Nature is full of mathematical wonders and patterns. Rose petals spiral into one another, symmetrical leaves unfold in the spring, and daisies blossom a certain number of petals. As we step into the theme of gardening, we can appreciate the mathematical beauty of nature as we explore foundational skills for our preschoolers. Here are some garden math activities that will help grow our little ones’ minds.
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Garden Math Activities
Flower Bead Lacing
Every single time I bring out this flower bead lacing activity, it gets a little bit quieter. It takes great concentration to string pony beads onto the pipe cleaner flower stems. But for some reason, my kiddos just love it. For my little one, we just focused on numbers 1-3, but for my older one, we talked about which number is greater or less to add in some comparing numbers. We even set the flowers side by side to visually compare the beads.
- Count and represent objects including coins to 10.
- Match a quantity with a numeral.
- Compare numbers.
Tulip Tallies
Who wants to go on a hunt? I hid these tulip cards with tally marks around the room for the little ones to find. Not only does this searching activity get children up and moving, it enhances their visual discrimination skills and makes it so much more exciting! I personally love hunting and searching for objects – it’s like a treasure hunt to me! After we found each card, we used daubers to mark the numbers on the recording sheet with the matching color. These Tulip Tallies cards come with numbers 1-20 to easily differentiate for your kiddos!
- Match a quantity with a numeral.
- Count and represent objects including coins to 10.
Vegetable Count & Flip
Count the vegetables into a cup or bowl by following the directions on the card. Then, just flip the cup over back into the tray, flip the card, and start again! Our favorite part was definitely flipping the cup over back into the tray! Grab your Vegetable Count & Flip here!
Pollen Patterns
These pollen pattern cards are a simple way to incorporate fine motor skills with pattern building. I just glued white milk caps on each card, so that the pompoms have the perfect place to plop. Then, we added in some hand tongs (found at Walmart) to work on our pinching skills and voila: Pollen Patterns! These cards are included as a bonus when you buy Numbered Flowers.
- Continue and create simple patterns.
Pollen Planting
This next one is a cupcake liner garden with numbered flowers. The kids used tweezers to fill each flower with pollen (pompoms) according to the number inside of each flower.
- Count and represent objects including coins to 10.
More Garden Activities
We hope these garden math activities have inspired your little learners in some of the beautiful patterns of nature. Let me know if there is anything you need to make these activities work for your classroom by emailing me here.
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