Here is a list of math activities parents and teachers can do with little ones to get them started. I always advice parents to buy or collect "building" toys for their children. (Legos, straws, dowels, bottle caps, etc., ) These support mathematics learning too.
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Things you can do with pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten children:
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Practice counting objects to 5. Help your child count by pointing to and moving the object as they say each number out loud
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Estimate or guess the amount before counting. Fill a jar with an object or place them in your hand.
Start with bigger objects like small balls or marshmallows. Ask “How many balls do you think are in the jar? Eight. Let’s take them out and count them. You made a really close guess. There are 6 balls. You were only two away. Congratulations.”
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Find numbers in your home or on the street where you walk, for example, books, advertisements, signs, telephone
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Show a number card (4) and ask child to find that many objects. Ask “How do you know that is 4?”
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Compare quantities of objects – “this pile has the same number as, or more than, or less than”
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Practise matching things up to 5 – “I see 3 children. I wonder how many chairs I need?” or “We have 4 plates for lunch. How many glasses do we need?”
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Say “Mommy has 2 legs, daddy has 2 legs and you have 2 legs. How many legs do we have altogether?” Then count the legs of the chairs.
Measurement:
Things you can do with pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten children:
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Line up cereal boxes or canned goods by height from tallest to shortest
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Teach the idea of longer than and shorter than. Ask “Can you find something longer than this shoe? Now find something shorter than this shoe.”
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Use measurement language. Talk about tall/short, big/small, empty/full, heavy/light, tomorrow/today/yesterday, hot/cold, warm/cool
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Use things like blocks joined together to measure. You could measure the length of your arm
“Wow, my arm is 20 blocks long. How long is your arm?”
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Compare and order items – “Let’s put the drinking glasses in order from shortest to tallest.”
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Measure time using an egg timer; measure money by counting up your purchases.
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Keep track of the passage of time using pictures (getting out of bed, getting on the school bus, after school activity, etc.) Find pictures that depict daily events and use them to explain how thechild’s day will unfold. Children can sort them and put them in order
Right now, my child is learning about measuring.
ReplyDeleteDuring a recent trip to IKEA, the very first thing he did was grab one of those paper tape measures at the entrance.
As we're walking through the store, Christopher measured EVERYTHING he came across, from beds to chairs, to pots and pans.
Too funny!