Best Free Math Practice for Pre-K: Worksheets, Games and Apps

Search for free preschool math and you'll find thousands of worksheets, apps and videos. Most are fine. Few are a good fit for a child who can't read the directions yet, and even fewer leave your child wanting to come back. Here's how to choose, what's worth using, and what your child will be learning this year.

We make Bobby's Math Club, so we're not neutral, and we've tried to be fair to everyone here. Free sites and apps change, so check each one for current details (as of October 2026).

What makes a good free math resource for a 3, 4 or 5 year old

Free is easy to find. Good is harder. Here's a short checklist you can use on any worksheet, game, app or video:

• It fits your child's level. A Pre-K child who finds a game too hard will walk away, and one who finds it too easy will lose interest. Look for a sheet or program that meets your child where they are, and lets them review earlier skills without feeling put back.
• It reads aloud, or uses no words at all. Your child can count long before they can read, so every question should be spoken or shown in pictures.
• It gives feedback right away. Your child can fix a mistake while it's still fresh. An answer key you check together works too.
• It's calm. A countdown clock or a loud scoreboard can make a child who's unsure feel worse. Practice should feel safe to get wrong.
• It's really free. Some sites let you start free, then stop at a paywall. Check what you get without paying, and whether your child needs an account.
• It has a natural stopping point. Sessions that end by themselves make it easier to stop while it's still going well.
• It covers what Pre-K children are learning. Counting, comparing groups, shapes and simple patterns are the big ideas of the year. Your child's preschool may follow its own plan, so their teacher is the best guide.

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that reviews children's media, keeps a list of math games, websites and apps for kids that's worth browsing if you'd like a second opinion on any app.

What Pre-K children typically learn

Pre-K is when numbers start to mean something. Your child learns that the last number they say tells how many, and that one more makes the next number. Most Pre-K children practice these skills:

• Counting. Saying the numbers to 20, and counting each thing once. See counting each thing once.
• How many. Knowing the last number counted tells how many there are. See the last number counted.
• More and fewer. Comparing two groups. See which has more, which has fewer.
• Adding and taking away. With real objects first. See adding and taking away with real objects.
• Patterns. Spotting and continuing a pattern like red, blue, red, blue. See simple patterns.
• Shapes. Naming circles, squares and triangles of any size. See naming shapes.

Our What is my kid learning? pages cover every Pre-K skill, with sample questions and ways to help at home.

Where do Pre-K children usually need extra help? Often it's counting the same thing twice or skipping one, and thinking a spread-out group has more because it takes up more space. If you notice one of these, slow down and touch each thing as you count it together.

Free options at a glance

Swipe the table sideways to see every column →

Free printable worksheets

Paper at this age looks different. Your child circles, colors and counts pictures rather than writing numbers, and you read every question aloud. It's a lovely screen-free way to practice side by side.

When you choose free printables, a few things help:

• Pick pages with big pictures to count and very few words.
• Keep it short: a few problems is plenty at this age.
• Read each question aloud and let your child point or circle.

Paper Practice is how the club does printable worksheets. You print a ten-problem sheet made for your child's level, they solve it with a pencil, and you photograph the page and check the answers. Once you save it, a checked sheet counts toward their progress, the same as practice in the app. There's no packet to buy and no guessing which grade to print. It's part of the club, and unlimited practice is free. At this age, sheets are multiple choice, so your child circles an answer while you read the question aloud. See how Paper Practice works.

A few ideas for choosing between formats:

• Online resources are best for instant feedback and read-aloud help.
• Printables are best for screen-free time, car rides and sitting side by side.
• Free worksheets and paid subscriptions can both work. If a free sheet matches your child's level, you may not need to pay for more.

Math games, apps and websites

Games are the natural way a Pre-K child learns math. A game your child asks to play again is practice that doesn't feel like work. Here are a few free places to start:

• Khan Academy Kids is a free app for ages 2 to 8, per Khan Academy, with stories, songs and activities across early math, reading and more.
• PBS KIDS Games is a free collection of games for young children, including math, with no account needed, at the time of writing.
• The Math Learning Center offers free math apps such as ten frames and a number rack. They're hands-on tools more than games, and they show counting with pictures.
• Bobby's Math Club offers unlimited free practice, with every question read aloud, a hint a tap away and no timer.

The honest difference: apps (downloaded to a phone or tablet) are handy for travel and sometimes work offline, while websites work on any computer and don't use up storage. Either is fine. What matters more is whether your child can use it with you beside them, and whether it fits the checklist above.

At this age, the best games are the ones you play together: a board game with numbered squares, or a matching game with cards. For choosing among programs, see free math practice programs, ranked.

Choosing free video lessons

Videos and songs can be a fun way to hear numbers, but at this age hands-on play teaches more. Use a video as a treat or a spark, then count real things together.

Khan Academy Kids has stories and songs inside the app. For anything on YouTube, use the checklist below.

Since YouTube has thousands of channels, here is a fair way to choose one:

• Short. Look for videos of a few minutes. A Pre-K child's attention is short.
• One idea at a time. A good lesson teaches one skill, such as counting to 10, and shows the steps.
• Draws as it explains. Real objects, fingers and pictures beat a talking face for this age.
• A calm voice and a steady pace. Fast, loud videos can tire children out.
• Made for the grade. Check that the title names preschool or ages 3 to 5.
• Watch it first. Preview a video yourself, and turn off autoplay so the next one isn't chosen for you.

We also make short kid-friendly videos that follow practice. See how our math videos teach.

Free activities at home

Some of the best Pre-K math costs nothing. Try these:

1. Count the stairs. Count out loud on the way up, and again on the way down.
2. Set the table. One spoon for each person. That's matching one number to one thing.
3. Which pile has more? Make two piles of socks. Guess which has more, then count to check.
4. Go on a shape hunt. "Find three circles in the kitchen." Then try squares and triangles.
5. Make a pattern. Line up big blocks red, blue, red, blue. What comes next?
6. Add one more. Line up 3 toy cars. Add one more. How many now?
7. Sing number songs. Counting songs that go up and down make numbers fun.
8. Compare sizes. Who is taller, you or the chair? Which shoe is longer?

For more ideas, see how to make math fun for kids.

How much and how often

I recommend 5 minutes of practice a day. It doesn't have to be every single day: a few five-minute sessions a week is great too. That's enough time for a few questions or a quick game. If your child wants to keep going, let them. Read how often your child should practice for the reasons.

Motivation matters as much as minutes. Some ways to help:

• Follow their interest. Count the dinosaurs, cars or dolls they already love.
• Stop while it's fun. Ending early leaves them wanting more.
• Praise the trying, not just the answer: "You counted every one!"
• Do it together. At this age, your company is the best motivation there is.
• Treat mistakes as normal. If your child feels worried about math, overcoming math anxiety has gentle ideas.

Why practice at all? Because these early ideas, counting, comparing and shapes, are what later math is built on. Early math confidence is worth building now.

How Bobby's Math Club fits

I built Bobby's Math Club, and I use it with my own kids a few times every week. It's meant to be the five-minute habit, and it works well next to free videos, games and everyday math:

• Unlimited practice, free. No limit on how much your child can do.
• Read aloud. Every question, hint and explanation can be heard.
• Kind feedback. A hint when needed, and a short explanation after each question.
• Paper Practice. Screen-free sheets that count toward progress.
• Progress emails. Plain-English notes on what your child practiced.

It's made for PK-5, and it's practice rather than video lessons. You can pair it with hands-on counting at home and Khan Academy Kids for variety.

Have a child in another grade? There's a page like this one for kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade.

Questions parents ask

Sources

• Common Sense Media. Best Math Games, Websites, and Apps for Kids.
• The Math Learning Center. Free Apps from MLC.