Easter Math Activities For Play Based Learning
Looking for engaging Easter math activities for your kindergarten or preschool classroom? These hands-on, play-based learning invitations will keep students focused and learning while exploring counting, sorting, estimation, measurement, and more. Plus, grab the Easter Maths Investigations Pack for an easy, print-and-go setup!
Keeping kindergarten and preschool kids engaged and learning in all the excitement of Easter activities can be a challenge. The children are soooo excited about Easter celebrations, and the change in routine certainly doesn’t help.
One moment, they’re talking about their Easter egg hunt, and the next, they’re completely off-task and counting down the days until the Easter Bunny arrives!
So, how do you keep little learners focused on math skills when their minds are filled with chocolate eggs and Easter baskets?
Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered with some math activities in a super fun Easter theme that will keep your students engaged, learning, and on-task—right up until the Easter break.
These hands-on Easter Math ideas are a great way to bring excitement into your math lessons while ALSO reinforcing essential number sense, sorting, counting, and problem-solving skills.
Read on to discover easy ways to set up Easter math learning invitations that require minimal prep but maximum engagement.
Plus, I’ll share how to make it even easier with some done-for-you printables that will fit perfectly into your math centers.
The Benefits of Easter Math Activities in Play-Based Learning
We all know that young children learn best through hands-on experiences. When they can touch, move, and manipulate objects, they develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts.
That’s why play-based learning is so powerful - it transforms abstract math skills into meaningful, tangible experiences.
But during the Easter season, keeping your kids engaged in math lessons can feel like an uphill battle!
Their minds are on the upcoming Easter Bunny arrival and all the fun Easter activities happening around them.
This is where Easter-themed math provocations come in!
By weaving math skills into purposeful playful, Easter-inspired activities, your children will stay focused while still embracing the excitement of the season.
Instead of fighting against their energy, we can harness it through hands-on explorations that build number sense, problem-solving skills, and fine motor development.
My fun Easter math activities are also an easy prep way to ensure your students are meeting curriculum outcomes while having fun.
Whether they’re sorting plastic Easter eggs, estimating jelly beans in a jar, or using tongs to transfer counters, they’re actively building those essential math foundations - without even realising it!
Want to know more about the power of hands-on learning? Read my blog post: The Benefits of Play Based Learning in Early Childhood
Hands-On Easter Egg Math Activities for Kindergarten & Early Years – Easter Math Investigation Areas
These Easter-themed math provocations are easy to prep and quick to set up.
They will have your kindergarten students engaged in meaningful, hands-on learning while developing and consolidating early math skills.
Each activity taps into play-based learning, making it a fun Easter math activity that helps young learners strengthen their number sense, problem-solving, and fine motor skills.
You can set up some Easter themed math provocations or use the activities with small groups in your math rotations.
Sorting Easter Eggs - Classification & Sorting Skills
Children sort different coloured plastic or wooden Easter eggs into small Easter baskets.
Sorting is a foundational math skill that helps young students identify patterns, classify objects, and develop logical thinking. This Easter egg math activity invites children to explore these concepts in a playful, hands-on way while building early numeracy skills.
Activity Setup:
Provide small plastic Easter eggs in different colours, sizes, and shapes alongside small Easter baskets or egg cartons. I found some tiny foam Easter eggs in the dollar store that were perfect for this activity!
You can make mini Easter baskets by attaching a cardboard handle to noodle boxes, bowls, or cups.
To differentiate this activity, label the Easter sorting baskets (made from paper cups or small containers) with colour, shape, or size categories. Use stickers, paint, or coloured card handles to make sorting clear.
Alternative setup: Use an egg carton and label each section with different attributes (e.g., red, blue, big, small, oval, round). Children can place small objects like beads, buttons, or mini manipulatives in the corresponding sections.
Skill Focus:
Develops classification, matching, and comparing skills.
Supports critical thinking and early numeracy concepts.
Teacher Tips:
Add tongs or tweezers to strengthen fine motor skills while sorting.
Introduce tally marks as a way of recording the number of eggs in each sort.
Challenge children to sort by two attributes at once (e.g., “Find all the big, blue eggs”).
This activity is included in my Easter Maths Investigations Pack with a pre-made sorting prompt poster and setup ideas!
Counting Easter Eggs - Number Recognition & Counting to 10/20
Invite the children to count small plastic or wooden Easter eggs into numbered baskets.
Counting objects is a fundamental early numeracy skill that helps children develop one-to-one correspondence, numeral recognition, and number sense. This Easter activity provides a hands-on way for children to practice counting while staying engaged in a fun, themed activity.
Activity Setup:
Invite the children to count small plastic or foam Easter eggs into numbered baskets.
You can pick up a set of small cardboard Easter baskets from the discount store and label them with number stickers to encourage counting practice or, if you don’t have access to Easter baskets, you can make your own using small noodle boxes or paper cups.
Use the Easter Number Labels 1-20 from my Easter Maths Investigations Pack for an easy-prep solution.
Add tongs or tweezers to the provocation so children will develop their fine motor skills while transferring the eggs into the baskets.
Skill Focus:
Reinforces one-to-one correspondence and numeral recognition.
Strengthens fine motor coordination and early counting skills.
Teacher Tips:
Differentiate the activity by encouraging children to count by 2s or 5s.
Extend learning by asking: “If we add 3 more eggs, how many will there be in total?”
There are Easter themed number labels and a provocation prompt poster inside my Easter Maths Investigations Pack if you are looking for an easy setup!
Easter Math Adding Machine - Early Addition & Recording Skills
Make an Easter adding machine by attaching a couple of cardboard tubes to a strong cardboard backdrop. You will probably use this adding machine a few times throughout the year so it is well worth the effort of making a strong, reusable version.
The backdrop pictured above is from Spotlight. I decorated it with adhesive contact, scrapbooking paper and printed signs.
An adding machine is a fun, hands-on way to help children visualise addition concepts and number stories. My simple DIY Easter-themed activity encourages children to explore basic math facts in a meaningful, play-based way.
Activity Setup:
Make an Easter adding machine by attaching a couple of cardboard tubes to a strong cardboard backdrop. This adding machine can be reused throughout the year, so it’s worth making a sturdy, reusable version.
Decorate the backdrop with adhesive contact, scrapbooking paper, and printed signs to make it more engaging.
To make it easy to store, attach Velcro dots to the back of the tubes and the cardboard backdrop. This allows you to remove the tubes and fold the backdrop flat when not in use.
If you don’t want to make a reusable version, you can simply secure a couple of tubes to a wall using Blu Tack.
Add a basket of eggs or counters that children can drop through the tubes to create simple addition problems.
Skill Focus:
Helps children visualise addition concepts and number stories.
Reinforces problem-solving and number sense.
Teacher Tips:
Add recording sheets to encourage children to document their equations and thinking.
Differentiate by asking: “Can you find different ways to make the number 10?”
To make setting one up in your classroom quick and purposeful, differentiated recording sheets and the adding machine signs are all part of my Easter Maths Investigations Pack
Easter Sensory Tray - Fine Motor & Number Concepts
Children learn everything through their senses, so including sensory play whenever possible is a great idea. An Easter sensory tray is a hands-on way to teach number concepts while also developing fine motor skills in your early learners.
Activity Setup:
First, place a sensory play base material in your tray. Try shredded paper grass, real grass clippings, birdseed, or corn kernels.
Next, add Easter-themed small toy bunnies, carrots, chicks, or eggs to the tray. You could also include pompoms, artificial flowers, buttons, or math manipulatives.
Provide a few small numbered baskets, sorting bowls, or Easter cups in or beside the tray. These containers will encourage the children to sort and count the small manipulatives you have added. The containers also help to keep the area organised and tidy.
Finally, add a dice to encourage number games and tongs or tweezers to develop fine motor skills.
Skill Focus:
Builds number sense, sensory engagement, and fine motor control.
Encourages independent play, problem solving and open-ended exploration.
Teacher Tips:
Provide a dice to add a game element—children can roll and count out that number of objects.
Extend learning by asking: “Can you make groups of three?” or “How many more carrots do you need to match the number on your dice?”
Get the Easter Sensory Tray Provocation Posters I use in my setups HERE: in the Easter Maths Investigations Pack.
Easter Pattern Blocks - Shape Recognition & Spatial Awareness
Children will work on 2D shapes, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills with this easy math learning provocation. Pattern blocks are a great hands-on way for children to explore geometry and spatial reasoning. I love how open-ended they are.
Activity Setup:
Supply a basket of pattern blocks and some printed prompt cards to set up this engaging math invitation.
Invite the children to explore and discuss shapes as they create Easter-themed pictures using the pattern blocks.
Encourage your children to create their own Easter eggs, bunnies, or baskets by combining different 2D shapes.
Skill Focus:
Encourages shape exploration, problem-solving, and creativity.
Develops spatial awareness and hand-eye coordination.
Teacher Tips:
Discuss 2D shapes and symmetry while your children create their designs.
Extend the learning by asking: "Can you create a bunny using only triangles?" or "How many hexagons do you need to complete your egg?"
My Easter Maths Investigations Pack includes 6 Easter Pattern Block Task Cards and provocation posters if you want to get this Easter math activity up and running in your classroom.
Easter STEAM Challenges - Maths & Engineering Concepts
Children love STEAM challenges. So do teachers!
They provide opportunities for hands-on learning and integrate seamlessly into the play-based classroom.
STEAM incorporates Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths, encouraging children to think creatively, experiment, and solve problems through construction and design.
If you are interested in reading more about STEAM education in the early years, head over to this blog post: STEAM Activities.
Activity Setup:
Present Easter-themed STEAM challenge prompts such as:
Can you make an Easter basket?
Can you build a car for the Easter Bunny? (Supply a small toy Easter bunny for added engagement.)
Can you make an Easter hat?
These prompts can be placed in any hands-on construction area such as the play dough table, Lego basket, makerspace, collage area, box construction, or blocks area.
Skill Focus:
Integrates math, science, and problem-solving through hands-on construction.
Encourages creative thinking, engineering concepts, and collaboration.
Teacher Tips:
Great for small group work or makerspaces where children can collaborate on ideas and solutions.
Add a mix of open-ended materials like recycled items, craft supplies, and natural objects to encourage creativity.
Want some great Easter themed STEAM challenges?
My Easter Maths Investigations Pack has 8 done-for-you illustrated STEAM Challenges your students will love!
Easter Math Weighted Eggs - Measurement & Mass Concepts
Teaching measurement concepts about the mass of objects in an authentic way can sometimes be tricky in the early childhood classroom. This math learning provocation is an opportunity not to be missed at Easter time.
Activity Setup:
The plastic eggs that clip apart are perfect for adding different weights to.
If your school does not have weights in its math resources, you can make your own using fishing sinkers, rocks, or small bags of gravel. Put different weights inside each clip-apart egg and seal them with cello tape to prevent spills.
Add the weighted Easter eggs to a basket along with Easter books and measurement books.
Provide clipboards so children can record their observations and predictions.
Extend this learning invitation by adding balance scales and eggs of different sizes for hands-on comparison.
Skill Focus:
Develops an understanding of weight, comparison, and measurement language.
Encourages hefting and problem-solving through hands-on exploration.
Teacher Tips:
Encourage children to predict and test which eggs are heavier or lighter.
Ask open-ended questions like: "What do you notice about the heaviest egg?" or "Which egg do you think is lightest and why?"
I like to make sure the heaviest egg is NOT the largest so children don’t assume that bigger always means heavier. This encourages them to test and compare by hefting rather than relying on assumptions.
There are pre-made Weighted Eggs Provocation Posters included in my Easter Maths Investigations Pack so you can have an easy setup!
Easter Maths in Home Corner - Dramatic Play & Problem-Solving
The dramatic play area is a great place to add real-life math learning invitations. This Easter math activity encourages problem-solving, imaginative play, and hands-on learning experiences – all in a way that feels natural to young children.
Activity Setup:
Add a basket of toy Easter eggs to the Home Corner.
Encourage your children to make their own Easter baskets for the dolls so they can share out the eggs evenly into the baskets.
Add a prompt like “How many eggs does each doll get if we share them equally?”
Skill Focus:
Encourages division concepts like equal sharing, number sense, and real-world problem-solving.
Supports cooperative play and turn-taking.
Teacher Tips:
Link to literacy by having children write shopping lists, menus, or price tags for an Easter shop.
Most children will enjoy creating Easter decorations to add to the space too and that will help to make the experience even more engaging. I notice lots of measuring and estimating happens when my kids do this.
A Hoppy Easter Home Corner Sign and Math Prompt Poster are included in my Easter Maths Investigations Pack.
Easter Number Book - Numeracy & Writing Integration
The writing area can include math learning too!
Adding Easter-themed number cards and an Easter vocabulary mat to your writing table creates an inviting space for children to make their own math resources.
Activity Setup:
Provide Easter number cards, stickers, and blank books so your children can create their own Easter-themed number books.
Offer a selection of cardboard, coloured, patterned, and plain white paper, along with a few staplers, so children can design and bind their own books.
Easter-themed stickers, stencils, and stamps will spark creativity and add a decorative touch too.
Skill Focus:
Reinforces number formation, sequencing, and early writing skills.
Encourages creativity and ownership over learning.
Teacher Tips:
Display the completed books in the class library or math spaces so children can revisit and share their work.
Encourage children to make not only books but posters, games, task cards, signs, using the materials provided in your writing area.
The ones pictured above are templates from my Easter Math Provocations Set. Download this pack HERE. My children love using these templates just as much as designing their own.
My set comes with a variety of Easter Number Book Covers, an Illustrated Vocabulary Mat, and Easter-themed Number Posters for numbers 1 to 10.
Easter Play Dough Number Mats - Hands-On Numeracy Practice
The Easter-themed number mats featured here are also another part of my Easter Maths Investigations Pack – there’s heaps to choose from in this pack!
I love playdough and so do my kids. Adding these mats to our playdough table gave my students a fun way to practise number formation and counting while strengthening their fine motor skills at the same time!
Activity Setup:
Use Easter-themed playdough number mats with play dough to encourage children to practise forming numerals and working on their counting.
The play dough provocation pictured above has homemade play dough with cocoa powder added during the cooking process. It smells divine!
Skill Focus:
Strengthens number recognition, number formation, fine motor skills, and sensory learning.
Encourages creativity and hands-on engagement with numbers.
Teacher Tips:
Use scented or cocoa play dough to make the activity feel extra Eastery and engaging.
Extend learning by encouraging children to shape playdough into matching quantities (eg: rolling five mini eggs for the number 5 mat).
Children could also design and draw their own play dough mats. Some of their creations could be laminated and added to the play dough table for continued use.
The set in my Easter Maths Investigations Pack includes Easter Play Dough Number Mats 1-10 and Easter Playdough Challenge Cards to print.
Does a fail-proof playdough recipe sound good? You can download mine from my FREE Resource Library - it’s perfect for this activity!
You can download my fail proof play dough recipe HERE in the FREE Resource library. Sometimes I add essential oils to our play dough but I it was not necessary this time because the cocoa gives this Easter play dough a delicious chocolate smell.
Eggs-timation Station - Estimation & Problem-Solving
The final math investigation area is an invitation to estimate. This hands-on activity encourages children to develop their estimation skills, reasoning, and number sense while engaging in playful learning.
Activity Setup:
Fill a jar with Easter eggs and run cello tape around the rim and lid to deter children from opening it – that’s a treick I learnt the hard way!!
Try to have enough eggs in the jar for each child in the class to receive one at the end of the week.
Add some recording sheets and a box to collect the children’s written estimates.
Encourage students to examine the jar and record their estimate on the provided recording sheet.
Skill Focus:
Develops estimation strategies, reasoning, and counting skills.
Encourages mathematical thinking and problem-solving.
Teacher Tips:
Discuss how to make “educated guesses” before revealing the answer at the end of the week.
Ask children to explain how they arrived at their estimate. This helps build their mathematical reasoning and language.
Keep the student recording sheets as evidence of learning. They are great to refer to at reporting time!
My Easter Maths Investigations Pack Includes an Estimation Provocation Poster and the Student Recording Sheet I like to use.
These Easter math activities are all tried and tested. They have always been successful learning invitations in our play-based classroom, keeping students engaged while reinforcing key numeracy skills in a fun and hands-on way.
If you are keen to set up any of these Easter-themed learning areas in your classroom too, my Easter Maths Investigations Pack (the one mentioned throughout this blog post) can help you!!
All the posters, visual prompts, and recording sheets have been done for you, so you can simply print, laminate, and quickly set up engaging and purposeful math provocations in your classroom this Easter.
✅ Ready to set up Easter-themed math activities effortlessly?
✅ Grab the Easter Maths Investigations Pack – just print & go!
✅ Click here to download