Early Math Counts

• The book, What Comes in 2’s, 3’s and 4’s by Suzanne Aker

• Chart paper divided into three categories (Sets of two, sets of three and sets of four)

• Bear Family Counters 

• Blank pieces of paper, plus markers, crayons and pencils, so that the children can make their own books
  

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.

1. Read the book, What Comes in 2’s, 3’s and 4’s. As the book is being read, pause to brainstorm things that come in twos, three and fours. Write down the things that the book mentions and ideas that the children come up with on the chart.

1. After reading the story, have the children sort the bears into groups of two, three and four.
2. Children will make their own books, drawing objects that come in twos, threes and fours. They can use the objects that have been previously noted on the chart or come up with new ideas.

Additional Extensions

• Send the children on a scavenger hunt to collect items that come in “groups of.” The number can exceed four, as they might find an egg carton and decide to start a category of “objects that come in twelves.” Once the children have collected their items, construct a bar graph that shows the numbers that were being scavenged. One space should be colored in for each item found that represents that number. Use the graph to teach one or more of the following concepts: more than, less than, equal, same as, addition and subtraction. This can be accomplished by having the children look at the graph to answer specific questions such as: “Which number has the most? The least? How many would we have to add to the twos column to make it equal to the threes column?”

• Groups: Equal sets (e.g.,”How many groups of bears do you have?”)
• Sort: Separating the items according to a given attribute (e.g.,”Let’s sort the bears into equal groups of three.”)
• Equal: To be the same in number or amount (e.g.,”Sort the bears into equal groups of three.”)

Early Math Glossary

Adapt Lesson for Toddlers

Toddlers may:

• Be having difficulty concentrating on more than one number to group

Child care providers may:

• Concentrate on just one grouping, such as things that come in twos
• Put together a series of objects or pictures of objects and have the children sort the pictures into groups of two, three and four

Adapt Lesson for Preschoolers

Preschoolers may:

• Easily think of grouped objects and easily sort the bears into equal groups

Child care providers may:

• Send the children on a scavenger hunt to collect items that come in “groups of.” The number can exceed four, as they might find an egg carton and decide to start a category of “objects that come in twelves.”
• Once they have collected their items, construct a bar graph that shows the numbers that were being scavenged. One space should be colored in for each item found that represents that number. Use the graph to teach one or more of the following concepts: more than, less than, equal, same as, addition and subtraction. This can be accomplished by having the children look at the graph to answer specific questions such as: “Which number has the most? The least? How many would we have to add to the twos column to make it equal to the threes column?”