Preschool Math: Introduce Your Child to Early Learning!

Before starting school, most children already develop an understanding of addition and subtraction through their daily interactions.

This gives them a considerable head start that greatly helps them once they enter school, creating a virtuous cycle of self-confidence.

In this article, we'll discover how, through simple activities, you can introduce mathematical concepts to your child and give them a leg up.

Without further ado, let's explore this together!

Math in Everyday Life

Children use their math skills from a very young age as part of their daily activities and routines. This is good news, because these skills are important for being ready for school. But early math doesn't mean getting out the calculator during playtime. Even before starting school, most children learn to add and subtract through their daily interactions. For example, Thomas has two cars; Joseph wants one. When Thomas shares one, he sees he has one car left (Bowman, Donovan & Burns, 2001, p. 201). Other math skills are introduced by daily routines you share with your child—like counting steps while going up or down. Informal activities like these give children a head start on the formal math instruction that begins in school.

Preschool Math: Key Kindergarten Math Concepts

Learning to Recognize Numbers

This is the ability to count accurately—first forwards. Then, later in school, children will learn to count backwards. A more complex skill related to number sense is the ability to see relationships between numbers, like addition and subtraction.

Representation

Making math ideas "real" by using words, pictures, symbols, and objects (like blocks) to anchor mathematical concepts in reality and give the child a better understanding.

Spatial Sense

Later in school, children will call this "geometry." But for toddlers, it's about introducing ideas of shape, size, space, position, direction, and movement.

Estimation

This is the ability to make a good guess about the quantity or size of something. This can be challenging for young children. You can help by showing them the meaning of words like more, less, bigger, smaller, more than, less than, as well as giving them a frame of reference.

Shape and Pattern Recognition

Knowing how to recognize shapes is important, but it remains fairly basic for children. It is also important for the child to be able to recognize logical patterns and use their reasoning to predict what comes next.

Problem Solving

The ability to think through a problem, to recognize there's more than one path to the answer. This means using prior knowledge and logical thinking skills to find a solution.

Preschool Math Activities

(A few game ideas to introduce your child to math concepts)

The tips below highlight ways you can help your child gain early math skills by building on their natural curiosity and having fun together. (Note: Most of these tips are for older children, ages 2 to 3. Younger children can be exposed to stories and songs using repetition, rhymes, and numbers.)

Play with Shapes

Play with shape sorters. Talk with your child about each shape—count the sides, describe the colors. Make your own shapes by cutting colored construction paper. Ask your child to "point to the circle" or "give you the green triangle."

Sorting

Gather a basket of small toys, shells, pebbles, or buttons. Count them with your child. Sort them based on size, color, or function (e.g., all the cars in one pile, all the animals in another).

How Big Is It?

Notice the size of objects in the world around you: The pink book is the biggest. The blue book is the smallest. Ask your child to think about their own size compared to other objects ("Do you fit under the table? Under the chair?").

It's Your Turn to Cook!

Even young children can help fill, stir, and pour. Through these activities, children learn, quite naturally, to count, measure, add, and estimate.

Go for a Walk

A walk gives children many opportunities to compare (which rock is bigger?), estimate (how many acorns did we find?), note similarities and differences (does the duck have fur like the rabbit?), and categorize (see if you can find red leaves). You can also talk about size (taking big and small steps), estimate distance (is the park close to or far from our house?), and practice counting (let's count the number of steps until we reach the corner).

Introducing the Concept of Time

Use an hourglass, stopwatch, or timer to time short activities (1 to 3 minutes). This helps children develop a sense of time and understand that some things take longer than others.

Pattern Spotting

Point out the different shapes and colors you see during the day. On a walk, you might see a yellow triangle-shaped sign. In a store, you might see a red rectangle-shaped sign.

Sing a Little Song

Sing songs that rhyme, repeat, or contain numbers. Songs reinforce patterns (which is also a math skill). They are also a fun way to practice language and foster social skills like cooperation.

Passing the Days

Use a calendar to talk about the date, the day of the week, and the weather. Calendars reinforce counting, sequences, and patterns. Build logical thinking by talking about cold weather and asking your child: What do we wear when it's cold? This encourages your child to make the connection between cold weather and warm clothing.

Little Tunnels

Open a large cardboard box at both ends to turn it into a tunnel. This helps children understand where their body is in space and in relation to other objects.

Long and Short

Cut a few pieces of ribbon, yarn, or paper to different lengths. Talk about ideas like "long" and "short." With your child, put them in order from longest to shortest.

Learning Through Touch

Cut out shapes—circle, square, triangle—from sturdy cardboard. Let your child touch the shape with their eyes open, then closed.

Learning with an Abacus

Using an abacus can greatly help your child better understand numbers by introducing the concept of decimals in an intuitive way and initiating first notions of addition and subtraction.

Pattern Play

Have fun with patterns by letting children arrange pasta, beads, different types of cereal, or pieces of paper to create different patterns or designs. Supervise your child closely during this activity to prevent them from ingesting anything they shouldn't!

Learning to Do Laundry

Make chores fun. While sorting laundry, ask your child to make a pile of shirts and a pile of socks. Ask them which pile is bigger (estimation). Together, count the number of shirts. See if they can pair socks: Can you take out two socks and put them in their own pile?

Learning Through Clothes

Ask your child to pick out a shirt for the day. Ask them: What color is your shirt? Yes, yellow. Can you find something in your room that is also yellow? As your child nears age three and beyond, notice patterns in their clothing, like stripes, colors, shapes, or pictures: I see a pattern on your shirt. There are stripes that go red, blue, red, blue. Or: Your shirt is covered in ponies—a big pony next to a little pony, all over your shirt!

The Daily Chart

As they approach age three and beyond, make a chart where your child can put a sticker each time it rains or each time it's sunny. At the end of a week, you can estimate together which column has the most or least stickers, and count how many to be sure.

Mathematics: A Keystone Skill or One Among Many?

Dear parents, remember that math skills are just one part of a broader set of skills that children develop in the early years—including language skills, physical skills, and social skills.

A child may have a little more difficulty mastering one area than another. So don't worry and don't stress your child.

You can read more of our articles on how to help your child better understand math with an abacus.