• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Courses
    • Teaching Every Reader
    • Teaching Every Writer
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Member Login

The Measured Mom

Education resources for parents and teachers

  • Alphabet
  • Reading
    • Structured literacy
    • Printable Books
    • Pre-Reading
    • Phonics
    • Sight Words
    • Comprehension
    • Fluency
    • Vocabulary
  • Writing
    • Grammar
    • Handwriting
    • Spelling
    • Writing in Pre-K
    • Writing Workshop in K-3
  • Math
    • Counting
    • Number Recognition
    • Addition & Subtraction
    • Colors, Shapes & Patterns
    • Visual Discrimination
    • Time, Money & Measurement
    • Place Value
    • Graphs
    • Multiplication & Division
    • Fractions
    • Problem Solving
  • Book Lists
    • Letter of the Week
    • Early Childhood Themes
    • Pre-Reading Skills
    • Math Concepts
    • Writing Mentor Texts
    • Versions of Familiar Tales
    • Holidays and Seasonal
    • History
    • Leveled Book Lists
  • Join Membership
Home
  • Shop
  • Blog
    • Alphabet
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Math
    • Book Lists
  • Podcast
  • Courses
    • Teaching Every Reader
    • Teaching Every Writer
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Membership
  • Contact

PSPKK123April 17, 2013 •  57 Comments

Ladybug Math for Preschool, Kindergarten & 1st Grade

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

I am going through a Letter of the Week study with my Four and Two.  Along with reading books, doing crafts, and forming letters, we do a lot of letter-themed math.  I was having trouble finding things for letter L — until I decided to do all ladybugs!  Since their big sister is just finishing kindergarten, we did loads of ladybug math appropriate for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade.  I hope you’ll find something you can use at home or in your classroom!

ladybug math free printables 17

(This post contains affiliate links.)

Ladybug Math Ideas & Printables

1) Number Recognition – Ladybugs on a leaf

child pressing sticker onto ladybug worksheet

To practice number recognition, I decorated red office stickers and told my Two (pictured) which number the ladybug wanted to eat.  He covered that number with a sticker.  Because I have three kids learning to recognize numbers, I created one with the numbers 1-10, one with the numbers 10-20, and one with blank circles so I could write much larger numbers for my Five. To read more about it and get your printables, click here.

2) Addition, Missing Addends, Mental Math – Missing Addend Flip Cards

child holding counting ladybug card

I spent a lot of time on these, and I’m so happy with how they turned out.  My Five, who resists a lot of the math I prepare for her brothers because “it’s too easy,” was challenged by these and really enjoyed them. To read more about them and download 45 free missing addend flip cards, visit here.

3) Counting, Number Recognition – Ladybug Count & Clip Cards 

child clipping ladybug counting card

For a set of colorful ladybug count and clip cards from 1-20, visit my original post here.

4) Odd/Even – Ladybug Math Odd & Even

picture of ladybug math activity


I did this activity with just my Five.  It was her introduction to the concept of odd and even.  We took out ten paper circles.  I gave her a number and told her to take turns placing the dots on each side of the ladybug. If the same number of circles was on each side, then the number was even, and she wrote it in the right-hand column. If there was an extra dot, then the number was odd, and she wrote it in the left-hand column.  After a few times placing the dots, she could figure it out in her head.  She also learned that if you can add the same number together to get a number (such as 3+3 = 6), then the answer is always even.

I highly recommend this sort of activity to introduce odd/even! You can get the ladybug printable by clicking here.

5) Shapes, Puzzles – Ladybug Shape Puzzles

ladybug shape puzzles

 

My Two did these ladybug shape puzzles.  Get your free printable from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

6) Counting, Ordering, Number Recognition – Large Floor Numbers 

child with large floor numbers

I got these great ladybug floor numbers from Playing House in Maryland.  My Two just loved them!  He can count to 10, but he gets confused if he starts in the middle. So we had to start over nearly every time he added a new number — no problem, good counting practice! This was also great practice for number recognition and the first time he worked at putting numbers in order.  Afterward his sister tried to get him to stand on a number that she called out, but he was having too much fun running on the number line.  If I showed my kids’ faces on this blog, I’d have to share the picture of him running across the ladybugs.  BIG smile!

 7) Subitizing – Ladybug, Ladybug Roll & Cover 

children playing ladybug roll and cover math game

I think this board game is adorable, and I just love the concept!  You can get your own copy at Oceans of First Grade Fun.  This game requires a numbered die and counters.  Have your kids take turn rolling the die and covering that number on their ladybug. This gives them practice subitizing.  Say, what?  If you’re like me, that’s a new word for you.  It’s just a fancy way of saying: look at a group of something and tell how many there are without counting each individual item.  For example: recognizing that the six dots on a die are 6 — without going 1,2,3,4,5,6.   I played this with my Four and Five.

8) Subitizing, Addition – Ladybug Roll & Cover Addition Game

ladybug roll and cover addition game

Here’s a simple board game that gives your child practice addition and subitizing.  Roll the dice, add the numbers, and cover the number on the board. To see more and get your printable, visit my original post here.

9) Addition – Ladybug Addition Mat

child practicing counting with ladybug addition mat

I saw this idea all over Pinterest and never did figure out who came up with the original idea.  I created this math mat (get yours here) and cut out black circles with my circle punch.  I made a set of numbers and had the big kids (4 & 5) make addition number sentences.

10) Ordering – Ladybug Size Sort

child with ladybug size sort

My Two loved putting these colorful ladybugs in order by size.  You can get them at Confessions of a Homeschooler.

 

Need more free ladybug-themed printables?  Check out these finds:

Ladybug Math Fact Cards

 Touch-Point Number Cards with Ladybugs

Measuring with Ladybugs

Ladybug Number Flash Cards

Did you know? Members get more!

The Measured Mom Plus is our affordable membership for Pre-K to third grade teachers, parents, and tutors. Join and get instant access to 2000+ printables for building important math and literacy skills!
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Free Math Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade

Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get printables for counting, addition and subtraction, measuring, problem solving, and more!

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Math Tagged With: ordering, counting, Number recognition, first grade, addition, kindergarten, shapes, spring, odd and even

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

Race to 20 math game Monster number cards 1-130 Math grid games
11 Crafts for Preschool: The Letter L
Outdoor Math Game for Preschoolers: Exploring Size (with printable action cards)

Primary Sidebar

Grade Level Key

  • PS Preschool (ages 2-3 years)
  • PK Pre-K (ages 4-5 years)
  • K Kindergarten
  • 1 1st grade
  • 2 2nd grade
  • 3 3rd grade

Teach your child a foreign language in just 5 minutes a day!

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Hello, I’m Anna!

Welcome to The Measured Mom. I’m so glad you’re here!

Meet Our Team

Free Math Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade

Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get printables for counting, addition and subtraction, measuring, problem solving, and more!

Shop our store!

120 Print and Play Math & Literacy Games for K-2

$15.00

Preschool Math Curriculum for Home

$24.00

Place Value Task Cards for 2nd Grade

$8.00

Shop all resources

Members get more!

The Measured Mom Plus is the perfect online membership for Pre-K to third grade educators.

Learn More

Love Freebies?

Subscribing to our email newsletter is completely free. And when you do, you'll get access to our library of subscriber freebies! Sign up below to get access to a wonderful variety of math and literacy resources.

Join our online courses and get the tools you need to teach every learner in K-2!

Confidently teach every reader in your classroom. Still have time to live your life.

Learn More

Get everything you need to teach writing well, including over 200 ready-to-use lessons.

Learn More

Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher

Check out these recent podcast episodes:

  • From balanced to structured literacy: A conversation with Lindsay Kemeny
  • From balanced to structured literacy: A conversation with Heidi Jane
  • From balanced to structured literacy: A conversation with Christina Winter
More Episodes

Check out these FREE email courses...

Get strategies and tools to teach a particular topic with a free 5-day email series! Just click an image to sign up. We recommend signing up for just one at a time.

For Pre-K Educators

How to teach letters and sounds to preschoolers

How to teach letters and sounds to preschoolers

Learn my must-follow tips for teaching the alphabet in this free 5-day email series!

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

Learn how to develop this important pre-reading skill with a free 5-day email series!

How to teach preschool math

How to teach preschool math

Learn exactly what to teach your preschoolers in this free 5-day series!

For Kinder & 1st Grade Educators

How to teach kids to sound out words

How to teach kids to sound out words

Learn my top strategies for teaching kids to "sound it out"

How to teach sight words

How to teach sight words

Get strategies and tools for teaching sight words to young learners!

Tips for teaching phonics

Tips for teaching phonics

Sign up for our free 5-day email series to learn what phonics skills to teach and how to structure your phonics lessons!

For 2nd & 3rd Grade Educators

How to build reading fluency

How to build reading fluency

Learn smart strategies for helping your learners become fluent readers with this free 5-day series!

How to teach writing in 2nd & 3rd grade

How to teach writing in 2nd & 3rd grade

Learn the most important writing skills to teach to 2nd & 3rd graders in this free 5-day series!

How to build reading comprehension

How to build reading comprehension

Discover the essential reading comprehension strategies for 2nd & 3rd grade and how to teach them!

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” –Matthew 6:33

Copyright © 2022 The Measured Mom •  All rights reserved  •  Privacy & Disclosure Statement  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs