I'm A Parenting Expert, and These Are My Favorite Toys That Teach Math

Show your toddler how the number of petals on each flower matches the numeral—three petals for the 3 plant and so on. The watering can really works, and it offers a chance to talk about numbers, colors, sequencing, and matching during imaginative play. Ages 18 months+

Wooden pieces help kids visualize numbers in all their forms: the numerals as well as the amount, demonstrated via stacking rings, dots, and colorful pictures. The puzzle pieces can be put together incorrectly—this picture shows the dots for 4 and 6 switched—so you'll want to check your preschooler's work and help them discover the right count. Ages 2 years+

Numberblocks, yes, we're obsessed. With Blockzee, visual learners can easily see how numbers compare. One tall tower of six cubes weighs the same two small towers of four and two cubes, for instance. Take a cube away from the tower of six, though, and the balance shifts. Blockzee's eyes and his mouth go toward whichever side is greater!

This simple set gives parents and preschoolers much to talk about, and the activity cards provide 20 math activities. Ages 3 years+

Lovevery boxes hone in on specific ages, and this Problem Solver Play Kit is tailored to kids in the second half of age 3, going into age 4. It comes with six Montessori-based toys, a book, a play guide, and learning tips.

The Montessori math bars and number tiles, along with 55 manipulatives for counting, is especially great for making number sense concrete. Use it to compare amounts and practice simple addition and subtraction. The kit also includes a kid-safe measuring tape that introduces inches and centimeters, and more. Ages 3.5 years+

Parking cars in this garage is so much fun, your preschooler won't even realize it's educational. Each car is marked with a number 1 to 10 and kids can pile them on, practicing their counting as well as their color-matching skills. Ages 3 years+

I loved reading this rhyming book to my kids, and it's got numbers from 0 to 100. It's colorful and catchy, and makes counting as joyful as singing the ABCs.

Lesser known but also a gem, Five Creatures by Emily Jenkins takes kids through ways to group and categorize two parents, their kid, and two cats. "Three who like to drink milk, one who's allergic, and one who has it only in coffee," and so on. From birth

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Lacing beads hone fine-motor skills, but this set has the added benefit of letting preschoolers create patterns, an early precursor to sequencing and coding. The 27 beads include wooden cubes with numerals, and ones that show the number amounts in dots, too.

Your preschooler can count out the stars, circles, and squares, and the spacer rings. The two laces are meant to be used over and over again. Ages 3 years+

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Pretend play can be a little more real with this kid-safe tape measure that lets preschoolers measure in inches or centimeters, up to three feet. How much bigger is their dad's shoe compared to their shoe? How long is a piece of spaghetti? It's kind of crazy how much little kids can get out of such a simple toy! Ages 3 years+

Being able to recognize and name higher numbers quickly will help your kid out in elementary school. This set has 50 double-sided number cards, five cards with math symbols like equals and greater than, and activity suggestions, like holding up two cards and challenging your child to say which is larger. ages 4+

Mental math—quickly adding or subtracting numbers in their head—is more fun for early-elementary kids when tied to this game. The red dice shows which numbers they have, and the white one will have them either add or subtract. The volcano is the dice popper, making each roll of the dice a hoot in the race to the finish line. Ages 6 years+