Teaching basic math is essential for it helps in creating a strong foundation for further learning and success in schools and in their day-to-day functioning in the future. Some of the ideas for making kids have fun during math sessions are very simple and require the usage of very little materials. A few of such activities are as follows –
NUMBER RECOGNITION ACTIVITIES Number recognition refers to the ability to visually recognize and name numbers. It is referred to as the first step towards developing the math skills of young kids. In order to build upon their numeracy skills, a very basic game can be played. This can be creating paper cutouts of numbers and placing them on the floor. Next, a child will roll a die and then count the number of dots on the side facing up. After this, the child needs to stand on the same number on the floor as the one on the die.
COUNTING WITH ICE CREAM Reciting numbers in a sequence which has been learned by rote is something which most kids will be able to do. However, it is also essential that they understand how counting numbers are to be applied in real life situations. A counting activity can help preschoolers in Manhattan and surrounding areas establish the relation between numbers and objects. One of the best activities would be to cut out ice cream cone shapes and write a number from 1 to 6 on each of them. Next, ice cream scoops can be created using
papers of different colors, following which each child needs to count and place the correct number of scoops on each cone to create the completed ice cream cones.
SORTING AND CATEGORIZING Activities which involve categorizing and sorting items help children recognize patterns. They also help preschoolers in Manhattan understand how objects are similar or different. Sorting activities can be started by going for an outdoor walk and on returning back the children can be made to sort the objects they discovered according to color, size or the type of the object.
SHAPES AND GEOMETRY Math ideas which are shape-related will help preschoolers in identifying shapes in real life scenarios. Kids can be helped to create a book with 4 pages, with each containing a different shape. The most prominent ones include circle, rectangle, square and triangle. The children can then be asked to identify and cut out pictures from magazines and have them glued on the corresponding page.