Math Centers to Help Kids Learn

Pairing learning with activities and games is the best way to get kids to learn, and there are a lot of ways to make math centers to help kids learn numbers, number order, one to one correspondence and more.

Each of those skills could probably be its own post, but let’s delve a little deeper into some ideas for math centers for early learners.

Ten frames are a classic for learning to count and understanding numbers. It’s just a grid of five columns and two rows to start with, so you can draw one by hand or on your computer, or make one out of tape on the floor like this version from Busy Toddler. It includes an activity using a deck of cards and little toys to count out the number you see.

Similarly, this dot sticker math activity from Happy Toddler Playtime uses Uno cards and has kids peel and stick the number they see on the card. You can do this with stickers of any kind, dot markers or whatever manipulatives you have on hand, from pom poms to little erasers.

Peeling stickers is a great fine motor activity addition to the math center, and another take on that is this one from Laughing Kids Learn, where she wrote numbers in muffin liners. Kids can use tongs or tweezers to pick up pompoms to place the correct number in each liner. You could also use plastic cups for this.

And speaking of cups, any cup with a rim (these are actually Styrofoam, not plastic) can be used to make an easy number tower activity for your math center. This one is from The Activity Mom and is super simple to set up. You could actually use the same cups for different activities such as stacking the cups in order, doing odd and even numbers or placing items in the cups.

While kids are learning the numbers in order they can play with this missing number math activity from Planning Playtime. It uses supplies you probably already have — craft sticks and clothespins — and is another great fine motor skill builder at the same time it teaches math skills.

These last few are paid but they’re cute so I couldn’t help sharing. Use unit cubes to build a city with building of differing heights with this printable from Preschool Activities. Or count with plastic links with this one from The Kinderhearted Classroom. I also love the flip, make and build printable from Blocks and Beads that helps teach counting up to 10.

People with Indigenous heritage throughout the Americas and the world might not always feel comfortable identifying as Indigenous or really know what it means or carry the traditions of their ancestors with them.

Anne Tenning, a member of the Stz’uminus First Nation on Vancouver Island, found in working with Indigenous young people they were not always confident to define themselves or understand their culture. She wrote this book, which is a poem about being Indigenous and being proud of who you are. It’s available in English and French.

The book is called I Am Indigenous, and it is illustrated by 13 Indigenous artists who reflect different aspects of and feelings about being Indigenous in their illustrations. There’s a wide range of art, from colorful designs with floral motifs to realistic looking family and school scenes.

The story reflects that Indigenous people don’t all look the same or come from the same place. They don’t have the same names or history and they might be connected to their ancestors and traditions or they might just be learning. They might live on a reservation or in a city far from where their ancestors lived. But they are all Indigenous.

This book is a call both to Indigenous kids and others that being Indigenous doesn’t mean one thing. You don’t have to act a certain way or know the language or participate in the music, dance and rituals of your people, though you can of course also do those things.

It’s aimed at young readers around kindergarten age (though some of the words might be a little complicated for that age group) but I think slightly older kids would get something out of this book too. It would be a nice one to have on the shelf if there are Indigenous kids in your classroom, and even if there aren’t as we get closer to Indigenous People’s Day and Thanksgiving, it’s a great way to talk about the fact that Indigenous people are still around and to look at Indigenous art from a bunch of artists all at once.

About the book: 40 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Orca Book Publishers. Suggested retail price $21.99.

Have you read?

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