5 Math Warm Ups for You
Math warm-ups are the perfect way to kick off a small group lesson, review essential skills, and build confidence in young learners. With The Math Kit, warm-ups are simple to plan and engaging for students, ensuring they stay familiar with the routines and equipment that make math hands-on, fun, and effective. These 5 warm-ups take just 5-10 minutes to prep and play, and they’re packed with opportunities to practice counting, adding, and problem-solving.
The Value of Hands-On Play in Math:
Hands-on play is critical in math learning, especially in kindergarten. It brings abstract concepts to life and helps students build a strong foundation in number sense and operations. Story-based math activities, like those in The Math Kit, make warm-ups interactive and purposeful, preparing students for more focused lessons ahead.
Get Ready for Your Week Now:
Planning your week’s warm-ups has never been easier! Here’s how to get everything prepped in minutes:
Print the games you’ll need:
Print the games you’ll need:
- Use a small sorting box (even one from a holiday gift!) to clip together the cards and materials you’ll need for each warm-up. Keep everything handy and accessible!
- Prep your standard equipment: Counters, cubes, number tiles—whatever you use most. If you have a math trolley, set it up with just this week’s focus. The Math Kit is packed with resources, so you don’t need everything at your math table at once!
- Bookmark this blog post so you can quickly refer back for instructions and inspiration throughout the week.
- A little preparation now will save you time later and make every math warm-up a breeze!
Warm-Up 1: Pencil 5 Frames
Skill Focus: Counting, Number Recognition
Quick Play Instructions:
- Provide students with a Pencil Ten Frame and counters.
- Call out a number, and students place that many counters on their ten frame.
- Extend: Call for “groups of,” e.g., 2 pencils of 4, and students arrange counters to match.
Next Step: Use the ten frames in a small group to explore addition concepts like “5 and 3 make 8.”
Warm-Up 2: Polar Bear Play Mats
Skill Focus: Ordinal Numbers, Counting
Quick Play Instructions:
- Arrange 10 polar bears in a line using the Polar Bear Play Mats.
- Call instructions like, “The first polar bear has 3 fish,” and students place 3 counters. Continue for other positions.
- Take turns as a group to count and place the correct number of fish.
Next Step: Transition to a lesson using ordinal number cards or sequencing activities.
Warm-Up 3: Turtle 9 Grid
Skill Focus: Addition, Number Identification
Quick Play Instructions:
- Cover all numbers on the Turtle 9 Grid with counters.
- Students take turns removing 2 counters, revealing numbers (e.g., 3 and 5), and finding their total using manipulatives.
- For numeral recognition, simply remove 1 counter and say the number aloud.
Next Step: Play a math game with sums of 10 or practice subtraction with the same grid.
Warm-Up 4: Cloud and Hot Air Balloons
Skill Focus: Counting Up, Finding Differences
Quick Play Instructions:
- Students clip 2 numbers onto a hot air balloon and count up from one to the other.
- Use cubes on a blank Cloud Card to represent the difference visually.
- See this warm up over on Instagram Reels
Next Step: Use the same cards for a lesson on number comparisons or skip counting.
Warm-Up 5: Cloud Cards
Skill Focus: Number Sequences, Adding 10
Quick Play Instructions:
- Randomly reveal a Cloud Number Card.
- Students call out the number, the next number, and the number before.
- Challenge: Ask, “What is 10 more than this number?”
Next Step: Explore number patterns using number lines or charts.
