Ideas for Kindergarten Number Practice
There are many concepts that kindergarten students need to learn as they become familiar with numbers. Not only do they need to identify numbers by name, but they also need to know what that number represents. It’s also important for students to learn how to write numbers. It’s helpful to have a variety of activities for students to build this knowledge. In this post, I’m going to share some ideas for kindergarten number practice to help students get the repetition they need to master these skills!
7 Ideas for Kindergarten Number Practice
A kindergarten classroom is full of students with varying degrees of familiarity with numbers. Some students can count by rote to 100 but aren’t able to identify or write numbers. Some students are just beginning their journey with numbers. No matter where your students are in their number knowledge, it’s helpful to start at the beginning to ensure any knowledge gaps are filled. Here are some of my favorite ways to do this through consistent number practice:
1. Number Poems
At the beginning of the year, I like to start small by introducing the number poems. We say them together many times and they watch me add the actions. Then I have them join me for sky-writing and they practice the actions while we say it together. To make this more fun, I say, “Airplanes up!” They hold up their writing hand and are ready to go. After a few rounds of sky-writing, I say, “Land your airplanes” and then we practice forming the numbers on our desks, which is a different visual that I find helpful for them. Before you move on to using writing tools, have them practice tracing the number poem sheets with a finger.
2. Tracing and Writing
Once your students have the basics of the number formation, you can give them a writing tool to try tracing and writing their numbers. You can print a copy of the number poem reference sheet for each student and laminate it. They can practice tracing the numbers with a dry-erase marker and erase it. If you want to print less, have them take turns using the sheets. You can also give them paper versions and have them trace with highlighter, crayon, or pencil.
3. Sensory Activities
Another way to practice number formation is with sensory materials and fine motor tools. You can have your number poem sheets hung up as posters for your students to see as they practice tracing and forming numbers in different ways. Your students can form numbers using their fingers or writing utensils such as pencils, a paintbrush, etc. Some different sensory materials they can practice numbers with are:
- Colored rice
- Gel bags
- Beads
- Colored pasta
- Sand
- Shaving cream
I have also created task cards for sensory bins that you can use for number practice. In fact, I’ve written an entire blog post about how you can use sensory bins in kindergarten. Be sure to check it out if your students love sensory activities!
4. Play Dough Mats
Play dough is another great way to combine number practice with hand-strengthening activities. Students can create play dough ropes to form the number, then roll out balls of play dough to fill the ten frame. They can also check their work by smashing each play dough ball as they count each one. The play dough mats also have space for students to practice tracing and writing the number with dry erase markers.
These mats are perfect for morning work, centers, early finishers, and more! You can also keep the number reference sheets available for students to reference as they work on these play dough activities independently. You can check out my blog post for even more ideas for using play dough mats for learning in kindergarten.
5. Digital Number Practice
There are also several great apps available that help students practice number formation. Many of them are free, too! My students love Letter School and Little Writer. These apps offer great visuals to help students learn how to write numbers, including where to start and end.
6. Number Centers
As students become more familiar with numbers, you can incorporate a variety of number practice activities into your math center rotations. You can keep the number formation reference sheets on hand as a helpful reminder for students as they navigate these activities independently.
Centers are such an easy way to add more variety and engagement to number practice in your classroom. For example, students can practice number formation with different tasks like building the number with manipulatives, tracing over the number with a race car, or using a count-and-trace activity. All of these activities give students the repetition they need with number formation while keeping them engaged with fresh tasks.
Be sure to check out my blog post with number sense centers to see a variety of number practice activities that you can use in your learning stations.
7. Printable Number Books
Once students have had many opportunities to practice numbers using hands-on activities, it’s time to transition to paper-pencil tasks. These low-prep number booklets are a great place to start! Students are eager to create their own number books to take home! This gives parents the chance to see what students are learning about each number, which can encourage them to practice counting and identifying numbers outside of the classroom.
Free Number Formation Resources
Number formation rhymes can enhance all of the number practice ideas I shared in this post. Once students have learned these poems, they will have a resource to help them with number identification and formation during any number practice task.
If you’d like to use this resource in your classroom, just click below to grab your free copy.
Free Number Formation Poems and Posters
Save These Kindergarten Number Practice Ideas
Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later. Just add the pin below to your favorite board of kindergarten math ideas. You’ll be able to quickly find these ideas when you’re looking for ways to add more number practice to your daily routine.
