16 Easy Counting Games for Preschool and Kindergarten Kids

The best way for young children to build early maths skills is through hands-on activities and engaging games.

Develop your kids’ concept of numbers and basic counting skills with these simple counting games:

1. Number Hunt

Practice number recognition by hiding number cards (with numbers 1 to 10) around the room or class, and having children search for them. Once the group has found all the numbers, they need to place them in the correct order.

2. Number Statues

A fun way to learn to count is to play a variation of the game Musical Statues. Draw large numbers (1 to 10) on the pavement, or use large sheets of paper, with a number written on each one. 

Children dance while the music plays, and when it stops, they all find the number that is called out and stand huddled together on it. Call them in order, from 1 to 10, but position the numbers randomly on the ground. 

3. Number Bingo

Play a simple bingo game with numbers and counters. Call out numbers, and the kids can cover the corresponding numbers on their bingo card. Hold up cards with the numbers as you call them out, or write them on the board, to help kids with number recognition.

4. Treasure Hunt

A treasure hunt is always a fun activity for kids. Create a simple treasure map with numbers marking the locations of “hidden treasures”. The children can follow the map and find the treasures, in numerical order. 

5. Bean Bag Toss

Use five containers, hula hoops or laundry baskets and label them with large numbers. Kids take turns aiming and throwing beanbags, claiming the corresponding number of points.

To make this activity more concrete, give children tokens or counters to represent points. Have them count their points after each round and collect them until the game ends.

6. Duck, Duck, Goose

Play a game of Duck, Duck, Goose with a twist. Instead of calling out duck, duck, goose, call the numbers in the correct order while tapping children one at a time on their heads: “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… goose!” The person who is ‘it’ can decide who to choose as the goose.

This game is great for teaching the concept of one-to-one correspondence – one number is assigned to one person, one at a time.

7. Broken Telephone

Broken Telephone is another classic game that can be turned into a fun counting game. Get kids to sit in a circle and whisper the numbers in order, each child increasing the number by 1.

Once the last child shouts the final number, check if it matches the total number of children by counting them.

8. Number Hopscotch

Hopscotch is another perfect game for practising counting skills. Draw the squares out and encourage kids to shout out the numbers as they hop onto the squares. 

For younger children, focus on counting and omit throwing the stone and hopping over it.

9. Hide and Seek

For this variation of Hide and Seek, hide toys or household items and tell the children how many of each item they need to find.

Make a visual aid on paper or a whiteboard that tells children the number of objects that are hidden. For example, they need to find 1 ball, 2 bunnies, 3 spoons, 4 beanbags and 5 toy cars.

10. Number Splat

This game is messy and lots of fun. On a large sheet of paper stuck to a wall, write the numbers from 1 to 10, with multiple instances of each number. Give kids paintbrushes and some paint in pots. 

Then, call out the numbers, in order, and let kids splat the numbers with paint. In other words, you call “one” and they cover all the ones they see in paint, then you call “two” and they cover all the twos, etc.

As an alternative, they could also be asked to trace over the numbers with paint as they are called out, to help them learn number formation.

11. Board Game

Almost any board game played with a dice would work as a counting game. Look for some easier board games for preschoolers.

Kids roll the dice, move their game pieces forward by the number of spaces shown, and count aloud as they go. This is best played in small groups.

12. Number Memory Game

Create a memory game with pairs of number cards, with one card showing a number and the other showing the corresponding number of objects. Kids can match the pairs while practising counting.

13. Number Fishing

Create a fishing game with numbered fish, attached to paper clips, and a simple wooden rod with a magnet at the end. Kids can fish for a specific number or a sequence of numbers.

14. Parking Cars

Parking cars is a fun number recognition game. Create parking garages out of boxes and label them 1 to 5 (or 10 for older children). Label toy cars and kids can have fun racing their cars and parking in the garage with the corresponding number. 

15. Play Dominoes

Teach kids to play a simple game of dominoes as fun counting practice. They can play in pairs, laying one tile down at a time and counting and matching the number of dots on the tiles. 

16. Number Line Game

Create a number line on the floor using masking tape. Have the children hop or jump to specific numbers as you call them out. This game combines physical activity with teaching number sequence.

I hope you’ll enjoy trying these counting games. They are designed to make preschool maths activities more interactive and game-oriented, providing an enjoyable way to reinforce counting skills and number sense.