Early Math Counts

• Infant’s socks
• Infant’s hat or jacket

Note: Small parts pose a choking hazard and are not appropriate for children age five or under. Be sure to choose lesson materials that meet safety requirements.

Dressing for outdoors and indoors: Young infants understand SAME and DIFFERENT through routine. The routine of getting ready to go outside and take a walk; putting on socks, a hat and a jacket; going out the door; or being placed in and buckled into a stroller teaches the infant the concept of SAME. Show the infant his/her socks. As you put the socks on the infant, say: “(Child’s name) has two socks. They are the SAME. Socks go on (child’s name) feet. Feet are the SAME.” Show the infant the hat and jacket. Say: “This is your hat and jacket. They are DIFFERENT from each other. (Child’s name) hat goes on your head and your jacket goes on your body. Head and body are DIFFERENT.”

When coming inside after playing outside, talk with the infant about getting undressed now that he/she is inside. As you take off the infant’s socks, say: “Look, your socks are the SAME. They are off (child’s name) feet. Your feet are the SAME.” As you take off the infant’s hat and jacket, say: “Hat and jacket are DIFFERENT. Your hat comes off of your head and your jacket comes off of your body. Head and body are DIFFERENT.”

Play: At the beginning of this stage, play is mostly shaking, banging and mouthing toys. By the end of this stage, infants begin to combine objects that go together in play. They reach for and hold two objects and may begin to reach for a third. Many infants will look for dropped toys and find partially and completely hidden toys. Many infants enjoy taking objects out of containers and putting them back in.

Communication: At this age, infants respond when their names are called. They may turn their heads, make eye contact and sometimes smile and vocalize. They may look for family members and pets when called by name. They may respond to simple requests made with gestures, such as: “Come here.” They may understand “No” or “Stop.” They may lift their arms to be picked up, clap hands and wave bye-bye. They love to shout and squeal and may be babbling with many different sounds. They may be participating in and sometimes initiating peek-a-boo.

Motor: During this stage, many infants begin to sit by themselves and play. They begin to move by rolling, crawling and cruising. They pick up toys by using a raking motion with their whole hand and, by the end of this stage, they are using their fingers and thumbs to pick up small objects. They may feed themselves small bits of food.

• Infant’s socks and shoes
• Infant’s hat and jacket

Note: Small parts pose a choking hazard and are not appropriate for children age five or under. Be sure to choose lesson materials that meet safety requirements.

Dressing for outdoors and indoors: Young infants understand SAME and DIFFERENT through routine. The routine of getting ready to go outside and take a walk; putting on socks, shoes, a hat and a jacket; going out the door; or being placed in and buckled into a stroller teaches the infant the concept of SAME. Show the infant the socks. As you put the socks on the infant, say: “(Child’s name) has two socks. They are the SAME. Socks go on (child’s name) feet. Feet are the SAME.” Repeat with shoes, if the infant wears them. Show the infant the hat and jacket. Say: “This is your hat and jacket. They are DIFFERENT. (Child’s name) hat goes on your head and your jacket goes on your body. Head and body are DIFFERENT.” Encourage the infant to put on the hat and cooperate and assist with putting on the socks, shoes and jacket.

When coming inside after playing outside, talk with the infant about getting undressed now that he/she is inside. As you take off the infant’s socks, say: “Socks are the SAME. They are off (child’s name) feet. Feet are the SAME.” As you take off the infant’s hat and jacket, say: “Hat and jacket are DIFFERENT. Hat comes off of your head and your jacket comes off of your body. Head and body are DIFFERENT.” Encourage the infant to take off the socks and hat and cooperate and assist with removal of the shoes and jacket.

• Infant’s socks and shoes (if he/she wears them)
• Infant’s hat and jacket

Note: Small parts pose a choking hazard and are not appropriate for children age five or under. Be sure to choose lesson materials that meet safety requirements.

Dressing for outdoors and indoors: Talk to the infant about getting ready to go outside. Show the infant his/her socks. As you put the socks on the infant, say: “(Child’s name) has two socks. They are the SAME. Socks go on (child’s name) feet. Your feet are the SAME.” Repeat with shoes. Show the infant the hat and jacket. Say: “This is your hat and jacket. They are DIFFERENT. Your hat goes on your head and your jacket goes on your body. Your head and body are DIFFERENT.” Encourage the infant to put on the hat and cooperate and assist with putting on the socks, shoes and jacket.

When coming inside after playing outside, talk with the infant about getting undressed now that he/she is inside. As you take off the infant’s socks, say: “Your socks are the SAME. They are off (child’s name) feet. Your feet are the SAME.” As you take off the infant’s hat and jacket, say: “Your hat and jacket are DIFFERENT. Your hat comes off of your head and your jacket comes off of your body. Your head and body are DIFFERENT.” Encourage the infant to take off the socks, shoes and hat independently and cooperate and assist with the removal of the jacket.