Math On the Go!
Become a family of mathematicians! It’s easy to do math at home with your preschooler. Look for simple objects to count, measure, and organize. There are numbers and shapes to see, sizes of things to compare, and problems to solve. You can look for math in your child’s favorite books. The following activities offer fun ways to work as a team to help your child learn important math skills.
Cooking is Math
Next time you’re making a simple recipe let your child be your assistant chef. He can count out the eggs, measure the milk, count up to 50 to stir the batter, and help set the kitchen timer. Any time in the kitchen can be math time as your child explores different sizes and shapes of containers and foods, and works with measuring cups and spoons.
Table Settings
Did you know that your child is practicing basic math skills when she helps you set the table? Knowing that there is a placemat for each chair, a plate for each placemat, and so on, is called “one-to-one correspondence.” There is geometry in the shapes of dishes and cups, or folding napkins into rectangles or triangles. As your child helps with these simple tasks, have her count out silverware, identify shapes, and copy patterns.
Boxes, Tubes, and Cartons!
Save small boxes, paper towel tubes, lids, and cartons for your child to build or create sculptures or vehicles. As he creates, he is solving problems. He will also be exploring math by counting and sorting sizes and shapes and comparing objects by lining them up from biggest to smallest.
Laundry Time
Helping with the laundry is a great way for your child to explore math concepts. She can start by sorting the laundry by color. Are there more darks than lights? What about the in-between colors? How many pairs of socks are there before you start? Are they all there when you finish? Your child can also help sort the clean laundry by size and family member. All this is math!
On the Road
When you’re out and about together, your child can count the number of blocks you walk to the store, the empty seats on the bus, or the traffic lights or animals you pass in the car. Point out the street signs, which have lots of numbers and symbols and come in all shapes and sizes. Buildings have different shapes and sizes, and windows count too!
Buying Groceries
Use your trip to the grocery store as a time to explore math with your child. He can compare sizes and colors of fruit or help weigh the produce. He can count out similar items from the shopping cart. When you get home and unpack, sorting the food and finding space to put things away on the shelves is another kind of problem solving and math.
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