Counting Mats and mini erasers is a great activity for young children to practice counting, compare more and less, and to have a visual of how many are in that number. You can use these number mats in different ways.
The simple mat includes an amount of circles (for small erasers, Lego bricks, pom poms, stickers, or balls of play dough), the corresponding number, and the number word. I included the number word because these counting cards can be used with all different ages, from toddlers to Kindergarten students. Another great way to use it for writing practice is to laminate the pages and use dry erase markers to encourage older children to trace the numeral and number word.
The counting mats touch on many early Math skills:
- one-to-one correspondence
- number sense
- number recognition
- fine motor skills
These number cards are a great tool to use with your little learner. They are also a fun way for a preschool teacher to provide extra practice in a small group or in Math stations.
It is so much fun to use little erasers with different themes. That’s one of my favorite things about this free printable. Print it once and change the theme by using different fun erasers. For example, is your child interested in the idea of robots? Grab mini robot erasers and start counting. I find a lot of erasers at dollar stores or Oriental Trading Co.
Different Ways to Use Counting Mats
For younger children, use counting cards 1-5. Put them in numerical order. Count together as your child places an eraser or pom pom in each circle.
Older children will be ready to work with numbers 1-10.
Put two counting mats next to each other. Have your child or student fill in the circles and count them. Ask, which one is more?
Challenge your child to put them in order from smallest to largest.
Holiday Mini Erasers (affiliate links)
Heart Erasers for Valentine’s Day
Easter Egg Erasers for Easter
Themed Mini Erasers
Download the FREE Preschool Counting Cards
Adriana
Thursday 15th of October 2009
Diego is SO into counting right now. He would love these!
vanessa
Thursday 15th of October 2009
This looks fun. I always look for good counting activities. I like how the pages have a spot for the markers to go.