book is cute and has full illustrations that literally show math in different environments. It also includes a page about the inspiration for the story and why the author, a math teacher herself, wanted to write a book addressing math anxiety. It has prompts kids can use to write their own letters to math or use in discussions about math, as well as other ideas to help kids feel more confident about math.

This would be a good book for math teachers and others to have on hand for those kids who don’t love math or see a purpose for it outside of the classroom. The target reader is ages 5-8.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Beaming Books. Suggested retail price $19.99.

Have you read?

Leave a Reply