Following The Path to Math

At school, the path to math begins as the children walk through the doors each morning and they follow it all day long.  Everywhere they go, there are patterns to be made, sorting to be done, structures to be built, ingredients to measure, designs to be created.  We can always count on the children to lead us on the path to math!  They can count on us to give them everything they need for a successful trip.

The children follow the path to math everywhere!  Here is a way for your children to continue to follow their path to math at home.

Home Foundations for Numeracy

The key to building a numeracy foundation at home is to make math and numbers part of the everyday routine of play, meals, and other household activities.

Make math a part of your everyday chores-the idea is to develop mathematical ideas through language. As you or your child tidy up, count the items. Use the toys in the toy box in a number of ways, perhaps asking, “How many pieces of puzzle are you holding? How do you know? Can you show me how?

Use language to develop children’s mathematical concepts about counting and comparing. Examples: how many, more or less, greater or smaller, longer or shorter, higher or lower, and heavier or lighter.

Make use of nursery rhymes and poems. Many of these use numbers as in “One, two buckle my shoe” or “Five little ducks went swimming one day.”

You can also encourage understanding of direction and position. Work such phrases as these into your conversation; in front or behind, up and down, top or bottom, next to or beside, before or after, inside or outside, over, under, and below.

Bath Time; For many children bath time is the highlight of their day, a chance to have the undivided attention of an adult and also play around with soap and water. A few plastic cups of different sizes will create opportunities to explore measurement.

Meal Time; Ask questions like “How many spoons are on the table?” Ask for help setting the table. “There are four of us eating. Can you find a fork for each of us?” Reverse the question to encourage the child to think, ‘How many of us will eat tonight? How many glasses should I put out?”

The great outdoors provide so many opportunities for math. Just taking a walk with your child will provide you with opportunities to use math language and it will be fun and interesting for them.