- Talk about numbers and use number
concepts in daily routines with your child. For example:
- "Let's divide the dough into two
parts so we can bake some cookies now and put the rest
of the dough in the freezer for cookies next week."
- "We're going to hang this picture
six inches above the bookshelf in your room. Let's use
this ruler to measure."
- "How many plates do we need on the
table? Let's count: One for Mommy, one for Daddy and one
for Jenny. How many plates does that make? Three!
Great!"
- Talk about numbers that matter most
to your child-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'll take a nap."
When you plan with a preschooler, you could point out,
"It's only three 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 opportunities for your child
to learn math as he plays. For example:
- Playing with blocks can teach your
child to classify objects by color and shape. Blocks can
also help him to learn about depth, width, height and
length.
- Playing games that have scoring,
such as throwing balls into a basket, requires your
child to count. Introduce him to games that use dice or
dominoes. Have him roll the dice and count the dots. Let
him try to roll the dice and match numbers.
- Counting favorite toys.
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Hands-on
activities that involve counting, measuring and using number
words are a good way to introduce your preschooler to math.
Reading aloud counting books or books with number concepts
can support your child's math learning.
