The Playful Parent

For this weeks homemade Monday activity, I want to share about ways to encourage developing math skills in young children.

DEVELOPING MATH SKILLS IN YOUNG CHILDREN

Even before beginning school, most young children are starting to develop an understanding of counting skills, addition and subtraction just through simple everyday interactions. Activities that encourage learning through play gives children a head start to math skills they will practice later in school. Here are a few practical ways you can develop math skills and encourage a love of math in your little one…

1. Counting- This can be done anywhere and anytime. Count what you see on an daily basis. If it’s snack time have them help count out ten grapes or three crackers. When you are walking down the stairs, how many do you step down?
2. Shapes- Provide a chance for your child to play with shape-sorters. Engage in conversation with your child about each shape by naming them and counting the sides. A fun way to explore shapes is with cookie cutters and play-doh. It’s always fun to make the shapes.
3. Size- Notice the sizes of objects around you. Ask them which object is the biggest; the orange cup or the blue mug? You can also use your child’s height in comparison to other objects. Example: You are smaller than mommy but bigger than baby brother.
4. Baking- Even young children can help cook. My boys love to help measure, pour and stir. Through something simple as following a recipe they are learning to count, measure, add, estimate and even follow directions.
5. Finger Fun- We love playing finger math. My husband started this game where he will show a number of fingers on his hand and have the boys count. Than he will give them a simple equation. Example: five fingers on one hand plus three on the other equals? As their skills advanced you can use their hands to add a higher number or introduce subtraction.
6. Calendar- Use a calendar to count down the days to a birthday or special holiday. Help your child see the connection between a numeral like “5,” the word “five,” and five days on the calendar.
7. Identifying numbers- This can be done in many ways. The important part is that your little one is able to identify a number.  You can work on this while you are out and about. Talk about the numbers you see on buildings or numbers on price tags. I always have my little ones push the button on the elevator for the floor we are trying to reach. It’s great to have number stickers, books on the topic, magnetic numbers, puzzles and games that encourage this skill.

BUILDING FOUNDATIONS OF MATHEMATICS WITH BRIKS

Like most kids, my boys love to build! We have a bunch of legos, blocks and Briks that can be transformed from toys to literacy tools. I used Strictly Briks to create math activities that provide a entertaining way to teach mathematics skills that help with number recognition, counting, addition and subtraction. The best part about these activities is that they don’t require a great deal of prep and are a lot of fun. For these activities I used a Strictly Brik MathBriks Pack and 216 Brik Set Kit.

COUNT IT OUT

In this fun game, have your preschooler rolls the dice. Count the dots facing up together then have them build a tower according to the number of dots rolled. You can make this a fun game in which you take turns rolling the dice and building towers until the briks are used up. The person with the biggest tower wins!

MEASURE UP

In this simple activity encourage your little to measure their favorite things. Have them put together as many briks as the object is long. Than guide them through questions such as: How many briks long is the object? Which object is the shortest or longest? For a really advanced question you could even ask how many more briks is the longest vs shortest object.

NUMBER LINE UP

I love the MathBriks by Stirctly Briks. We use the number tiles for number recognition and putting numbers in order. Have your little one build towers size 1 Brik through ten. Set them up on the board then match with the coordinating number.

PATTERN MAKING

Help your little one learn how to identify, recognize and create patterns. This can done by having your child make their patterns are copy out ones you want them to follow.

EQUATIONS

Create an addition or subtraction problem by stacking two towers with corresponding number and symbol blocks to form an equation. Can have your child create the problem or just solve the problem.

FAN CLUB GIVEAWAY

• One lucky fan will be randomly drawn to win a MathBrik set from Strictly Briks!!! Giveaway closes Friday July 22, 2018.
• COMMENT your favorite number on the article or post.
• LIKE the post.
• PLEASE help spread the word about the importance of learning through play.
• This giveaway is not Facebook affiliated.

THANK YOU

While at Toy Fair, I discovered that one of my favorite toy companies Strictly Briks has an award winning line of educational brik sets called Alphabriks and Mathbriks. These toys are designed to develop STEAM skills and make reading and math fun! I want to thank Strictly Briks for providing families with fun and educational toys. Be sure to check their website www.strictlybriks.com and follow their Facebook page for more ideas of fun and educational toys. the

***The Playful Parent was not paid to write this article; this homemade Monday article was created to promote learning through play. All photos are property of The Playful Parent and information provided is my own non-bias opinion.***