Help preschoolers measure how tall they are and make comparisons with children who are taller and shorter. Measure each preschooler from head to toe with yarn. Place a folded piece of masking tape on one end of the yarn and write the child's name on the tape. Show the children how to use a measuring tape to measure the length of the yarn. Write the measurement on the masking tape. Ask the children to compare their strings and determine who is tallest and shortest. Tell the children to explore the classroom to discover things that are shorter and taller than they are, then let the children talk about their discoveries.
Help preschoolers master the early math skills of matching and sorting with a butterfly activity. Cut out and laminate a variety of matching pairs of butterfly pictures. Make a clothesline by attaching yarn or twine to a wall with thumb tacks. Place the butterfly pictures and wooden clothes pins in a basket. Demonstrate how to match the butterflies and clip them in pairs to the clothesline. This activity can be modified to conform with any theme. For example, your preschoolers can match colored eggs for an Easter theme and match lady bugs for an insect theme.
The activity requires an egg carton, large dried beans and scotch tape or glue. Print the numbers 1 through 12 on a piece of paper in a 36-point font. Leave ample space between the numbers. Cut out the numbers to fit in the individual egg compartments, and glue or tape one number inside each. Place the dried beans in the top of the carton. Instruct preschoolers to identify the number printed in the compartment and count out the number of beans to place in the compartment.
A smiling caterpillar invites two preschoolers to count and color. Print a copy of the game board for each player. Number index cards from 1 to 9 and place the cards in a paper bag. Each player chooses a different crayon color. The child who pulls the highest number card from the bag plays first and pulls another number card. He counts the number of spaces on the caterpillar represented by the number card and colors the spaces. For example, if a child pulls a 6 from the bag, he colors the first 6 spaces on the caterpillar and places the card back in the bag. The next player pulls a number card and colors in the number of spaces represented by the card. Players continue to pull number cards, count and color until a caterpillar is completely colored. The winner is the child who completes his caterpillar first.