Did you know that babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners can start learning mathematical concepts before they even know what numbers are? Start your child on a life-long path of math by trying these activities:
- Provide plastic bowls, pots, wooden spoons for your baby to explore while you’re cooking. Describe the sizes and the number of items.
- Give your toddler plastic measuring cups. Show him how to stack the cups on top of each other according to size. Talk about which one is biggest and smallest, then count them.
- Give your preschooler items of increasing size, like measuring spoons. Ask her to put them in order from smallest to largest. Talk about which one is first, second, etc.
- With your Kindergartner, use items like small stones, blocks, or crackers to fill a cup. How many does it take to fill the cup? What if a smaller cup is used–does filling it require more or less? What if a larger cup is used. Talk about why the number of items might change with the size of the cup.
Check out Learning is Everywhere, Kindergarten, Here I Come, or Kindergarten, Here I Am for more math related activities. Then grab a book and read about the fun with math!
