Small Maze for Ages 4-5 — Set 185978
Every fork in this small 8×6 maze offers a 4- or 5-year-old two ways to go, and the game is to compare them and pick the one that really leads to the exit.
1 A4 page · for home and classroom use
Maze: small (ages 4-5)
How to use this worksheet
- At each fork, stop and put two fingers down, one on each corridor.
- Slide each finger a little way along its corridor and see which one stops at a wall and which one keeps going.
- Choose the way that keeps going and draw the line along it, then repeat at the next fork.
What this worksheet teaches
In a maze with one correct path, comparing two options is the heart of solving, and a small grid keeps each comparison short enough for a preschooler to hold in mind. Children learn to look before choosing, to test an idea and drop it if it fails, and to steer a line into the chosen corridor.
Play idea
When the maze is solved, compare two lengths of a different kind: the drawn path and an imaginary straight line from the entrance to the exit. Lay a piece of string along each and talk about why the maze path is so much longer.
Questions and answers
Questions from parents
Can my child choose a shorter route through this maze?
No, only one route reaches the exit; the comparison is always between a corridor that continues and one that ends at a wall.
Is comparing two corridors too hard at 4?
On an 8×6 grid the dead ends are short, so two fingers can check both ways in a few seconds.
What will my child learn from measuring with string?
That the route through a maze is longer than a straight line, a first hands-on idea of distance and comparing lengths.