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