Math activity for Diwali with printable monkey number cards

Here’s a collection of fun math activities for Diwali along with a free monkey number cards printable, representing the Hanuman’s heroic monkey army!

Math activities for Diwali: monkey number cards printable

In the story of Rama and Sita, which is central to the festival of Diwali, Hanuman’s monkey army play a vital role in defeating bad King Ravana.

We’re taking this monkey army as our inspiration for a range of math activities for Diwali.

Read on to find out how to download a free set of Monkey Army counting cards to use in your math activities.

You can find out more about the story of Rama and Sita here.

This article is one of our Diwali activities and crafts for children resources.

In this article, you can:

:: download a free set of monkey number cards

:: get ideas for how to use these number cards for a range of hands-on, sensory-rich math activities

:: find ideas for math activities linked to the theme of Diwali

Ready-made Diwali Unit

If you’re a member of our Play Academy you can download a ready-made five day Diwali Unit and you’ll be ready to lead a week of fun and educational Diwali activities with your children.

This Unit is part of our Festivals specialist curriculum pathway, and is a part of a set of ready-made units you can use to teach your children about the festivals of the world all through the year. Based on the teaching philosophy of hands-on learning, the Play Academy festivals curriculum is engaging, effective and loved by children.

See more details of this Diwali Unit, and all the other specialist curriculum pathways and ready-made units you can choose from, in the Play Academy here.

Monkey number cards printable

The monkey number cards feature cute members of Hanuman’s monkey army, numbered one to twenty four.

You can print the monkeys in colour or black and white. Cut around the lines to make individual square number cards.

You will need two sets of number cards to play the Memory game activity.

See below for details on how to print the monkey number cards.

How to use the monkey number cards

:: Use them to make a number line. Head here to see how to use a number line for math learning.

:: Set out the monkey number cards with small loose parts such as counters or buttons and match the right number of counters/buttons to the number on each monkey card.

:: Use the monkeys to play matching games. Print two sets and see if you can match up the pairs of numbers.

:: Place two sets of the monkey army face down and use them to play Memory.

:: Hide the monkey army around the house or garden and see if your children can run around and find them all. Once you’ve found them, place them in numerical order, from small to big, and from big to small.

:: Hide the monkey army in a sensory tub and use them in imaginary play. Add counting cards in with your pretend play makes for a number-rich environment which supports children to recognise, be confident with, and use numbers.

:: Use the monkey cards to add numbers to a Rama and Sita small world imaginary play activity.

:: Use the cards alongside a sensory writing tray. You might like to add the spices traditionally used in Indian cooking to give the sensory tray fragrance, such as ground coriander, ground cumin, fennel seeds, or a little turmeric.

:: Use the cards to practice any math facts you are working on.

More Diwali crafts and activities

For more great ideas to learn about and celebrate Diwali with your children, including Rama and Sita puppets and diya crafts, see our full index of Diwali crafts and activities for children.