Math centers are a fun and effective way to get kindergarten students engaged in learning and applying important math skills and strategies that we are working on in the classroom.
Your students get to have a more active role in their learning when you use engaging centers, and it gives you a chance to do more one-on-one instruction with the students who need it. This gives students an increased sense of independence, which is always a great thing!
They will also get the opportunity to work with hands-on manipulatives. With students this age, this improves their motivation to learn which then increases their outcomes and helps them hit benchmarks with ease. You can do individual testing once they know how to do centers independently.
I love coming up with fun and creative centers to get my students excited about math. The opportunities are truly endless!
My favorite math centers theme is a “Math Salad Bar” or “Math Café”.
You can make your Math Café (or Buffet or Salad Bar) out of a bookcase or a rolling cart. A student pulls out the manipulative cart and then they choose a recipe card that functions like a task card. It includes the material list, number of people who can participate in the math activity, picture cues, and directions. They will choose their partners if required, fill their tray with materials, and do the activity anywhere in the room! They can easily clean up by using a tray to hold their materials.
Here are three fun activities to include in your café.
- Roll and Cover Caterpillar
- Sorting Bears by Color
- Fish Match-Up Addition
The best part is, you can get all three of these math centers for FREE by visiting my store here.
You’ll get everything you need to get started with your own Math Salad Bar or Math Café.
Check out this video on how to set it up in your classroom!
For more tips, you can also check out my post here.
If you love these and want some more activities, you can get more with the full bundle here! This yearlong bundle includes digital cards, blank recipe cards, assessments, posters, and crafts as well as more math centers.
What is your favorite thing about math centers? Let me know in the comments!
