Math Light Table Activities for Preschool, Pre-k, and Kindergarten

Use your light table for these fun math activities to engage your students and give them opportunities to learn in different ways! There are ideas for counting, graphing, measurement, colors, shapes, number recognition, and more! You are sure to find some math light table activities that are perfect for your classroom needs.

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Math Light Table Activities for Counting

Snow Roll & Count Light Table! The snowflake is a felt door decoration that I picked up at the dollar store, but placemats would also work as an attention grabber in your preschool classroom. Students roll the die and count out that many manipulatives. I used glass gems & snowflake table scatter, but pom poms, beads, cotton balls, or mini erasers would work.

Cookie Cutter Count Light Table! Use cookie cutters for something to hold the counting manipulatives on the light table for any theme. I placed a large bowl of pom poms in the middle, then placed cookie cutters around the light table. Students will roll a die and count that many pom poms into one cookie cutter. Add in tweezers for fine motor development. Loose parts, cotton balls, mini erasers, etc would all work too.

Number Building Mats Light Table! Use printables from your favorite units on the light table for a fun way to engage preschool & kindergarten students. The light shines through to create a fun work mat, and young children can play games they have already been introduced to. These number mats have the student pick a number, identify it, and then count out that many manipulatives. I gave students magnetic bingo chips so they could use magnet wands to clear their boards.

Counting Mats! I made these simple number mats with a lamination pouch and masking tape. I wrote the numbers, put the tape inside, and then ran it through my laminator so it was sealed. This way, students can use dry-erase markers on it, which will be more durable than a piece of paper. Then I gave students a bunch of different number manipulatives to match on the mat. There are translucent numbers, gems with numbers written on them, translucent dominoes, and translucent building blocks. Don’t have all translucent manipulatives? No worries! Use what you have in your classroom, and your students will love it.

Treasure Roll & Count Math Light Table Activities! Make some treasure chests out of tissue paper and laminate them. Then give students a die and some treasure! Students will roll the die and pick that many pieces of treasure to put in their chest. I set out gems and coins, but anything could work. To make this game harder, give students 2 dice and have them practice addition problems.

Tray Roll & Count! Use any sort of tray in the light table center to make a counting game. These are silicone ice cube trays. I added dice, tweezers, and pom poms to complete the table setup. Students will roll a die and count that many pom poms into their tray with tweezers. To make it harder, students could also have to sort colors too.

Math Light Table Activities for Number Practice

Number Mats Light Table! Use laminated number cards on the lightbox math centers for a fun idea for students to practice number formation with dry-erase markers. I love to use magnetic bingo chips for counting because students can use magnet wands to clear their area.

Carrot Count Light Table! Grab some themed plastic eggs to make a fun light table setup! I found these translucent carrot plastic eggs at the dollar store around Easter time. Then, I added tweezers, pom poms, and number cards. Beforehand, I put number stickers on the carrots. Then students had to place the carrot on the matching number card and then fill it with the matching number of pom poms.

Number Plates Light Table! Grab some clear plastic plates from the dollar store and write numbers on them. I also added dots in case students weren’t able to identify numbers yet. I also added gems that had numbers written on them, tweezers, and sunburst beads. Students can match the number gems to the correct plate and then count the correct number of beads onto the plate. Add in tweezers for more fine motor work.

Fish Counting Light Table! Connect your light table activity to a book that you are reading for more connections throughout the classroom. I used strips of blue paper to make the waves, gems with numbers written on them, and plastic fish to make this counting game. Students counted the number of fish to match the number on the gem.

Math LIght Table Activities for Colors

Color Sorting Light Table! Set up a color sorting activity on the light table to make this simple task more engaging and exciting! Use colored bowls and bingo chips for a simple color identification game that builds fine motor skills.

Fall Color Matching Light Table! Make some leaves out of tissue paper. Grab some FREE leaf templates here. I laminated the tissue paper leaves. Then, set out dice, tweezers, and leaf table scatter to complete the table. Students roll a die and then count out that many manipulatives while sorting them onto the matching colored leaf. Tweezers are a great addition to help students develop fine motor strength.

Dino Color Matching Light Table! Set out some colored manipulatives to match your theme and have students sort by color! I found these adorable dinos for my dinosaur theme. Give students tweezers to help develop fine motor muscles. I made these sorting cups by putting colored masking tape around clear cups. This way, I had cups for all the colors of my manipulatives.

Easter Color Sorting Light Table! Use plastic eggs, pom poms, and egg coloring cups to make this cute spring table! Students can sort pom poms into the eggs or place everything in the cups. You can decide what you want them to do or leave it more open-ended for students.

Ice Cream Color Sort! Set up a sorting board on your light table with an ice cream theme! I gathered some manipulatives (pom poms & wads of tissue paper), ice cream scoops, bowls, and milkshake glasses. Then, I made sorting cards that matched my manipulatives. For the photo, I am having students sort by color, but you could also have them sort by size. You could also put numbers in the bowls and have students count the corresponding amount of ice cream scoops. Remember, not ALL your materials have to be translucent to work on the light table!

Math Light Table Activities for Shapes

Zoo Pattern Block Mats! Grab these FREE zoo pattern block mats and use translucent pattern blocks on the light table. Pattern blocks are great for developing sorting, counting, comparing, and graphing skills.

Building Shapes Light Table! Make some shape cards and have students build shapes with manipulatives. I have some summery drink stirrers and glass gems for my manipulatives.

Pond Shape Sorting & Building! Cut out some shapes from tissue paper and laminate them. Then, I gave students shape manipulatives to sort onto the shape ponds; I used buttons. I also gave students the option to build the shapes with rubber ducks.

Shape Sorting Light Table! To make the shapes, I drew shapes inside lamination pouches and sealed them. Then set out shape manipulatives for students to sort.

Math Light Table Activities for Graphing

Cube Counting Graph! Set out a number line and let students count to make a number graph. I set out plastic ice cubes for my counting manipulative. This is a great manipulative for so many activities and themes! Ask students about most, least, and equal to while they are working on this graph.

Spring Numbers Light Table! Use number printables that you have in your classroom on the light table. I had students put the number cards in order, then match number manipulatives, and lastly, count rainbow blocks to match the numbers. If you don’t have manipulatives made for the light table, just use the ones you have in your room.; your students will like the activity either way.

Color Graphing Light Table! Grab some fun, themed manipulatives and let students sort them by color to make a graph. I put colored masking tape on my light table for the categories, and students lined up the shells by color. Then, we talked about more than, less than, and equal to.

Number Graphing Light Table! Gather some number manipulatives and counting chips to create this simple math activity. Have the students put the numbers in order, or you can have that already done. Then, they counted the corresponding number of chips above the masking tape line.

Math Light Table Activities for Patterns

Snowman Patterns! Have students make patterns while building a snowman! For making patterns, I gave students gems, pom poms, and tissue paper circles in winter colors. I also gave them sticks to add arms. If your students aren’t ready to make patterns independently, you could start some patterns for them to finish. Change these to caterpillars for a spring, bug, or garden theme.

Bug Patterns Light Table! Beforehand, cut some grass strips from tissue paper. I laminated mine, but that isn’t necessary. Then, students used these translucent bugs to make patterns in the grass. If your students need more support, start the patterns and have them finish them.

Lacing Patterns Light Table! Grab some pipe cleaners and pony beads for a fun lacing pattern activity on the light box. Have students make their own patterns or start some and have them finish the patterns. This is a wonderful activity if your students are struggling with fine motor development, hand-eye coordination, or crossing the midline.

Math Light Table Activities for Measurement

Ocean Measuring Light Table! Cut pieces of streamers and give students materials to practice nonstandard measurement skills. I set out linking cubes and gems. Change this easily for other themes by swapping the colors of streamers or changing the material altogether.

Nonstandard Measurement Light Table! Stick colored masking tape all around your light table in varying lengths. Students can use all sorts of materials to measure the tape lines. I set out linking cubes and number manipulatives so students could count and label the length of the lines.

Comb Measuring Light Table! Connect your math light table activities to books to make a stronger connection throughout the classroom. We were in an All About Me theme, so students measured combs with linking cubes after we read the book “Princess Hair”.

Ribbon Measuring Light Table! I cut some pieces of ribbon in varying lengths, then gave students objects to measure with. Students practiced nonstandard measurement with small gift bows and linking cubes.

Math Light Table Activities for Capacity

Capacity Exploration Light Table! Learn about capacity with beakers, pom poms, and scoops or tongs. Students can scoop, pour, and compare the amounts of pom poms that fit into each beaker or container.

Exploring Capacity Light Table! Don’t have beakers? Use another container; I put out bottles with masking tape around different areas for fill lines. Then, students talked about more than, less than, and equal to.

Lemonade Capacity Light Table! Let students scoop and pour the sensory filler into the cups while they make basic observations about capacity. I used plastic lemons and limes and wreath tubing cut up.

Ornament Capacity! Another option for a capacity light table is an ornament filling station. These are clear plastic ornaments and pony beads. Students can count or sort the beads, too. This is the perfect way to make the light table match your theme and use items you have in the pre-k classroom. 

Math Light Table Activities for Maps

Build a City on the light table! Make a city and practice map skills and STEM skills on the light table. I made some FREE road strips on regularcopy paper and cut them into strips of different sizes. Students laid the road and built buildings to complete their towns. I even found some translucent cars from the dollar store.

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Whew! That was a ton of math light table activities to get you brainstorming on how to utilize your light table more. Remember, not all your materials need to be made specifically for the light table; many of our standard materials will work! If you need a template or building mat, I love using laminated tissue paper! It is cheap, beautiful on the light table, and easy to make fit your theme.

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