Instead, young children are ready to learn one-to-one correspondence, sorting, sequencing, number, counting, and shapes. Much simpler, right? However, these skills can still seem challenging for parents to support in their child’s development. Are workbooks, worksheets, computer programs or apps the best to practice these skills? How can we know that our children are “ready for school” when it comes to math?

Math skills can be practiced each and every day at home or at school. First, include your child in everyday tasks, even those you would not think they can do well.  Tasks such as laundry, cleaning, cooking, maintenance, shopping and caring for pets can be turned into math practice! Here are some suggestions for including your child in every day math practice.

• Laundry: Sorting laundry by type, family member and size. Match and count the pairs of socks. Fold clothing in half and half again. Measure detergent with child sized cups.
• Cleaning: Using child sized spray bottles, clean the table by counting squirts before wiping it down. Sweep the floor in a circle or square shape. Use sponges cut into different shapes to clean different items.  Categorize dishes and wash by category, such as round plates, square plates, round bowls and mugs, etc.  Create a pattern by washing first a plate, then a cup then a bowl and repeating until dishes are clean.
• Cooking: Whenever possible, include children in the cooking and food preparation. Use plastic measuring cups to measure ingredients and a wooden spoon to stir. Use a butter knife to cut vegetables into small or large chunks. Estimate how long it will take to cook or bake and then discuss the reality versus guess.
• Grocery Shopping: Create a list children can check off to practice one-to-one correspondence. Sort the cart by type of items, such as those in boxes or not, cold or room temperature, etc. Count items in the cart. Pack unbreakable groceries in paper bags trying to fit them in safely without crushing them. Weigh bulk foods, adding and subtracting amounts to get to one pound.
• Routines: For the morning routine, use a picture chart to put the steps to getting ready in order for children to follow. For bedtime routine, use a timer or a picture clock to show the amount of time rather than the actual time. Read books including numbers, counting, sorting and classifying. Use a picture schedule showing a picture of each main activity during a stay at home day so children can follow the schedule and manipulate when things change.

Remembering that math skills for little ones is more than just algebra will make a big difference in how you perceive math as a parent. Have fun with mathematics and go beyond just helping children memorize numbers in order. Look to everyday tasks you may find tedious for opportunities to include learning moments.  It is easier than you may think and way more fun!

Generally speaking, the daily schedule should have large chunks of time dedicated to broad activities. It is far more important to have an hour scheduled for “free play” and the next hour scheduled for “outdoor time” than to include a ten-minute chunk for “transition” or “bathroom break.” The broad categories ensure fluidity and allow the teachers to meet the needs of the group flexibly on each day.

Mathematically, sticking to a daily routine allows children experience sequencing first-hand and will help when it comes time for more sophisticated math operations such as adding and subtracting two digit numbers and understanding the order of operations, the rules that define which procedures to perform first in a math equation (surely we all remember: PEDMA or Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally/parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction). The order of routine in the classroom becomes meaningful to children when they realize, for example, that they can’t sit down to eat snack at the table unless they’ve first cleaned the table of playthings (“cleanup time”). This is also true when they are working on getting dressed to go outside. First the children put on their coats and then they put on their mittens. The natural consequence of putting on mittens before coats is that for most, it simply isn’t possible to zip the zipper or close the buttons with mittens on. Encouraging “order of operations” within the classroom structures and activities by allowing the children to see, feel, and experience the natural outcomes of the sequencing hammers the concepts home in real and meaningful ways.

When creating a schedule, don’t forget to allow ample time for transitions which can be stressful to both children and adults); be sure to incorporate a realistic time for clean up, hand-washing, and dressing (for going outdoors), in addition to snack set-up and preparing to go home. Transitions are learning opportunities in their own right! However, best practice asks that we minimize transitions as much as possible to lessen the anxiety associated with them and to increase the time children spend at play.

I have seen a preschool class transition from free play to cleanup time, only to sit at the rug and wait for the whole group to transition to the washroom for hand washing. Once arriving at the washroom, all of the children had to sit against the wall and wait to have their turn washing their hands. Once they were done, they lined up and waited for all of the children to finish. They then went back to the classroom and sat at the tables while they waited for the snack to arrive. Each part of this scenario is another transition and there are far too many. How would you reduce the above-described transitions down to 2?

I have found that teachers who voice the daily routines as a part of their practice encourage this type of thinking in the children. It is OK and actually recommended that you say things like, “First we have snack and then we go outside.” Or, “After you wake up, your dad is coming to get you.” Even though you might think you say these things every day – all day long – young children do not have enough experience in their short lives to know for sure how the schedule works. They need reassurance about their upcoming activities and the way their day will unfold. You can provide that by giving voice to the daily routines in your classroom.

posted by Alison Balis Hirsch