3 Easy Dice Games For Kids (Preschool & Kindergarten)

ℹ️ The article is from TheBrainyMommy.com and was written by The Brainy Mommy.

A set of dice was one of the best tools that I had in my teaching toolkit when I taught grade school math. Have 10 minutes and want to do some quick additional drills? Need to make practicing the multiplication tables fun? Using dice almost always guaranteed instant buy in from students, because they knew I was about to start a game, and gamifying anything always makes it more fun.

For children who are not yet ready for arithmetic, dice games are still great for counting and fundamental number sense. Here are three easy math activities using dice for your preschooler or kindergartener.

1. Find the Numbers – Fishy Dice Game

Overview

Match the numbers on a die to color all the fish in the pond.

Materials

• One die
• Crayons or coloring pencils
• Fishy Dice Game printable

Skills

• Counting
• Number matching
• Subitizing (the ability to recognize a small number of items without counting)

For more information on this important skill, check out this article on subitising written by Dr Sue Gifford for the NRICH Project at the University of Cambridge.

Modify or extend the activity

• Print two copies of the worksheet and play along with your child, seeing who can color all the fish first.
• If you print the worksheet in color, ask your child to match the color of the numbers as they color.
• As your child is working through the activity, ask questions such as: How many fish have you colored? How many fish are left? Which numbers are left to be colored?

2. Which Number Is Bigger – Ice Cream Dice Game

Overview

A simple dice game to compare numbers from 1 to 6

Materials

• Two dice
• Ice Cream Dice Game printable

Skills

• Number recognition
• Comparing numbers

Modify or extend the activity

• Use four dice and roll them in pairs to see which pair totals a bigger number. Use dice with dot faces instead of numerals to help your child count the total.
• When your child is ready to be introduced to a few math symbols, introduce the greater than (>), less than (<) and equal (=) signs to compare the numbers you roll.

3. Count and Colour – Apple Tree Dice Game

Overview

Roll a die to pick all the apples from a tree.

Materials

• One die
• Apple Tree Dice Game printable

Skills

• Counting
• Introduction to addition

Modify or extend the activity

• As your child works through the activity, ask questions such as: How many apples have you colored? How many apples are left? How many more rolls do you think we need to color all the apples?
• Take turns rolling the die with your child and use different colour crayons (for example: red for your child, green for you) and work together to colour all the apples. In the end, you can compare to see who colored more apples.

Which one of these dice games for kids did you like the most? What other materials and manipulatives do you use to help your children with number sense? Let me know in the comments below!

Source: TheBrainyMommy.com

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Last Updated on September 4, 2024 by Tania Nizova | Published: September 4, 2024