Math
Is she making bar charts or charting how much she’s grown?
She might be doing both! While you may not see it, your child is learning what will become data analysis, measurement, geometry and, yes, even algebra! She is calculating at school and at home, especially when you inspire her with questions. She is growing, and so are the numbers she’s working with!
Your Kindergartener
Your child is a budding mathematician, solving real-world addition and subtraction problems of single digits, comparing lengths and widths of objects in and out of the classroom and writing numbers 0 to 20. By the end of kindergarten, she is counting to 100 or more, at least by ones if not by tens! She can add any two numbers together to make 10, especially when there’s a baker’s dozen involved. (Cupcakes, anyone?)
Our challenge as parents and caregivers is to keep math fun. Remember worksheets at the kitchen table that left you in tears, adding and subtracting and not understanding a thing? Math does not have to be frustrating. It can be tennis balls and cheese crackers and flower petals instead!
Talk with your child during everyday activities to energize her mathematic mind. When you’re making cookies, ask her which measuring cup has more flour in it. When you’re at the grocery, tell her to grab the biggest pack of strawberries. Ask her to explain how she knew which one had more! And when she’s playing outside, encourage her to identify the shapes in her hopscotch, the ball she’s kicking or the stop sign at the end of the street. The more children recognize math in their everyday lives, the more normalized it becomes, and the more they enjoy it.
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It All Adds Up
As the end of kindergarten approaches, your child understands addition and subtraction of numbers under 10. 3-2? Easy. 4+1? I can do it! While this won’t come automatically to him, he can use his resources – counting on his fingers, counting out loud – to complete basic addition and subtraction, especially of real-world problems.
Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care
Look for a child care provider that keeps math fun with stories. How does he incorporate math into every day experiences? Does he encourage the children to weave their own math tales? Finding ways to center learning in daily tasks or story time keeps children’s brains growing!
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Shaping Up
He can point out squares, rectangles, triangles and more. He’s beginning to identify cones, cylinders, spheres, cubes and other shapes, too, in everyday life. The package that came in the mail? A cube. The ball he’s kicking around outside? A sphere. The house on the corner? A rectangular prism and a triangular prism combined! He is growing in his knowledge of geometry.
Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care
Are shapes labeled in the classroom? “The drawer is a rectangle, and your cup is a cylinder! What shape is the rug, Alejandra?” Do children have the opportunity to draw, color and name shapes from time to time? Children should have opportunities to engage with geometry, even in small ways.
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Making Comparisons
Your child is starting to compare aspects like length, weight and temperature of everyday objects. She can tell you which mug of hot cocoa is warmer, or which kitten is heavier. “I want the bigger chair!” or “Can I carry the bag that’s lighter?” She thinks in terms of comparison, measuring without always knowing it!
Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care
What does your child measure in child care? Can they tell you which is longer: the carpet square or construction paper? How does your child’s provider measure up?
Ideas to Learn and Play Together!
From playtime to bedtime, your child is always learning. Check out these family activities for building their skills, and your family connections. All children learn and grow at their own pace and in their own way. For more information about the skills and milestones for your child's age, check out our developmental milestones resource page.
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Subtraction Traction
Tell a story, but do it with math! For example, “Once there were seven plantains in the bunch. Abuela fried three of them for dinner! Now there are only four plantains left.” Draw it out, write the number sentence at the bottom and encourage your child to do it themselves! “Now it’s your turn, only your story has to be about cats!”
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We’re Going on a Shape Hunt!
Never mind a bear hunt! Let’s hunt for SHAPES! How many 2D shapes can you find? What about 3D shapes? Are there circles, squares and rectangles along the street? What about cubes, cylinders and cones? Hunting for shapes keeps math in everyday life and helps your child recognize what she is learning in the world around her.
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I’m Growing, and I can Prove it!
Is your child growing like a weed? How much taller is your child than the dandelion he picked? How much has he grown since the last time you measured? Create a growth chart in a closet or on a doorway and measure your child each month. How much taller is auntie? Is your child finally taller than your dog? Find out with measurement!
