Preschooler Week 74

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One To Ten And Back Again

Attempt to look at the world of numbers through your child’s eyes.  What is her point of view?  Let’s say that you have three marbles in your hand you ask your child to count them.  Most likely she will be able to say, “three.” If you close your hand and lay one more marble in your other hand, what do you think she will say when you ask her, “How many do I have now?”  Chances are she will answer, “one.”  Why?  Because she can’t see the other three marbles that are hiding in your hand!  Out of sight, out of mind. It’s not until you lay all the marbles out on the table that she would be able understand that there are four marbles.

Mathematical talk should happen naturally through the day in your child’s environment.  Mathematical talk can be as simple as counting things as they go by, or it can be noticing that something is bigger than another.  Talking about math can also be measuring the weight of an item or guessing how many toys will fit into a box.  By speaking with your child using math terms she is becoming number literate.  She is learning what language and vocabulary correlate with mathematics with all this talk!

A mathematical milestone for your four year old is to be able to count objects consecutively.  Observe your child as she is playing or exploring.  You may find that she automatically lines things up.  This would be a perfect  time to encourage counting.  Perhaps you might want to go on a nature walk and find objects to line up and count.  How many rocks do you see?  How many butterflies?  While counting, ask him to identify characteristics among the objects like comparing size, color and similarities!

This is a perfect example of pre-mathematical skills emerging through natural play.  How can you naturally build your child’s mathematical knowledge?

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