Math Activities for Preschoolers in a Fingerplay

Five Little Monkeys

• Five little monkeys jumping on the bed. (Hold up five fingers.)

  One fell off and bumped his head. (Rub your head.)

  Momma called the doctor and the doctor said, (Mime talking on the phone.)

  "No more monkeys jumping on the bed." (Shake your pointer finger as if you are scolding.)

  Continue with four monkeys, three, two, one and finally zero. This fingerplay is an excellent tool to teach number recognition or subtraction.

Five Little Bees

• One little bee blew and flew. (With palms together, wiggle your hands from left to right.)

  He met a friend, and that made two. (Hold up two fingers.)

  Two little bees, busy as could be -- (With palms together, wiggle your hands from left to right.)

  Along came another and that made three. (Hold up three fingers.)

  Three little bees wanted one more. (With palms together, wiggle your hands from left to right.)

  Found one soon and that made four. (Hold up four fingers.)

  Four little bees, going to the hive. (With palms together, wiggle your hands from left to right.)

  Spied their little brother, and that made five. (Hold up five fingers.)

  Five little bees working every hour-- (With palms together, wiggle your hands from left to right.)

  Buzz away, bees, and find another flower. (Stretch out your fingers and place them on either side of your face. Sway back and forth as a flower in the wind.)

  This fingerplay is most effective for teaching addition.

Squirrels

• Five little squirrels sitting in a tree. (Hold up five fingers.)

  The first one said, "What do I see?" (Hold your hand above your eyes as if shielding them from the sun.)

  The second one said, "Some nuts on the ground." (Point to the ground.)

  The third one said, "Those nuts I found." (Point to your chest.)

  The fourth one said, "I'll race you there." (Run in place.)

  The fifth one said, "All right, that's fair." (Nod your head.)

  So they shook their tails and ran with glee. (Wiggle your bottom, then run in place.)

  To the nuts that lay at the foot of the tree. (Point to the ground. Stretch out your arms to imitate a tree.)

  Use this fingerplay to teach counting or to introduce ordinals.

Five Little Speckled Frogs

• Five little speckled frogs, (Hold up five fingers.)

  Sitting on a hollowed log, (Squat down.)

  Eating the most delicious bugs, yum, yum. (Rub your tummy.)

  One jumped into the pool (Jump in the air.)

  Where it was nice and cool. (Use your hand to fan your face.)

  Now there's only four little speckled frogs. (Hold up four fingers.)

  Continue this process of counting down until there are no little speckled frogs, which is demonstrated by touching the tip of your thumb to the tip of your other fingers and forming a zero.