I have a two-year-old, so I would really appreciate any hands-on math ideas.
He loves to take a big play-doh ball and divide in half, thirds, fourths, etc (fractions).
We count all the time. We like to measure things. We’re working with patterning mats.
What other ideas do you have??
Good thread idea! One thing we do is I write the numbers 1-5 on little sticky note paper then lay each note in front of an individual small pyrex bowel. I then give him a pile of pennies and have him put the right number in each bowel. We play lots of variations too like I put pennies in the bowel and he puts the right note in front of them or I leave the notes in order and have him put the notes in the right order in front of them.
On the subject of pennies we also take our dot cards and I let him put 1 penny on each dot. Sometimes I will have him count out the number he will need for a card first and then put them on. I also consider it an exercise in manual dexterity.
Hi there,
What great idea’s Linzy also liked the play-dough idea texaslady22!
We have always counted together my son and I. If we go shopping for oranges we count them, if we have chocolate we count the squares and then he gets to ‘share’ it between us all. (Not too sure if it’s a great example that one… lol it isn’t often and he gets it right every time!!!) We also play games with pictures - eg. Picture of 5 dolphins - If one swam away how many would be left? If two came to visit how many would play together etc. He really loves this one particularly. Looking forward to hearing other ideas.
TABS
Thank you for sharing!!
Some great ideas so far (especially since my son loves coins of any kind)–keep them coming!!
We also sing math songs like one, two, three, four, five once I caught a fish alive…, 1 2 buckle my shoe…, 1 potato 2 potato etc my son is good at identifying how many of something there is but not great at verbally sequencing his numbers so I’m hoping to make it automatic. We even have a CD of addition facts
Also telling him to go get me four balls or two magnets things like that.
Target practice to teach number bonds- 10 soft bean bags or scrunched balls of paper and a target container. Throw at target and count number in and number out.
Set of rectangular cards-same width but various lengths to teach largest, smaller,smaller,smaller,smallest. Smallest,larger,larger…largest.
Chris.
buy sorting buttons colours and size and you can count them and grouping 5 10 20 etc .I think it is better then coins for health.
Hi there,
I had downloaded the 1 - 20 in Spanish, have been wondering what language to start with my son. As he was on my lap while I was putting it into it’s file and checking it he saw the numbers. He was quite enthralled and made me play it about three times! It’s a lovely download as it has the word one and then the next is the numeral one - Obviously all in Spanish!!! Well now we do our numbers and he wants to see them also in Spanish. So now I’m just hoping that there will be more Spanish numbers to download soon… lol
What about the Math-U-See manipulatives? Instead of counting by 1’s, there are a lot more possibilities. The manipulatives are different colors for the 1,2,3…blocks. Makes counting by 2’s, 5, 10s easy to see and will not lose count as easily. The program is good for pre-k to algebra. I used in when I homeschooled. http://www.mathusee.com/index.html
I do simple algebra as well: X + 1 = 2, A + 1 = 2 … teach letters and number concepts at the same time. I usually use building blocks for the letters and math-u-see manipulatives to show the numbers. What number vcan u put where the block is? What does that equal? Then I say ‘too big’ or ‘too small’. They catch on really fast at 2.
Math-U-See also has a math facts CD. It includes skip counting (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 …) and some addition facts. (They teach that 9 want to be a 10, so it is always taking one away from the other number 9+8 = 10 & 7 = 17) I don’t remember if there was more. I think they have a Christian version and a secular version. My kids like sining the 3s to the tune of Jingle Bells. 
Since it’s the holidays, I think this is a great opportunity to use cooking or baking as a teaching tool with which to teach math. My parents used to do this with us kids, and I’ll be doing this with my future children too - just because it’s too much fun! There are a lot of topics you can teach while in the kitchen, and just the thought of an end goal makes learning so much easier. You can give your kids early concepts of measuring, estimating, sizes and shapes, and counting - all these concepts won’t be too much to handle for a young child.
And of course, just counting the cupcakes or brownies when you’re all done is tons of fun too - you can even do subtractions while you’re eating it! lol Hope this gives you some ideas for bringing education into your holiday kitchen!.
We use pouring drinks & sharing treats to teach fractions.
Laundry is great for sorting by color, type & even counting.
We count the eggs we use to make breakfast. We crak one and then I ask him one pluse one is what? two pluse one is and so on till we reach the number we need. I do the same when shoping I have him get me 10 apples and we add one every time. sometimes he will add two. I also sing songs with my fingers like one little two little three little piggies… When I serve them up food we count how many I give him of his veggies or fruits. also counting how many strawberries it takes to make a cup or other fruits. great thread
cj
hey great ideas. thanks for sharing this. i also sing math song and E love to sing along with. she knew most of them now.
we used to count thing all around us. anything we r using to play. sometimes puzzle peces , other time beads and so on. we enjoy counting
My daughter’s not taking to the dot cards as I’d hoped. I’m trying to find a way to turn her around on this before it’s too late. She’s been showing a big interest in numbers and I’m trying to keep them away from her until we get through the dots. I’m going to try the penny idea right now and see what happens.
Have you tried Little Math? There are so many icons and new ones to download everyday. There’s bound to be something she likes.
I’m sure she would love LM - I’m looking into ways I can use it on my mac. She’s so into YBCR, Signing Time and some of the .pps cards I’ve gotten here, low tech is just no go!