Need a math dice game to inspire preschoolers to learn through play?

Yes, please!

You’ve heard me before. Learning math needs to be hands-on.

Preschoolers need to touch the objects as they count, and have an opportunity to take in new information to make it fit with what they have already practiced.

This math dice game will inspire number sense and better understand the foundations of what adding looks like.

RELATED: If you are here, you already know we believe in the benefits of play. These activity cards are for you to inspire learning through play at home quickly!

I began hearing my preschooler explore addition.

Moooom, what is 3 pluses and 3 pluses?

Oh, you mean what is 3 plus 3?

But I needed to back my preschooler up.

I knew that he had a solid foundation of what a group of objects looks like, and I also knew he understands quantity.

We have played plenty of math games to help strengthen number sense, such as Heart Number Match and Googly Eye Count Up.

Now we needed to see these numbers combine, and this math dice game was the perfect way to help it all come together!

Children need to practice touching the dice as they count.

In fact, I recently read an article on why it is so important to use your fingers to count. 

Let’s remember that math games need to have math manipulatives for children to pick up, move around, and touch as they count. Having good math toys at home matters.

Here is a fun way to play a math game with dice with your preschooler.

For our math manipulative, I used pasta noodles. – Rigatoni!

This noodle was a big enough noodle for his hands to grasp and the perfect size to still be able to count the number of noodles on each side without them getting lost in a pile.

My preschooler rolled the dice on either side and added the correct amount of pasta on either side.

Then, he added both sides to the large section of the plate to see how many in all.

Remember, math needs to be hands-on, even as kids begin to grow older. Kids do not need to learn math on a worksheet.

RELATED: Hands-on learning through play for the win! See our favorite activities for kids at home and play today!

Math dice game supply list:

Days with Grey is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.

For the dice, you can also make your own out of a tissue box.!

Let’s practice adding!

• Begin by rolling the dice.

• Place the amount rolled in the first section of your plate.

• Roll the dice again.

• Place the next amount on the other side.

• Combine the two groups into the large section of your plate.

• Count the objects.

Language to use:

You rolled a 6 here. Here are 6 noodles.

On this side, you rolled a 4. Let’s count them out. 1,2,3,4.

Let’s put all the noodles together to see what we have.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10! I see that! A group of 6, plus a group of 4, makes 10 total!

The fun started when my four-year-old was able to see the total before his eyes!