Small Maze for Ages 4-5 — Set 235697
Which way is quicker? This small 8×6 maze lets a 4- or 5-year-old compare two finger walks and discover that the direct path to the exit is the shortest of all.
1 A4 page · for home and classroom use
Maze: small (ages 4-5)
How to use this worksheet
- First walk: your child moves a finger through the maze, always taking the right-hand turn when there is a choice and backing out of dead ends.
- Second walk: the same again, but always taking the left-hand turn. Which walk felt longer?
- Finally, draw the direct path from the entrance to the exit in pencil, skipping every dead end.
What this worksheet teaches
The 48-cell grid keeps both finger walks short enough for a preschooler while showing clearly that some routes waste steps. Comparing them introduces early measurement words such as longer and shorter. Seeing that the one correct path is shorter than either walk teaches efficient planning, and drawing it practices pencil control.
Play idea
Use two buttons as racers: one follows the right-hand walk and one the left-hand walk, each moving one cell per turn. Which reaches the exit first?
Questions and answers
Questions from parents
Doesn't a maze have only one correct path?
Yes. The finger walks include detours into dead ends; the correct path is what remains once the detours are removed.
Will both finger walks reach the exit?
In a maze like this, where corridors do not form loops, sticking to one side brings you out in the end, which children love to discover.
Is this too complicated for a 4-year-old?
Keep it playful; if counting cells is too much, simply ask which walk felt longer.