Preschool is math GO-TIME

 Whether your kids are enrolled in a preschool program or learning at home, your 3 and 4 year olds are absolute SPONGES at this age! This is great news because there is a lot to learn before kindergarten starts. Luckily, all of this learning is in areas that most parents have mastered long ago! We, two highly experienced math educators in grades K-5, put this list together of 12 easy things you can do with your preschooler to prepare them for math success. You might be surprised at how fun and basic some of these activities are!

 12 easy tips to teach your preschooler math

1.     Count everything! (We call this rote counting.)

• You can start counting before your child is verbal. Children understand what they hear before they talk. 

• Start by counting to 5 or 10. When those words are familiar, count to 15 or 20. Continue to expand the count.

• Count backwards, too! Your goal is to make the words, in the correct order, familiar to your preschooler.

• Being able to count to 20 before entering kindergarten is a reasonable goal.

2.     Count with fingers. 

• The goal here is to help your child learn the count sequence and introduce one-to-one association.

• Use your fingers to count with your preschooler. Start to count with the pinkie on your right hand. Put your fingers up in order, saying each number in turn. The thumb on your right hand will be 5. Use your left hand, starting with your thumb, to count 6 – 10. This activity mimics a number line.

• Have your preschooler face you. Have them mirror what you do with your fingers and repeat the numbers you say.  The child starts with the pinkie on the left hand. It is important that from their perspective, both their fingers and your fingers are going from left to right.

• Go up and down the number line. A good sequence is: 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, etc.

3.     Say the next number.

• Say a random number anywhere between 0 - 20. The preschooler answers with the next number. When a child cannot quickly give the next number, it tells you they need more practice with rote counting. You can start to play this game as soon as the child knows the count sequence to 5 or 10. Expand the number set as the child becomes familiar with a larger range of rote counting.

4.     Say the number before.

• This is like the game described above, but a bit harder.

5.     Count by tens.

6.     Count groups of items. (We call this one-to-one association.)

• Set items in front of your learner.

• Touch each item, one-by-one, as you count them. You can slide the counted items away from the uncounted items.

• Start with groups of 3 – 5 items. Expand the size of the group as your preschooler progresses.

• An advanced skill is counting items arranged in a circle or items that cannot be moved. Correctly counting items in a circle requires choosing where to start and knowing when to stop. Correctly counting items that cannot be moved requires envisioning a number path. If we were counting dots on a page, we might use a highlighter to show a logical number path. If we are counting trees in a field, we might first plan a number path.

7.     Tell how many.

• If you count objects with young children, and then ask, “How many items?” many preschoolers will repeat the count. Knowing that the last number said is how many is a different skill than the count.  We like to say, “Let’s count these items, and then tell how many there are.” Giving the directions in this way is a scaffold for learning.

• Telling how many is a natural component to counting groups of items as described above.  You may be surprised at how counting groups of items is easier for toddlers than telling how many.

8.     Understand zero.

• Expose your preschooler to the idea of “none” expressed as a number: 0.

• Zero can be introduced when counting items. You can vary what you count. For example, let’s say you are counting beads. Ask, “How many red beads?” “How many blue beads?” Then ask for a color bead that’s not present. A preschooler’s answer might be, “None.” This scenario gives you the opportunity to say, “You’re right, there’s none. There’s zero.” At the park, ask, “How many swings? How many slides? How many elephants?”

9.     Play card games.

• Card games give preschoolers exposure to written numbers.

• Memory, the game where you match turned-over cards, is an excellent choice. There are many, many fun card games!

10.  Identify numbers.

• Ask your preschooler to name numbers written in your environment. You can go on a “number hunt.” For example, you can have your learner look for twos as you do afternoon errands around town. A bit more advanced is to name any number seen.

11.  Practice numeral writing.

• Provide pencil and paper to draw the 10 digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).

• We don’t expect mastery of this for several years. Try to encourage the correct formation of the numbers.  For example, 1 is drawn from the top down. 8 is drawn as a curly que.

• Be aware that there is a correct way to hold a pencil. By kindergarten, how a child holds a pencil can be a habit. Make it a good habit!
  

12.  Draw given numbers.

• Another activity, a bit harder, is to ask students to write numbers as you name them through 20.

Learn more in We Didn't Learn Math This Way!

Want more high quality intel on how math is being taught today in kindergarten and beyond? We wrote a book just for you! It's called We Didn’t Learn Math This Way! and is stuffed with lots of math goodness, including a detailed explanation of Kindergarten math. This insight will help you better understand how to help your preschooler. Our chapter titled Manipulatives is particularly helpful for parents of these youngest students. This is especially helpful for homeschool parents building their own home classroom, but all families can benefit from having manipulatives in the home and understanding what they are used for. Preschool and kindergarten families should pay special attention to the following: Rekenrek, 5-frame cards, 10-frame cards, 5-group cards, 10-group cards, place value cards (AKA hide zero cards). 

CLICK HERE to check out this amazing resource and raise the next generation of math people!