Thanksgiving Math Puzzles for Preschoolers

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October is a very exciting month because it has multiple holidays and celebrations. This variety allows you to switch things around in your classroom or at home, to keep your children interested and motivated to learn. They will believe that you are bringing a whole new activity when in reality you are switching colors, pictures, fonts, etc., which will spruce their learning process.

It is important to help your preschoolers develop their mathematical thinking because this knowledge will form the foundation that later on will transform into their academic achievement, and you should take advantage of every opportunity you might have to do this, always in a different and fun way.

To help you with this, I’ve created these FREE Thanksgiving-inspired Math Puzzles, which are pretty and versatile, and can be found at the end of this post.

They are designed taking into consideration the different levels that your children might be in, by making them available for you to divide them into two or three parts:

One part includes pictures of objects in the amount of the accompanying numeral.
One part has the written numeral according to the number of objects.
One part has the written number word.

If your children are starting to recognize the numbers and their written form, you can divide them into three parts. For children that do not recognize the written word, just the numeral, you just have to keep that part intact and not cut it.

This number puzzle activity includes 6 sheets with two puzzles each, using the numbers 0 to 10. The last card is blank and it’s also editable, to allow you to add as many numbers as you want.

These Thanksgiving Math Puzzles can be used in many ways such as:

Small group activity.
Math center option.
Writing center option.
Take-home activity.
Quiet area option.

How to Get the Puzzles Ready

To get these low-prep puzzles ready you will need a handful of materials, such as:

Print each page using white cardstock. Cut out the cards on the dotted lines, and laminate them to make them last longer. I will suggest making several copies, cutting the puzzles into two or three parts, according to your children’s needs, and having the children work on these puzzles in an individual activity or with a partner.

At the end of the month, you can put your puzzles in small Zip-lock bags, and store them in a box or binder for the following year, so you can have them ready for many Thanksgivings in the future.

Before you place the mats in the different centers it is recommended to introduce them to your preschoolers first. Circle time might be the perfect time to do this. There is no point in placing these puzzles in centers if they don’t know how to use them first.

A good way to do this is by:

Introduce the puzzles to the children and talk about each part and the different characteristics of each section.
Talk about small and large numbers, such as number 3 has fewer pictures than number 8 because it is a smaller number.
Explain that they have to point and count out loud the pictures in each section, and find the number that goes with it to put the parts together, and then find the written word for that number to complete the puzzles.

I recommend observing your children when they are working on these puzzles to monitor their progress and take notes about what numbers and number words they recognize, and how well they count, to be able to build upon that and help the ones that don’t recognize all of them.

Extension Activities

You don’t have to limit the possibilities to just use the printable as puzzles. Instead, you can extend it to increase the possibilities and interests of your children. Some ways to do this are:

Add in manipulatives such as acrylic mini leaves and pumpkins, pom-poms, mini pumpkins, mini erasers, buttons, or any other manipulatives, and have the children match each number with the same amount of objects.
Have the children trace the numbers and number words using dry–erase markers.
Have them copy the same with pencils, crayons, or markers.
Match each number with magnetic, foam, or wooden numbers.
Provide copies of the pages and have your preschoolers cut out the cards and glue them back together on a piece of construction or regular paper.
Draw the pictures.

Benefits of These Puzzles

These puzzles will allow preschoolers to practice:

Counting abilities (counting the objects).
Number recognition (identifying the number that matches the number of objects).
Fine motor development (putting the pieces of the puzzles together).
Hand-eye coordination and control (placing the correct pieces in the right place).
Concentration skills (focusing on the different tasks).
Language development (naming the numeral and identifying the written name).

Recommended Story Books

As usual, I will always suggest that you never forget books. They are magical instruments for your children’s inspiration, imagination, and learning. Books also help you deliver information and knowledge, and introduce or support a theme.

But most importantly, reading books is a constantly fun activity that every child loves. So, take advantage of them. Below are some examples to put you on the right track. You can find these books at your local library, used book store, and on Amazon. Following my affiliate links embedded on the titles, you can get to the right page in seconds.

10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston. This is a silly and fun rhyming story about ten turkeys that teaches children how to count backward.

How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace. This hilarious picture book combines STEAM concepts and traps with a silly story and fun illustrations, perfect for the Thanksgiving theme.

How Many Turkeys Can You Find? by Holiday Puzzle Sensations. The children will love this book’s vibrant Thanksgiving pictures and will be motivated to solve the number of riddles on its pages.

1,2, 3 All About Fall: A Counting Book from 1 to 20 by Little Pear Books. Children will love learning to count from 1 to 20, along with fall-themed vocabulary, in this book celebrating autumn and Thanksgiving.

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by B.G. Hennessy. The simple rhythmic text and autumn-colored illustrations that this book offers are just right for practicing counting and sharing the history and fun of Thanksgiving with young children.

Creating Centers

Not all children learn the same way, and because of that, preschool teachers have the responsibility to give children different options to learn and develop different skills according to their needs.

To do that, one of the important tools that a high-quality preschool program should is to create different centers where the children can rotate through. Centers give young learners different types of hands-on experiences that are playful, meaningful, and educational at the same time.

Because of this, I will suggest adding different types of activities to your centers, maybe using the different Fall and Thanksgiving activities I created for you. If you don’t use a lot of them at the same time, use one or two different ones each day. That way you can keep your children motivated and engaged.

Pin It For Later

If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable but want to save it for later, pin this to your Math or Thanksgiving board on Pinterest for later.

Don’t forget to get your FREE printable. Just click on the link below for an immediate download. I hope you enjoy it, and that the Thanksgiving celebration is memorable, fun, and educational for you and your kiddos.

Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.

Love,

P.S. If you would like to see an article about how to make something specific, please let me know and I will try my best to write it for you. My goal is to help you in any way I can and I don’t like anything better than to post something that you might find useful.