Children are curious about their surroundings, and that natural curiosity does not fade so easily, even as they learn more about the world around them. In fact, the way they learn mathematical concepts also stems from this curiosity and desire to know more, and enriching their experience with meaningful lessons can help them establish a deeper understanding of these concepts and how they can apply them in real life. As parents, you can play a significant role in instilling these math concepts to your child and give them a headstart in their early education.
Why are Early Math Skills So Important?
Math is not solely about memorising numbers or complex formulae but is meant to instil a strong foundation for early literacy and numeracy that will help your child’s development beyond simply academic achievements. Establishing that foundation now is a fundamental part of their learning and development, including cognitive skills that help them recognise various literacy and numeracy concepts in use and solve problems effectively.
As they continue to develop these skills and learn how to apply them, they will also become more confident in their abilities, which further helps them with their self-improvement journey. The more confident they grow as their understanding of these fundamentals grows, the more likely they will succeed and even find themselves greatly interested in mathematics.
Number Sense
Counting and number sense are fundamental in teaching children about mathematical basics, such as numbers, what they represent, and how they relate to each other. You can develop their number sense with various everyday activities and games.
- Counting out loud: Counting numbers aloud is an excellent way for children to become accustomed to numbers and strengthen their fluency through repetition. You can do this with the counting cars example, but you can also try counting other things, too.
- Practical learning: You can set out a plate of biscuits to teach your child about addition, subtraction, and other number sense concepts (while having a nice snack at the same time).
- Number-matching games: You can also teach your child to match numerals with their matching quantities. In the case of the cookie example, you can set up separate plates of cookies that correspond to a certain amount, then write these quantities on individual cards and let your child match them.
Measurements and Comparisons
With their numerical foundations ready, your child can move on to measuring and comparing numbers and objects. At this stage, they will also be curious about how we measure and categorise everyday objects based on weight, length, and more. You can use various objects to teach your child about multiple measurement concepts and let them visualise the differences with other items through sight, touch, and even sound. You can then encourage them to describe these comparisons with simple keywords that help to set their understanding of how measurements work.
Shapes and Spatial Relationships
During this time, your child will also interact with two- and three-dimensional shapes as they size them up and understand how they occupy space with the various dimensions, angles, and other features that make up these shapes. While expressing these shapes initially will be tough, your child can gradually learn how to express them through the use of various tools, including:
- Building blocks of different shapes and sizes.
- Relatable everyday items that you can correspond to shapes, such as straws, footballs, and others.
- Environmental objects, which your child can categorise over time.
- Visualisation tools, such as drawings; you can also encourage your child’s learning by having them draw shapes and match them to 3D objects in your home.
Pattern Recognition
Numbers, shapes, colours, and measurements can form repeatable patterns that your child can quickly identify as they become more proficient in their math foundations. They can gradually draw connections based on these items and their interactions to form recognisable patterns. It can be as simple as playing pattern recognition games using their favourite toys or everyday objects to help them manipulate these patterns and understand how they can find patterns in various things if they know where to look (like how combining building blocks in specific ways can form familiar shapes).
Classification
As your child grasps these concepts, they become able to classify the information they have learned and form conclusions that will help them internalise what they have learned. They can apply these lessons for practical purposes by understanding the why through observation and practical sessions. For example, they can discern the differences between multiple marbles of varying colours and sort them into their respective containers based on fixed criteria you or your child determined, such as colour coordination, shared similarities, and more.
Fun Math Activities to Teach Preschoolers
Building Blocks
Building blocks of different shapes and sizes can be arranged in various positions and stacked on or beside other blocks. Your child will be able to see, touch, and feel the differences of each building block and find out how to arrange them to form a stable and elaborate-looking structure.
Number Songs
Music offers an entertaining avenue to teach numeracy, letting your child happily sing and dance to the tune of fun number songs. Classics like “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” and “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” offer simple numeracy development by letting your child sing and count aloud.
Crafting Numbers
Guide your child with coloured papers, pens, and other stationery and give them cues on what numbers or shapes to draw. They can then colour in their drawing as they see fit or based on a theme you set (i.e., odd numbers in blue or green, even in red or yellow). You can even ask them to cut these out with child-safe scissors and then paste them on a board, where you can have them sort the numbers in ascending or descending order.
Outdoor Number Hunt
Give them a clipboard with the elements to look for, and whenever they find one, write it down in its numerical and alphabetical form (“10” and “ten”). They can find these numbers on various environmental objects, from road signs to car license plates.
Cooking Assistants
You can assign your child as your cooking assistant, instructing them to identify and count cooking ingredients, sort cutlery, and even learn how to measure weights and measures. You can teach them keywords like “less than” or “more than” to help them develop their mathematical vocabulary, giving them a practical understanding of adjusting measurements.
Jumpstart Your Child’s Early Education with Read With Me
At Read With Me, we can empower your little ones with the literacy and numeracy skills they need to thrive. We hold various classes that teach kids the fundamentals by learning through play, offering a unique setting for helping your child build their skills through fun, interactive sessions with our tutors. Enrol with us today!
