Valentine's Day Counting & Addition Mats | Candy Hearts Fine Motor | PreK SPED

Add a little love to your math centers this February! In these Valentine's Day Math Activities: "Counting Candy Hearts," students use candy (conversation) hearts to practice counting, one-to-one correspondence, and simple addition. Add a set of tweezers or tongs to sneak in fine motor practice, too! With three leveled sets for built-in differentiation, it's a fun, hands-on favorite — perfect for math centers, morning tubs, and small groups.

📦 What's Included — 3 Leveled Sets for Differentiation

• Level 1: Basic Counting & 1:1 Correspondence — counting mats for the numbers 1–20
• Level 2: Modeling Simple Addition — 12 mats + 12 math problems (sums to 12) to model and solve
• Level 3: Solving Simple Addition — 1 candy-heart mat + a flip book covering all addition problems with sums to 12; plus a recording sheet for writing answers
• Print and laminate to use again and again with a dry erase marker

📚 How to Use

• Students use candy (conversation) hearts (or any small counter) to fill the mats
• Level 1: count and match to the number on each mat (1–20)
• Level 2: model each addition problem and solve
• Level 3: solve problems on the candy-heart mat, record answers on the flip book (dry erase) or the recording sheet (pencil)
• Add tweezers or tongs for extra fine motor practice
• Use in math centers, morning tubs, or small groups

🎯 Skills Targeted

• Counting and number recognition (1–20)
• One-to-one correspondence
• Modeling and solving simple addition (sums to 12)
• Number sense
• Recording and writing answers
• Fine motor skills (tweezers/tongs, dry erase)
• Following directions
• Independent work skills

💛 Perfect For

• Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten
• Special education classrooms (SPED)
• Autism classrooms and ABA programs
• Occupational therapy (fine motor with tongs)
• Math centers, morning tubs, and small groups
• Independent work stations and task boxes
• Valentine's Day and winter units, early childhood, ECSE, and homeschool

🌟 Why Teachers Love This Resource

• Three leveled sets — built-in differentiation from counting to addition
• Counting mats now cover 1–20 for even more practice
• Combines math AND fine motor (add tweezers or tongs!)
• The fun candy heart theme kids love
• Uses simple counters — candy hearts, mini erasers, or manipulatives
• Reusable with a dry erase marker once laminated

💗 More hands-on Valentine's Day and math activities:

• Hands-On Valentine's Day Activities
• Hands-On Winter Activities
• Hands-On Math Activities