This fun board game will help your pre-k, preschool, and kindergarten kids practice counting skills, one-to-one correspondence, and turn-taking.
We played this game in my class last week and it was a huge hit as it always is every year! Years ago, before teachers had printables online, I made these same board games with stickers. You can see my sticker dinosaur board game on my “Ways to Teach Counting” post. I also have a printable St. Patrick’s version of this board game.
This time, I decided to make more of a “general” version of this game as a printable for you. You can use it with different themes just by changing out the math manipulatives you use. You can use the game with counting bears, like I have in the pictures. You can use dinosaur counters for a dinosaur theme, mini motors counters for a transportation theme, bug counters for a bug theme. You could even use mini erasers for different themes or table scatter for different holidays.
It’s very versatile, so you can use it with almost any theme, whenever you need to practice counting with kids!
How to Prepare the Board Game
Download and print the board game (you will find the file below). Attach the two pieces of the game together using some clear shipping tape. You can laminate it before or after you tape it.
Find some playing pieces for the kids to use. I like to use marker caps, such as the ones from dry erase markers, highlighters, or Mr. Sketch markers. Make sure each player has a different color.
Choose a math manipulative: any kind of counters, table scatter, mini erasers, etc. Put the manipulatives in a basket or bowl in the middle of the game. You decide the number of manipulatives you want in the basket.
You’ll also need a game die. You can buy those at a dollar store or make one by drawing dots or writing numbers on a wooden cube. You can use one die or two dice if you want kids to count higher and add the dots from the two dice together.
How to Play the Board Game
Each player will chose a color for their playing piece. In this game, kids can start anywhere they want on the game board. It really doesn’t matter where they start. If you have kids who just need direction, you might want to instruct all the kids to place their piece on a star or on a green square or something similar.
Choose who goes first, that child will roll the game die, and move their playing piece that number of spaces. If they land on a star, they get to pick a manipulative from the basket in the middle. They keep it until the end of the game. The next player takes a turn and so on.
Continue playing until the game ends. There are two ways you could decide when the game ends.
- You determine the number of manipulatives in the basket (maybe there are 10 or 15). When all of the manipulatives are gone from the basket, the game is over.
- Or, you set a timer for a certain length of time. If you know kids’ attention spans will last 20 minutes, you can set the timer for 20 minutes. Use whatever works for your group. When the timer goes off, the game ends.
I always have my students count their manipulatives to see how many they have at the end of the game. No one gets upset because they are so trained that we don’t play win/lose games in our class. Nothing wrong with win/lose games for older children, but they don’t work well with preschoolers.
Make it a Cooperative Game
Here’s a slightly different way you can play the game, which would be especially great for younger kids and great for cooperation at any age. Instead of each child having a different color playing piece, use only one playing piece for everyone. The children still take turns and still collect manipulatives, but only move one piece around the game.
Set your timer for whatever length of time you choose and decide on the amount of manipulatives you want in your basket. Kids take turns rolling the die, moving spaces, and collecting manipulatives if they land on a star. The group wins the game if they beat the timer (if they collect all of the manipulatives before the timer goes off). Even if the timer goes off before they’ve collected them all, have the children put all of their manipulatives together and count to see how many the group got.
Download the Printable Board Game
Download: Counting Skills Board Game
Note: This is a free printable, just click to download.
Examples of Manipulatives to Use for the Game
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Thank you so much for all that you share 🙂 I am not a teacher by career but a mom of a 4yo and 2yo. The activities and information that you share are invaluable to my bonding with and teaching my kids. Thank you 🙂 We really enjoy benefiting from your knowledge, experience and ideas. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing!
what a great idea. I remember crying and i have seen countless kids cry. my 3 cheats to be able to win. will try the one piece idea so we can play. also great for longer games like shoots and ladders. we do about half. if we both move that piece she still learns what I want her to and i don’t spend a lot of time saying its not about winning and losing Sweety.
This is a great concept for one to one correspondence and we made the board game for a child with a special need and we use a magnetic board instead of a cardboard so easy manipulation of the letters and the pieces
Can you please give me some examples of the manipulatives you mentioned for this game.
I have just added some pictures of examples of manipulatives with Amazon links.
Thank you Karen, this is a lovely easy way to help with counting! I love it and can use it for my maths children and adapt it for my speech and language children.
I work for a primary school in England as a Teaching Assistant. I work with 4 and 5 year old children in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and with children in year 1). I do precision training in phonics and maths in the morning and speech and language in the afternoons, so have lots of activities to plan for! I am always on the look-out for new ideas! (Anything to make the children’s learning fun!).
Thank you for sharing your ideas.
Janette
Thanks, Janette! It’s good to know my site is helping children as far away as England!
Awesome game…
Dear Karen,
I just want to let you know that every time I see PreKinders in my email, I SMILE. I know 100 percent there will be some thing or things that I can use for my classroom. I know that you are a hard working dedicated teacher not only to your students but to other teachers as well. So pat yourself on the back and as I tell my little ones, kiss your heart for being so kind!
Thanks Again!
Pam Shannon
Ellis School PreK
Thank you so much, Pamela! This is such a nice comment – you’ve made my day!
Dear Karen,
Thank you for sharing this activity and all others.
Your activities always comes in handle, will surely try this.
I run a Montessori school and I use your activities as an extension to some of our lessons.
Thank you for all the ideas.
Best Regards.
Oluwateye.
Your ideas are always practical and great. I appreciate all that you do. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
This game looks like so much fun! I bought mini poster boards with a built-in grid to help me get the stickers straight and spaced out nicely. I went to Staples and showed them the picture of the game and asked them for square stickers but they said they do not have any. Where did you purchase square stickers?
Hi Carol, You don’t have to buy stickers. The game is printable. You just print it on card stock paper, tape the two pieces together, and laminate it.
I love your cooperative game where they beat the clock! It adds a new twist and changes things up a bit. Great Idea!
Thanks, Jackie!
What a great post shared with us.