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Number Games for Pre-K

Most pre-kindergarten students should be able to count and recognize numbers 0 through 10. If you are a preschool teacher, you can organize a variety of number games to reinforce concepts and give the students opportunity to practice. Games allow the young children to learn in an entertaining way. Encourage your students to try their best by awarding small prizes, like magnetic numbers or flashcards, to game winners.

Memory Games
- Use two decks of number flashcards to play a game of memory. Place all the cards face down on a table. One student must flip over two cards. If they match, they keep the pairs and take another turn. If they do not match, the turn passes to the next child. The student who finds the most number matches wins the game. Another idea is to place five to eight number cards face up. Have one student look at the cards and then close his eyes. Remove one card while he has he eyes closed. If he can guess the number missing, he earns a small prize.
Online Games
- Many preschoolers enjoy playing on the computer so allow them to participate in online number games. Primarygames.com offers many number games for preschool students. A game of ̶0;More or Less̶1; allows the children to pick groups of items that have more or less. Other math games include ̶0;Seesaw Logic̶1; and ̶0;Princess Math.̶1; Another website, Gamequarium.com, offers a variety of online math games for preschoolers.
Tossing Games
- Tape a large poster board to the bottom of a cardboard box. Cut 10 holes in the bottom of the box and label each hole 1 through 10. Lean the box against a wall and have children toss number magnets into the corresponding holes. Award prizes to children who can make each number in the correct hole. Alternatively, label buckets with numbers and have the children toss the numbers into the corresponding buckets. Make the game more difficult by writing ̶0;2+2̶1; on a bucket. The children must toss the number four into the bucket. This will also teach addition to the preschool students.
Counting Games
- Write numbers on index cards and place them on a table. Give the children a bowl of dried beans or buttons. The must place the correct number of beans or buttons on each index card. If a card has the number five on it, the child must place five beans or buttons on the card. Give each child 20 cards to do and time each student. The child who does this activity the fastest wins the prize. Alternatively, have the children work in teams and the team who finishes first wins the game.

Kids Games