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My KidSource - PreschoolersSample of our Daily Parenting Newsletter |
This is a sample of our parenting newsletter for parents of preschoolers (ages 3 to 6). It will be sent via e-mail to registered subscribers. It's free and easy to subscribe.
"Hands-on" Math
Helping Your Child Get Ready for School
This article is one in a series intended to help you make the most of your child's natural curiosity. Not only will you encourage a love of learning in your child, you'll also help your child develop important skills that will help him or her get ready for school.
Here are some real-life, hands-on activities that are a great way to introduce your preschooler to mathematics. Many of these activities are designed to be done while you're doing normal household activities and are ideal for the busy parent.
What to do
Talk a lot about numbers and use number concepts in daily routines with your preschooler. For example:
- Cooking. "Let's divide the cookie dough into two parts so we can bake some now and put the rest into the freezer."
- Home projects. "We're going to hang this picture 6 inches above the bookshelf in your room."
- Home chores. "How many plates do we need on the table? One for Mommy, one for daddy, and one for Jenny."
It's best not to use drills or arithmetic worksheets with young children. These can make children dislike math because they don't fit with the way they learn math naturally.
Talk about numbers that matter most to your preschooler--her age, her address, her phone number, her height and weight. Focusing on these personal numbers helps your child learn many important math concepts, including:
- Time (hours, days, months, years; older, younger; yesterday, today, tomorrow). To a young child, you might say, "At 2 o'clock we will take a nap." When you plan with an older preschooler (4 or 5 years old), you could point out, "It's only 3 days until we go to Grandma's house. Let's put an X on the calendar so we'll know the day we're going."
- Lengths (inches, feet; longer, taller, shorter). "this ribbon is too short to go around the present for Aunt Susan. Let's cut a longer ribbon."
- Weight (ounces, pounds, grams; heavier, lighter; how to use scales). "You already weigh 30 pounds. I can hardly lift such a big girl."
- Where you live (addresses, telephone numbers). "These shiny numbers on our apartment door are 2-1-4. We live in apartment number 214." Or "When you go to play at Terry's house, take this note along with you. It's our phone number: 253-6711.Some day soon you will know our phone number so you can call me when you are at your friend's."
Provide other opportunities for your child to learn math. For example:
- Blocks can teach children to classify objects by color and shape. Blocks can also help youngsters learn about depth, width, height, and length.
- Games that have scoring, such as throwing balls into a basket, require children to count. Introduce games such as dominoes or rolling dice. Have your child roll the dice and count the dots. Let her try to roll for matches.
- Count favorite toys.
- Books often have number themes or ideas.
Next time you take a car trip with your preschooler, look for other opportunities to introduce math concepts to your preschooler. A few of our personal favorites at KidSource are:
- Counting types of vehicles, such as dump trucks, red cars, or any obvious type of vehicle that my child currently likes. A variant on this, is to play the race to see who can find "2 red trucks" first.
- Reading numbers off of license plates, road signs or advertisements. I see a "2". Can you find it?
- Limiting the number of times my child can ask "Are we there yet?" and having him keep track of the count.
- Looking for shapes of different colors. "I see a big blue square. Can you find it?".
Once you start with this "hands on approach" to learning math with your child, you'll find a wealth of entertaining and educational opportunities. Have fun!
For More Information:
Helping Your Child Get Ready for School
with activities for children from birth through age 5
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/getready.html
Sources:
Nancy Paulu - U.S. Department of Education and
KidSource OnLine Staff
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