Teaching preschoolers sometimes is like throwing a rock in the ocean. You have no clue how deep the ocean is because you can’t see where the rock landed. Similarly, when you teach a preschooler, you have no clue if they actually understand the concept.
That is until you have them do a fun activity to demonstrate if they truly grasp what you taught.
The key here is the word “fun.” If the activity is boring and dull, they might simply rebel and not want to do it. And if your preschooler is like mine, she might just mindlessly finish the activity just to say, “mommy I tried” but without really trying.
So instead of learning colors and numbers and how to count with worksheets, we are using LEGO bricks and UNO cards! Preschoolers love the colorful blocks and cards and enjoy hands-on-activities that exercise their fine motor skills.
**We used LEGO bricks for this activity because my 3-year-old doesn’t put random things in her mouth. If you have a younger preschooler, you might want to use LEGO Duplos instead.
How to Teach Numbers with LEGOs
Materials:
- LEGO (or LEGO Duplo) bricks
- UNO cards
Directions:
- Take out the numbers you would like your preschooler to work on from the UNO cards.
- Pick out a set of red, blue, yellow, and green LEGO bricks and put them with the cards.
- Have your preschooler first sort the LEGO bricks by color.
- Place a few cards face-up on the table or ground. I did 4 at a time and made sure I had one card of each color.
- Ask your preschooler what number is on each card.
- Instruct your preschooler to stack the corresponding color and number of LEGO bricks on each card.
- Repeat steps #4-6 until you are done with your deck.
My preschooler is funny with numbers. When she focuses, she can write out numbers 1 through 10 with maybe a couple of numbers written backward. However, when she is distracted, all of the sudden math flies out of her brain and she can’t remember half of the numbers.
With this LEGO counting activity, she concentrated the whole time and was able to stack the LEGO bricks no problem. She actually told me that it was too easy for her. Guess we need to work on double-digit numbers now!
More Activities with LEGO and UNO Cards
If your preschooler can recognize numbers, then have them try these activities:
- Sort the UNO cards by color or by number.
- Arrange the same-colored cards in numerical order, bother ascending and descending.
- Flip two cards at once, count and place the corresponding LEGO bricks on the cards, and compare which card has the larger number.
- Practice math facts. Flip out three cards, one card should be the sum of the other two. Then count and place LEGO bricks on the cards and show your preschooler how the two smaller cards add up to the larger card.
Final Thoughts on Counting with LEGO and UNO Cards Activity
The colorful LEGO bricks are great for preschoolers to learn how to count and identify colors. They are also great for practicing fine motor skills when your preschooler stacks them on one on top of another.
If your kid doesn’t recognize numbers yet, you can use a regular set of poker cards. This way, your preschooler can count the number of symbols on the cards to determine how many LEGO bricks to place on the card. The only downside is that you then cannot match the colors of the LEGO to the cards.
We will definitely be using LEGO for more math activities in the future. Meanwhile, here are more fun educational activities for your preschooler:
- Blow a Pom Pom Through a LEGO Maze
- Vertical Bowling with Plastic Cups
- Sorting Colors with Pom Poms Activity
