Doing these at home with pre-schoolers may mean they will get the hang of math more easily when they reach kindergarten and later on.
Numbers | Spatial relationships | Patterns |
---|---|---|
Add simple sums or talk about other basic relationships between numbers. Example: 2+2=4. | Play with picture puzzles and the shape puzzles known as tangrams. | Make or copy patterns with objects or sounds. Examples: put blocks in a red-green-red-green pattern; make a clap-clap-snap pattern with your hands. |
Compare the quantities of objects or numbers. Example: Who has more toys? | Use words that indicate the spatial relationships between things and spatial features and dimensions. Examples: below, behind, next to, on, above, near, under and in; corner, side, big and small. | Figure out what comes next in a pattern. Example: Square, square, circle, square, square... |
Play board games that involve counting: Example: Chutes & Ladders | Build with construction toys. Examples: building blocks, Legos, magnet sets and Lincoln logs. | Copy a pattern by making the same kind of pattern, but with different materials. Example: Use circles and squares to make the same kind of pattern as in a triangle-hexagon pattern. |