Download - Math Right from the Start
Math Right from the Start
Presented by :Christine DePintoLisa JaramilloSheila RiveraLora Wegner
Helping your child achieve in Mathematics
Pasquale Cocucci, Clarendon School Principal
Susan Smahl, Director of Special Services
The goal of this workshop is to give you a better understanding of the importance of
Early Childhood Math skills. We want you to be able to assist your child in
developing:*An enjoyment of Math*Confidence in his/her Math skills*Problem solving skills*Skills to be successful in school and life
“ A mathematician, like a poet,… is a maker of patterns-Godfrey Harold
Hardy(English mathematician)
NUMBERS
Count EVERYTHING! • Count toys as you put them away• Count clothing as you take them out of the dryer • Count back and forward as you move from place
to place• Count and as you walk up and down steps.
Discover many ways in which numbers are used in and outside of the home. • Go on a number hunt.• Point out numbers on microwave,
calculator, television, & telephone• Let them dial the phone for you when you place calls to family, friends, or for pizza!
Sing counting songs and read counting books. • They capture imagination and interest. • They can also be found in many different languages
Make up games • Let them roll dice and count all the numbers• Play with game spinners and make up rules for each number• Allow them to play with old calculators and cell phones
to increase number and operation awareness
Don’t be afraid of numbers –
Have fun!
Fun Books to Introduce and Explore Counting
More, Fewer, Less by Tana Hoban
Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell
Counting With Apollo by Caroline Gregoire
Five Little Monkeys by Eileen Christelow
One So Many by Marthe Jocelyn
“Learning is something students do, NOT something done to students.”
-Alfie Kohn (author and speaker on Education)
GEOMETRY (shapes and space)
Identify shapes, sizes, positions, directions, and movement• “Pass the small sugar cube”• “Hand me the large rectangular cereal box”• Go on a shape hunt
Build structures using blocks or old boxes
• How many more do we need to add to make this
taller than you?• Talk about how the pieces stack,
roll, and slide
Use directional words to find toys• “Under”, “Over”, “Up”, “Down”• Play “I Spy”
Fun Books to Introduce and Explore Geometry
Shapes, Shapes, Shapes by Tana Hoban
My Very First Book of Shapes by Eric Carle
Bear in a Square by Stella Blackstone
Apollo by Caroline Gregoire
Elephants Aloft by Kathi Appelt
“Young children are born investigators. It is our job to strengthen that disposition.”
-Lilian G. Katz, Ph.D.
(Professor, University of Illinois)
MEASUREMENT
Measure items around the home• Use non-standard measurements like your feet
or boxes• Compare that item to the height of the child
Estimate together• Guess together how long it will
take to drive home• Guess how many steps to your
front door
Compare and organize household items• Sort items to be put away• Have your child line up cans
from tallest to shortest
Include your child in activities involving measurement• Cook recipes together using measuring cups and spoons• Talk about weight and how scales work at the doctor’s office• Let them help you make, give, and count change
Talk about time • Discuss how many minutes you will be in a store• Discuss what number the hand of the clock will be on
when you are done with an activity
Talk about and record daily temperature• Mention the change in temperature and how it
effects your day’s activities• Comment on how many degrees thetemperature has increased or decreased
Fun Books to Introduce and Explore Measurement
10 Minutes to Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
Tell Me How Much It Weighs by Shirley Willis
Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
How Big is a Foot? By Rolf Myller
“The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated
things simple.” – S.Gudder
PATTERNS AND CHANGE
Look for patterns in storybooks or songs• Repeating lines and stanzas • Reoccurring colors in illustrations
Create patterns using musical rhythms • Clap out a song• Stomp your feet• Use simple, repetitious movements
Hunt for patterns around home and neighborhood• Find color, shape, size patterns in your clothing• Find leaf patterns• Explore sidewalk patterns
Use household items to create and extend patterns• Line up spoons in a repeating order• Use different colored napkins and have them finish
the pattern
Most things around your home can work without costing too much
Fun Books to Introduce and Explore Patterns and Change
Dots, Spots, Speckles, and Stripes by Tana Hoban
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
When I Was Little: A Four Year Old’s Memoir of Her Youth by Jamie Lee Curtis
My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman
COLLECTING AND ORGANIZING
Sorting household items Clean up time is easier by letting them sort toys• They can sort laundry by color• Utensils can be put away–drawer organizers help!• Keep change jars and let them put away coins by
denomination
Make graphs and charts• Record weather changes using pictures • Record food likes and dislikesPredict outcomes • Is it more likely to rain or snow?• What games can we play outside in January? June?
Fun Books to Introduce and Explore Collecting and Organizing
Is It Rough? Is It Smooth? Is It Shiny? By Tana Hoban
Ten Puppies by Lynn Reiser
The Button Box by Margarette Reid
Five Creatures by Emily Jenkins
More information is available at:WWW.PBS.ORG/PARENTS/EARLYMATH/PRE_KGAMES.HTML
WWW.PBS.ORG/PARENTS/EARLYMATH/PRE_KACTIVITIES.HTML
WWW.BRIGHTHUB.COM/EDUCATION/EARLY_CHILDHOOD/ARTICLES/46729.ASPX
WWW.LEARNINGPLANET.COM/STU/KIDSO.ASP