Mango Tree Math for Preschoolers

Living in a tropical climate is filled with many blessings. One of the biggest blessings is in the form of the GIANT mango tree in our own backyard! We are just now ending the 2nd harvest of our mangoes that have grown all summer, and are already counting down the days until next year when we can pluck some more! 

In honor of our beloved tree, I thought of this fun way to practice math and counting with my little ones. 

Supplies Needed:

• Construction Paper: tan, brown, green (I was still all out of green paper, so I used green scrapbook paper.)
• Craft Foam: yellow, purple (or any other colors)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Black Permanent Marker

Prep Work:

1. Cut out a tree trunk from the brown paper, and a big cloud shape from the green paper. Glue these onto the tan paper and you've got your tree!

2. Cut 6 circles out of the yellow craft foam. HINT: An easy way to do so is to imprint the bottom of a glue stick into the foam, then just cut them out!

3. Cut out 6 squares from the yellow craft foam as well. Write the numbers 1, 2, and 3 on them two times so you have two of each number.

4. Cut out 5 square from the purple foam and write the numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 on them.

5. Draw 3 squares under the tree, two on the left and one on the right that match the size of the number squares. Then put in a + and an = sign so you can create math problems.

How to Play!

• Sit down with your child and go through a problem together, putting down 2 yellow squares, putting those numbers of mangoes on the tree, then counting them all up to get the answer! 
• Then you put the yellow numbers down, one at a time, and have your child put those mangoes on the tree and find the answer themselves.
• You can also switch and have your child put down the yellow numbers and you do the math.

LL(3 years old) had a lot of fun doing this. I helped her a lot, but she eventually got the hang of it, and loved this fun way of counting.

When LB(Kindergarten) got home from school, he wanted to try it too. It was perfect for his level, and great practice for him. 

Because math is fun, but mango math ROCKS!

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.