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!

A lot of classrooms use the idea of stores in the dramatic play area because it is such a great way to build literacy and math skills and all kids have been to a type of store whether it is a grocery store, pharmacy or toy store.  Children can make lists of foods, think about prices, begin to learn the importance and the types of money used to buy materials.  Some children can even graduate to doing simple math problems using money.  And all children enjoy collecting money and using a cash register, which is basically a calculator.  Reinforcing these math concepts at home can only strengthen children’s understanding of math, since parents are the child’s first teachers!

Here are some quick and easy tips for how to turn grocery shopping into a fun game.

1. Before going to the store, sit down with your child and make a list.  Give them a pencil or crayon and a piece of paper and let them write their own list.  Number the list, so the children can see the sequence of numbers.  Ask them, ‘what number comes after 1, 2, 3?”  You can also have them sort the items you need, make a list of vegetables, fruit, meat, etc.  Grocery stores are a great lesson on sorting and understanding categorizing items based on an attribute.
2. While making the list have your child guess how much each item will cost.  Do they think it will cost more because of its size? Or because of how much the item weighs.  Then when you get to the store, you can compare their guesses with the actual prices.
3. Have your child help you weigh fruits and vegetables in the produce sections.  Begin to introduce words like: pound, ounce, more than, less than, equal.

4. Print out a shopping checklist and attach it to a clipboard.  Let your youngest child mark off each item as you find it.  Throughout the trip, bring their attention back to how many items you have found and how many items you have left.

5. If it is a store you frequent often, draw a map of the store and give to your child.  Give them directional cues, like, “turn left at the produce aisle.” Or have them fill in the map using developmental spelling or drawing pictures.

6. Give your child $5 and ask them to pick out snacks.  They might need some help adding up totals and limiting themselves to only spending $5, but this is simple addition and subtraction problems without using a worksheet and disguised as fun!  My classroom walked to our local Walgreens and they each had to find an item that cost less than a dollar.  For some, it was a rude awakening that they couldn’t buy the biggest or best item in the store, but in the end everyone walked away with a small treat!