Do you have puzzle fans in your early childhood class?
My children always loved playing with puzzles when they were young. We had boxes of them all around the house for years.
Since puzzles are usually a big hit at early math centers, we’ve shared several preschool counting puzzles here.
And here they are all in one place – which is great if you’re planning your early math lessons for the year!
These are excellent for math centers, but they also work well for morning tubs, independent work, or homeschooling. Particularly if you have younger ones who need to work quietly while you teach an older child.
Read on to see the full list.
And, for more early childhood teaching ideas, take a look at our list of 20 printable preschool resources!
How to Use Preschool Counting Puzzles with Kids
Whenever I set up counting puzzles for early learners, I always go to the same list of supplies.
If you’ll be using preschool counting puzzles often, you might want to pick up these basic needs before you get started. You’ll use them over and over again.
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- Printer (with ink)
- Printer paper
- Laminator (helpful for keeping the puzzle pieces intact for use later)
- Scissors
You don’t have to laminate your number puzzles, especially if you print them on cardstock. But I always do.
Little hands can be unusually hard on paper math manipulatives. I found that an unlaminated resource rarely survived a month or more.
My laminated preschool resources, though, are still going strong – years later!
Fun Preschool Number Puzzles to Try
There are plenty of ways to add number and counting fluency in early grades, but these are some of the preschool counting puzzles we’ve shared here.
Below you’ll find several different themed resources – so you can work on cardinality throughout the year!
Preschool Counting Puzzles
Ready to teach early learners to count from one to ten! Use these fun preschool counting puzzles to make this concept into a fun, hands-on lesson!
Prep these resources once and then use them over and over again to reinforce counting fluency!
These apple counting to ten puzzles are a wonderful resource for the back to school and fall seasons!
Use them along with an apple or fall unit to help students practice relating numerals to sets of objects!
These fun, pirate-themed counting to ten puzzles are so cute for a pirate unit!
Designed to be self-checking, these puzzles make a wonderful math center activity!
Studying sharks or ocean life? Add these fun shark counting puzzles to your unit!
These puzzles come in two versions: one with numerals and matching objects and a second with number words and matching objects.
An excellent way to introduce number word literacy!
Try these rainbow themed number and number word matching puzzles during spring!
Since this resource does not include cardinal objects, it's a good step up for early learners who have mastered counting objects to ten.
Also available as a digital activity!
Move on to number word literacy with these ladybug number word puzzles!
These have three pieces each and they help students connect numerals, cardinal objects, and number words - all at the same time!
Also available as a digital activity!
Don’t miss these other preschool learning ideas!
