Are you looking for some fun hands-on Easter activities to help your little learners work on key skills? These Easter early math and literacy centers are bright, engaging and just what you need!
The math skills covered are: one to one correspondence, number recognition, number formation, counting, number bonds and comparing size.
The literacy skills covered are: letter recognition, identifying uppercase and lowercase letters, letter-sound correspondence, phonics and rhyming.
Curious about exactly what each activity is? Then letβs get cracking! Read on.
Easter activity #1: alphabet Easter egg hunt
Get those little ones sorting and matching uppercase and lowercase letters while they hunt for Easter eggs!
Game idea one: Hide the lowercase letter eggs around the room (be sure to pick sneaky spots); spread out the uppercase letter eggs neatly on the desk or carpet. Now the fun begins! Learners will go on an Easter egg hunt around the room, eyes peeled for those lowercase letters. When they spot one, they grab it and dash back to the desk to see if they can find its uppercase match!
Game idea two: Scatter all those colorful eggs around the room. Set out the Uppercase Easter Basket and Lowercase Easter Basket. Now, it’s time for your learners to spring into action! Armed with their keen eyes and nimble fingers, they’ll scurry around the room, gathering up eggs and sorting them into their rightful places. Will it be an uppercase egg for the Uppercase Easter Basket, or a lowercase egg for the Lowercase Easter Basket?!
Easter activity #2: beginning sound bunnies
Who knew bunnies could help with letter-sound correspondence? Spoiler alert: they totally can!
Here’s how it works: learners will feed the adorable bunnies with alphabet carrots, matching the beginning sound of the picture on each rabbit’s tummy.
Easter activity #3: Easter counting
Counting, one-to-one correspondence, number bonds to ten, and all the fun of Easter rolled into one!
This activity can be tailored using any of your favorite manipulatives, whether it’s cute mini erasers, dough, pom poms, beads, or the printable bunny faces and eggs provided.
Game idea one: Learners will select a card and place it on the Easter Bunny’s board. Then, using their chosen manipulatives, they’ll count out the corresponding number into the ten frame. Counting to ten and counting to twenty mats are included.
Game idea two: This is a fun way to work on number bonds. With the addition and subtraction cards for numbers up to ten, learners will utilize the ten frame to solve the sum. By adding and removing manipulatives, they’ll work out the answer and strengthen their understanding of basic arithmetic in an engaging and hands-on way.
Easter activity #4: Easter number activity mats
These number mats can be used with a variety of manipulatives, whether it’s mini eggs, dough, pom poms, buttons, or simply coloring. Each number from 1 to 10 has its own mat.
Here’s how they work: First, fill in the large number displayed on the mat with manipulatives or color it in. Then, trace the digits to reinforce number formation. Finally, add the correct number of Easter eggs to the basket corresponding to the number shown.
This activity is an egg-cellent way to practice counting and number recognition up to ten, while also honing skills in number formation and subitizing.
Easter activity #5: rhyming rabbits
This delightful activity is designed to boost phonics skills by getting students to identify words that rhyme.
Game idea one: Set the cards out in a sensory tray (dyed rice is a favorite over here) then have your learners make pairs by matching the rabbits that share rhyming words. I like to set out only a few at a time so as not to overwhelm the kids, but you can decide based on the number and ability of the students youβre working with.
Game idea two: Set up this activity as a memory game that can be played either independently or in small groups – simply turn all the cards face down and have students take turns flipping over two cards to uncover a match.
Easter activity #6: Which egg is the biggest?
Let’s compare sizes and help the Easter Bunny decide which egg reigns supreme is the biggest!
These task cards are designed to be wipe-clean once laminated. With a dry erase marker in hand, students will circle the biggest egg on each card.
6 hands-on Easter activities
These Easter activities blend learning and fun for Preschool, Pre-K or Kindergarten learners. They are perfect for home or classroom and work well as centers, small group work, morning activities or one-to-one instruction. An educator guide explains each of the activities, how to set them up and suggestions for ways to play. Hop on over and check them out – your little bunnies will thank you!
Happy playful learning!
Jess xo
