Make maths active, meaningful and fun with our Early Years Outdoor Counting Games pack — designed to help children develop early maths skills through movement, play and outdoor exploration.
Want to save planning time while making your teaching more engaging and cross-curricular? This practical resource helps children learn counting and early maths concepts while staying active, building confidence and developing both fine and gross motor skills.
Perfect for nurseries, EYFS classrooms, forest school-inspired learning and home education, this pack transforms early maths into playful outdoor experiences that children genuinely enjoy. Explore more about Early Years Outdoors.
Product Description
Our Early Years Outdoor Counting Games pack is filled with practical, engaging outdoor maths ideas that support children’s early number development through active learning.
Instead of sitting indoors completing worksheets, children learn to count, sort, chant, move and explore while developing essential maths skills in meaningful ways.
This flexible resource can be used as a planning companion, allowing practitioners to choose activities that suit their children, curriculum and learning environment.
Whether you are teaching outdoors daily or simply looking to add variety to maths provision, this pack helps children become active learners while strengthening mathematical understanding.
Designed for nursery, preschool and Reception-aged children, activities encourage movement, exploration and playful repetition while supporting wider developmental skills.
What’s Included in the Pack?
This outdoor maths resource includes:
Setting Up and Safety Guidance
Practical ideas to help you confidently organise outdoor maths activities, create safe learning spaces and get the most from outdoor provision.
Chanting Games Ideas
Fun counting songs, rhythms and repetitive maths games to build number confidence, memory and listening skills through movement and repetition.
Counting Objects Games
Hands-on outdoor activities using natural materials and everyday objects to help children practise counting, matching, sorting and number recognition.
Children may explore counting through:
- Sticks, stones, leaves and natural loose parts
- Movement-based counting challenges
- Number hunts and outdoor treasure games
- Sorting and matching activities
- Practical problem-solving opportunities
Home Learning Activities
Simple outdoor maths ideas families can continue at home, helping strengthen school-to-home learning connections.
Certificates
Celebrate participation, confidence and achievement to encourage motivation and positive maths experiences.
A Useful Guide to Outdoor Counting Games in Early Years
What are outdoor counting games?
Outdoor counting games are practical, movement-based activities that teach early maths outdoors through play, exploration and physical activity.
Instead of relying solely on seated learning, children explore numbers using movement, nature and hands-on experiences.
Examples include:
- Counting natural objects such as stones or leaves
- Jumping, clapping or hopping to numbers
- Outdoor number hunts
- Singing number rhymes and chants
- Sorting objects by quantity or size
- Counting while exploring nature
These playful experiences help children build early mathematical understanding in a way that feels exciting and meaningful.
Looking for EYFS Counting Games for the Outdoors?
Why teach counting outdoors?
Teaching maths outside offers many benefits for young learners.
1. Encourages active learning
Outdoor counting games allow children to move while learning, helping maintain focus and engagement.
Running, collecting, sorting and exploring naturally strengthen mathematical thinking.
2. Supports fine and gross motor development
Children develop:
- Gross motor skills through climbing, balancing, jumping and moving during maths games
- Fine motor skills through collecting, sorting, stacking and manipulating natural materials
This creates a more holistic approach to learning.
3. Makes maths meaningful
Counting feels more purposeful when children count real objects in meaningful situations.
For example:
- Counting sticks for den building
- Sharing natural objects fairly
- Measuring collections
- Finding “five leaves” or “three stones”
Real experiences strengthen understanding.
4. Builds confidence through play
Outdoor environments often feel less pressured than classroom tasks, helping children gain confidence with numbers through repetition and exploration.
5. Supports cross-curricular learning
Outdoor maths naturally links to:
- Physical development
- Communication and language
- Understanding the world
- Problem solving
- Personal, social and emotional development
This makes teaching more connected and efficient.
Outdoor Counting Games Ideas for Early Years
Nature Counting Hunts
Ask children to find specific numbers of natural objects.
Examples:
- Find 5 leaves
- Collect 3 sticks
- Count 10 pebbles
Looking for more Nature Counting Activities?
Counting Through Movement
Use actions to reinforce number learning.
Try:
- 10 jumps
- 5 hops
- Clapping number patterns
- Number obstacle courses
Counting Songs and Chanting Games
Use repetitive rhymes outdoors to support memory and early number confidence.
Movement, rhythm and repetition help embed learning.
Outdoor Sorting and Matching
Children can sort objects by:
- Quantity
- Shape
- Size
- Colour
- Type
This builds mathematical language and problem-solving skills.
Number Trails and Treasure Hunts
Hide numbers around outdoor areas and encourage children to:
- Match quantities to numerals
- Solve counting clues
- Follow number paths
Outdoor Maths and the EYFS Framework
Outdoor counting activities strongly support learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), especially:
- Mathematics
- Physical Development
- Communication and Language
- Understanding the World
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Outdoor learning helps children develop number confidence through active, meaningful and playful experiences.
Frequently Asked Questions About Early Years Outdoor Counting Games
What are outdoor counting games?
Outdoor counting games are practical maths activities that teach counting, number recognition and early problem-solving through outdoor play and movement.
Why are outdoor counting games important?
They help children develop mathematical understanding while improving physical development, engagement and confidence.
How do you teach counting outdoors?
Children can count natural materials, take part in movement games, sing number rhymes, complete number hunts and explore maths through practical play.
Are outdoor counting games suitable for EYFS?
Yes. They are ideal for nursery, preschool and Reception children and strongly support play-based learning approaches in EYFS.
What resources do I need for outdoor counting games?
Very little. Most activities use natural materials such as sticks, leaves, stones or simple number resources already available in settings.
How do outdoor counting games support development?
They combine maths learning with physical activity, communication, problem solving and fine and gross motor skill development.
Can parents use these activities at home?
Absolutely. Outdoor counting games are simple to adapt for gardens, parks or local outdoor spaces and make maths feel fun and natural.
Explore our innovative, teacher-created Outdoor Play Hub for more ideas and insights.
