Children are much more inquisitive than adults. Younger kids especially love learning new things, including learning about objects, shapes, colors, and even playing with numbers. You may find it hard to believe, but your little one may be applying basic math like counting more than you can gauge. This is because children perceive numbers very differently. That’s why we can guarantee that opting for after-school math programs can never be a bad decision for children in their formative years. By enrolling your child in pre-school math, you can open a whole new bunch of opportunities that they can explore and grow. Exposing little children to mathematics and basic reading can help with their brain development. If you are looking for fun and creative ways to make the number more interesting for your little one, check out the following math idea to support learning anywhere.
1. Number and counting activities
Counting is where you start teaching your little one what math is all about. You don’t need a full-fledged after-school program to teach your child numbers. Your home is where you can indulge them in basic counting. A fun way to do that is walking around the house with your child and counting the number of items that make your house unique. You can start by counting rooms, the number of clocks, pets, painting or the number of chairs you have, and similar items. There are so many ways to begin this activity. Another great way to teach your child counting is exercising. Have them jump and count them, so you break a little sweat and yet continue to learn new numbers. The only thing you need to keep in mind is the sillier it gets, the more fun it will be for you and your child. So don’t hold yourself. Burn some calories, teach something new, and bond with your little one.
2. Add and Subtract
The next thing your children need to learn after numbers are adding or subtracting them. And you can easily and very interactively teach them to do this at your home. To get started, all you need is eight to 10 items that are easily available at home. You can use spoons, marbles, pins, hair ties, or anything that you can easily lift and put aside or hide. Then you can show the total number of items to your child and have them count each one of them. Next, ask them to close their eyes for a beat so that they can hide or move a couple of items. Once they open their eyes, ask them to count the number of items left and voila, you have taught your little one how to subtract! To teach them addition, do the exact opposite. When your child closes its eyes, throw in a few extra items and have them count them. Of course, your child won’t straight away know anything about a few items missing or being added, so you got to be patient. Help them out in the beginning. You may need to help them a couple of times or even a couple of days. Keep doing that until they get a hang of it. And once they do, you know your child is going to be a genius in the making.
3. Spatial Reasoning
Psychologically speaking, spatial reasoning is a category of reasoning that involves thinking about objects in three different dimensions. Now spatial reasoning in math is all about how your child understands the way things move in relation to their surrounding space. While this is an important skill for children to learn different subjects in life, it is absolutely important for your child’s mathematical development. You can use block towers, origami practices, or just play dough to explain different kinds of shapes to your child. In fact, blocks are the best way to teach your children about shapes and inculcate spatial reasoning. When your child stacks blocks and mindlessly crashes them later, they are actually learning about shapes and working on their sense of balance, shape, size, position, etc.
4. The Language of Math
We know this may sound a little odd, but just like any other language, math, too, has a language of its own. Add, subtract, multiply, divide, more and less form an important part of the math language and teaching these words to your child at a young age can significantly help with their mental development. The best way to teach your child how to speak math is by using it every day. Some basic activities you can perform are counting every day without fail; getting children acquainted with symbols (addition, subtraction, etc.); use rulers, measuring tapes, and cups; etc. Your child will eventually learn all the signs and numbers far better than what they learn in preschool, and you will be so proud about their skill with numbers!
Closing Lines
We hope the above activities help in embarking upon the math journey with your child. Teaching skills of adding, subtracting, shapes, patterns, etc. will enhance their mental development. So get started to teach your little mathematician!