Spring Math Fun for Young Students

Is Spring in the air where you live? Most of the Savvy Apple Community is enjoying the Spring season right now. Even though it can bring lots of rain, the weather is nicer and it makes us want to venture outdoors. Have your students been itching to get outside? Well, this week’s blog is here to help make that outdoor fun more engaging as they learn how to count, sort, and measure. This week, I’m chatting about Spring math activities that you can do with your students indoors and out. ☀️

Spring Counting & Collecting

Counting is one of the first math skills that children learn, and it doesn’t have to be boring. Young children love to collect things while they play outdoors. Don’t discourage your students from bringing in rocks, leaves, and pinecones from outside. Start by designating a place in the classroom for these objects to be placed when students come inside. Then, place them in an area where they are easily accessible for students to use for counting and sorting activities.

Counting bugs may seem kind of icky to us, but most kids will love it! I like to provide my students with their own magnifying glass. You can get some great deals on packs of them. Give them their own pocket notebook and writing tool. Tell your students that the class is going on a bug-count adventure! 🐜 Let them count ants, butterflies, bees, and anything else they can find. If real-life bugs aren’t your thing, use plastic bugs and place them around the classroom for students to find and count.

Finding Shapes & Patterns in Nature

Not only can students find shapes in their classroom, but they can go outside and do the same. Trees can be a triangle. Rocks can be circles. Logs can be cylinders. You get the idea! 💡

Patterns are seen throughout nature. They can be revealed in the most ordinary things. Flower petals can have colored patterns on their leaves. Children can collect items around their playground and make their own patterns. You can make simple pattern cards with pictures of pinecones, leaves, rocks, etc. Then, have your students take the cards outside and duplicate the patterns.

Math Games Outdoors

Put away those math worksheets. I’ve got some fun Spring activities that will have your students beg to go back outdoors! Hopscotch has been around for years and is still loads of fun! Have the children count while they hop. Students can also estimate how many strides it takes to walk the length of the playground or outdoor space. Then, have them walk it and check their guess!

We are always trying to find ways to engage with our students. One fun way is to discuss what they find on their outdoor adventures. Bring a blanket outdoors and have the children gather on it after they have finished collecting their treasures. Ask them about the color, texture, and shape of their objects.

Indoor Spring Math Activities

With Spring showers occurring so often this time of year, we have to have activities that will also engage our learners when it’s too wet outside to play. Outside the classroom window, hang a rain collector where students can see how much rain has fallen. If it’s not easily viewable, have the students measure the amount of rain after the rainfall by using a ruler.

Birds are in abundance this time of year. Hang a bird feeder near a window of the classroom. Keep a chart nearby for children to hashmark each time they see a bird during the day, At the end of the week, have the students total each day’s bird count and then find out the total for the week. Extend learning by having children estimate the number of birds that they think came by their classroom each week. Bring the garden indoors. Start a tray garden with your students. Have them plant a variety of seeds and measure each plant’s growth. Students can display this on a chart that easily accessible.

As I mentioned before, don’t put away your digital math resources when you’ve gone back to the classroom. Young students will love to Add to 10 with Butterflies! 🦋 Another digital, Spring math activity can help your students learn about odd and even numbers. Click here to read about it. I think digital math resources have their place in student learning, but there are other materials that have been around a long time that can also be engaging and fun for students. Let’s talk about…

Spring Math Books

This book is for children K-2 and teaches them patterns, counting, and shapes. Books are a great way to extend learning. Engaging books not only teaches concepts, but it also makes learning fun. The next book, Ten Little Ladybugs also helps children learn counting skills. Click on each book to read more about it.

New Spring Resources

It’s that time again…a new product, or two. I’ve been chatting a lot lately about how easy it is to switch out the theme of your own digital resources. This week, I did just that! Again! 😊 I turned my Comparing 2-and 3-Digit Numbers resources into fun, Spring resources that will really grab your students’ attention.

Each of these Spring resources debuts today, Thursday April 22, and is 1/2 OFF Today only! 😃

I hope these ideas are helpful when you are planning Spring math activities. Let me know which ones you use!

Have a great week!

Jess @Savvy Apple