Counting forwards, backwards, by 2s, by 5s, and by 10s. Math
with counters is all the rage in our group right now. Our little learners are
ordering and arranging by colors, creating patterns, sorting by size, and
categorizing by shape. Each day I am amazed at how independently they apply
previously learned concepts in their every day play.
Evan, our 3-year-old loves collecting all things train (or
other wheeled vehicles with front and back magnets will do, as well) and has
become an expert at assembling lines of train cars by size, color, likeness, or
speed (okay, he is ultimately the final decision maker in how fast they will
go, but you get the idea). After lining up train car after train car, Evan will
regard his creation and patiently count each segment of his little convoy. This is a great time to reinforce concepts of order. Which train comes first? Which one is in second place? Which one is last?
Our ball pit is another math time favorite. Not only can
Evan and Max dive right into the colorful, bouncy bliss but the 100+ plastic
balls also make for a perfect counting, sorting, and identifying opportunity.
How many red balls can you find? Let’s count all our green balls. Can you bring
the yellow ball to Max? Of course, after a moment, even the balls will be lined
up into a train and the counting starts over.
Early math activities for tots and preschoolers are so much
fun because the learning opportunities are endless. We can sort and count items
around the house, such as crayons, blocks, buttons, or even pieces of cut up
fruit, add how many steps we need to take to make it to the top of the stairs,
or figure out how many blocks high we can stack a tower before it collapses.
Our wooden abacus is constantly in use, as Evan and Max take turns moving the
colorful counters from right to left and back again while we count out loud to
10, then 20, then 30, and finally all the way to 100.
Math is fun! And an early appreciation of math concepts will help foster math readiness by school age.
No comments:
Post a Comment