You can find maths in many moments of your day....
Counting out pay for chores.
Learning to trade smaller coins for larger amounts.
Counting in 10's.
Laying it on a number block allows your child to see the number-helping with number recognition.
Laying it on a number block allows your child to see the number-helping with number recognition.
Adding up two or more smaller amounts to substitute for a larger coin.
Creative play can turn into a maths moment too.
If you join in you can inadvertently discover how much your child understands about numbers.
Here my children created a parking lot and roads with homes on a chalkboard.
I asked a few simple questions like: Is there a home for everyone? Do you need to draw more? How many more should you draw? And when we started to play we did a little problem solving: This car can fit six people in it and this one can fit in four. How many people went for a drive? Three got out at the shops. How many are left in the cars?
If you join in you can inadvertently discover how much your child understands about numbers.
Here my children created a parking lot and roads with homes on a chalkboard.
I asked a few simple questions like: Is there a home for everyone? Do you need to draw more? How many more should you draw? And when we started to play we did a little problem solving: This car can fit six people in it and this one can fit in four. How many people went for a drive? Three got out at the shops. How many are left in the cars?
I don't like to go on with this type of "lesson" for long as I don't like to spoil the imaginative play which was the initial intention. You'll know just when to stop.......they get a little impatient waiting for you to finish your questioning!
Our Maths "read-aloud" at the moment is a book on measuring.......we got a little side tracked one morning after reading about arranging things of different lengths......
but it was a good derailing off the planned track!
All sorts of maths vocabulary was used.....halve your paper, squares, rectangles, triangles, short, taller, tallest....how many windows do you need for this building?
Lunch can turn into maths too.....longest to shortest, big and small, triangles, quarters.
(Know I don't do this all the time-just when the mood is right!)
Building lego according to a plan requires lots of maths.....
Counting the "dots" to figure out which piece you need. More? Less? Same as?
Can you count it in a quicker way than in ones? Count in two's or fives?
And of course sorting, matching and shape vocabulary gets used all the time!
Bible lessons can go off the rails too sometimes :-) ....counting fingers in tens or fives.
How many altogether?
Catching fish, if you roll the correct number on your dice you get to go fishing like the disciples.
Adding your totals with beans.
And when mom eventually gets around to bringing out those fingers puppets we sewed long ago......you can get a little crafty with maths too!
Sorting the eyes....
Finding pairs....matching one on one or counting in twos for the older crafty kids.
Sharing out the eyes so everyone gets the same amount....
and when mom eventually stops trying to make maths happen in every moment....
you might just find some time to get a little creative too!
Maths is more than exercises in a text book........it's an every moment in every day thing,
but you knew that didn't you?!
(I just needed the reminder, again!)
