Early math skills are being used by children throughout their activities, experiences and daily routines, whether at school or at home. For example, becoming familiar with their routines such as brushing their teeth, getting dressed, taking a nap, and learning about going shopping with their parents can all become math learning opportunities when approached a certain way.Mathematics plays a major role in a child’s development and helps children makes sense of the world around them. Children between the age of one to five years old are beginning to explore patterns and shapes, compare sizes and count objects. When it comes to preschool children, they use a variety of methods to problem-solve and talk about their findings. Math play is evident in pretend play, block play, literacy play, outdoor play and science play, for example. Some key early math skills include:
Counting: Students are beginning their experience with numbers through counting, number names and written numerals. Students are learning to count objects and understand a one-to-one correspondence. They are also starting to compare different sets of objects and use appropriate language.
Encourage your child to:
Geometry: Students are starting to look at and compare two-dimensional (flat) and three-dimensional (solid) shapes. They are using appropriate language to recognize different shapes and talk about their attributes.
Encourage your child to:
Encourage your child to:
Look for shapes in your environment- take a walk inside or outside, what shapes can you find? Can you find something that is a circle? A square? A triangle? A rectangle? What other shapes can you find?
Color by number- match the number to the correct color to create a beautiful work of art! You can find a color by number page here.
Connect the dots using numbers- choose a number connect the dot here. Practice saying the number names as you connect the dots to each other.
Sort objects by shape- choose different objects to sort. Make piles of the circles, squares, rectangles and triangles. How many are in each pile? Do any objects not belong in a pile? Is there a shape pile they would belong in?
Count objects on a walk- choose an object and see how many you can find while on a walk. For example, how many cars did you see? How many birds did you see?
Make a hopscotch with chalk or painters tape- practice saying the numbers as you jump on them.
Counting: Students are beginning their experience with numbers through counting, number names and written numerals. Students are learning to count objects and understand a one-to-one correspondence. They are also starting to compare different sets of objects and use appropriate language.
Encourage your child to:
- Touch different objects and count out loud.
- Move objects from one group to another.
- Count a set of objects and “see” or “write” that corresponding number.
- Start to use comparing words: more than, less than, the same as.
Geometry: Students are starting to look at and compare two-dimensional (flat) and three-dimensional (solid) shapes. They are using appropriate language to recognize different shapes and talk about their attributes.
Encourage your child to:
- Find 2-D shapes in the world: squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, and hexagons.
- Find 3-D shapes in the world: cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres.
- Count the different number of sides, vertices, angles, etc.Model different shapes using clay, sticks, pipe-cleaners, etc.
- Sort by shape
Encourage your child to:
- Use the number names
- Tell "how many"
Look for shapes in your environment- take a walk inside or outside, what shapes can you find? Can you find something that is a circle? A square? A triangle? A rectangle? What other shapes can you find?
Color by number- match the number to the correct color to create a beautiful work of art! You can find a color by number page here.
Connect the dots using numbers- choose a number connect the dot here. Practice saying the number names as you connect the dots to each other.
Sort objects by shape- choose different objects to sort. Make piles of the circles, squares, rectangles and triangles. How many are in each pile? Do any objects not belong in a pile? Is there a shape pile they would belong in?
Count objects on a walk- choose an object and see how many you can find while on a walk. For example, how many cars did you see? How many birds did you see?
Make a hopscotch with chalk or painters tape- practice saying the numbers as you jump on them.