Remote Learning: Math - Use What You Have!

Sometimes Math concepts are hard for our little guys and we have to look through their eyes to find ways to make it all make sense. Making it fun is always best, as is applauding small successes as steps along the way :)

In these times of being home during learning times, we have to be even more flexible in how we approach "lessons" :) Look around with fresh eyes for available tools already in your home :) Use things that you find to make math lessons more concrete. For starters, if your child benefits from using tactile methods of teaching, pull out a deck of cards and rustle up some old game pieces.

Get out your playing cards for a simple game, that will explore counting, ordering, and more and less.

Each player gets a stack of cards and turns over one at a time (like the old War game). Each player takes a turn to count the objects (diamonds, hearts, spades or clovers) on their card and touches the numeral in the corner of the card, saying the number. Then, use math language like "most," "more," "less'" and "least." e.g. "I have 9 and you have 5. I have more than you."

Another form would be to lay out three or four cards, count them each up and order them, naming them as "most" and "least." If your child guesses correctly, they get the cards. Getting these concepts down with smaller, one-digit numbers will be to your child's benefit, before moving on to larger numbers. Down the road, you can make higher number cards from index cards, and play with them.

Find an old Monopoly game, or another game with multiple pieces, to use them as your own "math manipulatives." Grabbing amounts of green houses and red hotels, sorting them and finding the totals, will help your child with those skills. Then, add in the math language of "most" and "least" to bring those concepts home :) You might have other toys or games around that can be repurposed for these lessons. Any time you can engage your child in moving, finding, collecting - this will help them learn.

In our house, buttons were always a fun manipulative, as were popsicle sticks. As a teacher and crafter, popsicle sticks were easy to store, and fun to explore with. In our Kindergarten classroom, we used them to count the days of the year, making "bundles" when we reached a group of ten.

Trying this at home may solidify the concepts of higher numbers for tactile learners ... 5 "bundles" (or tens) and 2 "extra" or "all by themselves" (or ones) would be 52. To compare higher numbers to find out "most" and "least," making bundles and extras and touch each one as you count. Your child may understand these bigger numbers better when they can see quantities with their eyes and touch them with their fingers.

By playing with the numbers using games and game pieces, and writing down/matching with corresponding numerals, math becomes more concrete!

And, more fun!

Board Game Bonanza

Playing board games with your little ones can be so much fun - and such an unexpected learning tool! Along with things you might think of - counting, letters, colors, etc. - game-playing is also GREAT for practicing social skills and language skills!!

To plan some game time, first you need to pick out some fun, engaging, and visually appealing games to play - little ones love to see lots of pictures and colors. When it is set up right, they can "read" what is going on, even before they can actually read words :)

Some first favorites are Candyland and Chutes and Ladders, both of which are labeled for children as young as three years old. They involve moving along a path on a game board, with some counting, one-to-one correspondence, and unexpected turns here and there. Your child will get practice following directions, taking turns, and being a "good sport"- all great things for them to learn!

   
Another fun option is Zingo, a Bingo-type game, where they have to use visual discrimination to cover their cards, to match the pictures/words shown. They get to fill up their whole card and will have a great time doing so :) There are other versions of this game which highlight numbers, sight words, etc., but the first one is all about pictures.

Any one of the Memory games offered at stores or online will help your child with this same skill, as well as recall and position words. With so many Memory games out there, your child will have no trouble finding a favorite to pick from :) They turn over two cards at a time, looking for matches, and then have to remember where the matches are as the game progresses.

Charades for Kids can be so much fun for children - and get them talking and acting things out! These are great ways to grow your child's language skills, both when it's their turn and when guessing what others are trying to show. All the cards have both pictures and words to choose from, so even non-readers can play!

There are Spot It cards for many different skills - alphabet letters, shapes, numbers - and they all help with visual discrimination and language skills - make sure you're talking with your child while playing! Any opportunity to engage in new vocabulary with your children is GREAT!

I recently saw a card game called Dr. Seuss "I Can Do That!" that looks like kids would have a blast playing! Each card has a different, sometimes very silly, activity to do that will get your children up and moving! It's on my list!

Get some games together, and get going! It will be great time for conversation, socializing, learning, and, most of all ....

Having fun!