Taking Collections One Step Further

Does your family have special collections? Maybe they collect tools, spare change, stamps, ornaments, seashells, or photos.  Young children also are drawn to collecting things. These collections can help them prepare for reading, math, and science.

Sharing Treasures

  Gather the collection together. Spread them out.  Perhaps it’s a group of stuffed animals they line up by color, count, and name.  It may be toy cars, dolls, toy figures, books, or interesting stones. Collections need a special box, bag, or place to be together, so they are easily accessible for little hands to manage and handle.  

  A collection can help children find what objects have in common and how they are different. Children need this skill to look at words and numbers very carefully. Talk about which ones are big, small, a certain color, rough or smooth. Which ones are favorites? Why? Which ones go together? Why? Collections lend themselves to patterning.  Can you make two red cars and then a blue one pattern from a pile of cars? This is fun with money, blocks, and beads too. 

Grands’ Treasures

   With help, children may enjoy interviewing older people to find out about their collections. Help them to ask questions.” What is the collection? Why do you collect? May we see your collection?” 

   Help children by printing out simple sentences (one per page) for them to “read” based on the interviews. They may use pictures and memory or really read the words. Children can draw a picture for each sentence and make a little collections book.  For example: “Grandpa has a collection of tools. This is a hammer. This is a saw. Mom has a collection of flower photos. This is a yellow sunflower. This is a red rose.” Children can dictate a sentence for you to print about their own collection. Make a cover with a title, children’s names, and staple together.

Characteristics

    Learning how to group things together, patterning and counting is important early math, and science skills. Talking together with adults about the properties of items and explaining why they like certain things builds language development and self confidence. Children will be expanding their speech and social skills by finding out about the collections of others.   Helping children read simple sentences made for them and drawing corresponding pictures will help build early reading, writing, and math skills.  If children go to preschool or early elementary grades, they can share the pictures or the collections book. They may be able to bring part of a collection for “Show and Tell” on Face time or Zoom. 

More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest
Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Kids Learning to Love Math

Simple Activities Done Together Counts

There are some simple math activities that families can do that are really cheap but effective. It is what families think, say, and do that counts, according to researchers. Remember the saying, “Children who are read to, read?” The same is true for math.  When you’re in the kitchen, car, restaurant, or park try these suggestions and see how easy they are to do. Math thinking becomes an enjoyable habit.

 Number Meaning

  Teach young children to make connections between numbers and sets of objects. Point to beans on their plate and ask,” How many beans to you see? Let’s count them.”  Showing children three Cheerios or toy cars when teaching the number three helps them understand what numbers mean better than reciting strings of numbers by memory. 

Make Connections Observe Patterns and Sets

 Shapes and Patterns

  Spot patterns in picture books like dots and lines on a character’s shirt. Build towers of blocks side by side and invite children to make theirs look like yours. Look for rectangles, circles and other shapes on the playground. What shapes are on houses and other buildings? What shapes can you find during a walk in the woods?  Use gestures and words to describe shapes and how they are bigger or smaller than other shapes. Use shapes to draw simple animals and other figures. 

Addition and Subtraction

  Draw a number line on the sidewalk, garage, or basement floor. Then hop on numbers, such as,” Hop to 5,” and now, “Hop to the number that is 1 more.” Piggy bank their money or use threejars.com to practice adding and subtracting when they want to use money.

Cooking with Fractions

  Use fractions to divide recipe ingredients while helping in the kitchen. “How many half cups make a whole cup? Help children cut pizzas, fruits, and vegetables into halves, fourths and thirds.

Problem Solving

Families Activities Can Teach Math

For families who want to jump into math problem solving there is There is a site that provides fun math problem from time to time to figure out.  Go to bedtimemathproblem.org. There are problems for wee ones, little kids, and big kids. Here’s a sample. Wee ones can count on fingers: If you rake up 2 bags of leaves and use a leaf blower to pile up 3 more bags of leaves, how many bags of leaves did you clean up? Then when outside raking leaves use the idea to talk about math.  “We raked up two piles of leaves. If we rake up two more, how many piles will we have to jump on?”  The same is true for making snowballs and snowmen. There is also “Bedtime Math: The Truth Comes Out” part of the Bedtime Math series by Laura Overdeck. Math conversation can be fun!

For more see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live and podcasts; Pinterest, and Facebook.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos