Bumping: math-rich environment for toddler

[physmom]

Ok, I wanted to bump this thread: http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1038750/math-rich-environment-for-toddler but I see that it's locked so I have to start my own thread. 

Anyways, I was just wondering how the OP's kid is doing because her kid sounds almost exactly like DD right now.  I also wanted to know if the growinginpeace blog is from Miss Information because I've been looking at that a lot lately to get ideas!

I *thought* DD (22 months) was more on the verbal side but lately her math has been taking off like crazy.  She's been counting to 20 (and knows many numbers above that but not in any order), skip counting, can start counting from other numbers besides one, is obsessed with clocks and has even said the hour correctly a few times, loves calenders (DH was traveling and we'd have to look at it every morning and discuss when he was coming back.  The day he came back she knew and when someone knocked on the door she started screaming for DH), has learned a lot of shapes, building massive towers taller than her with megablocks etc.  I shouldn't be surprised because DH and I both work in math-related fields but I guess this just goes to show you can never predict what will come next because she could've cared less about anything math related until recently!  The one thing is, though, that her fine motor skills aren't the best so block towers (ones that aren't like megablocks) are really hard for her even though she loves them and she can only do the really insert puzzles even though she's very interested in the interlocking ones and has me do them over and over again for her.  I tried out doing one of those tong activities with her.  We don't have any soft ball sort of things so she used her little people and had a lot of fun (she couldn't actually pick them up herself but I'd help her put them on the tongs and she could move them back and forth from her toy airplane to a box). 

Oh, and DD will be starting a Montessori preschool in a few months.  They really emphasized working at her pace so I'm hopeful that that will be fun for her.

I also wanted to thank those that posted ideas on that thread because I'm going to start checking out some of that stuff now. :D

ETA: I just found another thread that really sounded like DD too: http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/967889/math-and-language specifically the quote

But don't forget, this "math" is referring to the stuff that schools don't really get to until high school: the visual-spatial aspects of it. I.e. geometry, trigonometry, calculus, etc. Not the arithmetic and algebra of the first years which are more difficult to visualize (unless well-taught) and require good organizational skills, ability to show their work, and memorization of rote information (not things that v-s kids excel at). If your child is doing well in those subjects it denotes an audio-sequential ability, not a v-s one, although some children who are v-s are so intelligent that they can compensate for their a-s weaknesses so well that nobody notices them. The v-s ability signs in the early years come out more in play than in school: puzzling, LEGO-building, imaginative play, painting, musical ability (although not the ability to sing well, which is an a-s trait), mazes, board games, tangrams, and physical prowess (v-s children, by definition, have a good orientation of their bodies in space) such as being a good dancer or tumbler or soccer player.

DD's always been really physical (we dribble the soccer ball around the apt and she's not half bad!). She's also been drawing/painting realistic objects.  She even had a dinosaur with 4 feet, a tail and a head and she's insanely into pretend play/imaginary friends.  It's be so interesting reading these old threads! :D

Edited by physmom - 11/18/10 at 8:38am

[Tanikit]

My DD is 3 years old and took a bit longer to get into maths than yours did - closer to 2.5 years old although she could count to 10 long long before that.

I have been wondering the same thing about the math rich environment - we count while she is swinging and so she is learning to count to 100 (I have heard her get beyond 30 and have a feeling she knows higher but gets tired of counting out loud) We also do skip counting and around 2 we went on a bottle top finding spree (the plastic ones that seem to lie in the road all the time) and we did basic addition with this too - "you want 5 bottle tops and we have found 3, how many more do we need to find before we go home?" Nowdays we do basic addition with her toys and items she thinks she would like to share with them - this works for both addition and subtraction. I have always read her the numbers on the houses we pass so she has a good idea what digits look like even into the much higher numbers.

Definitely have puzzles around with increasing numbers of pieces, shape sorters, the game brainy blocks is also very good for maths though the pieces may be a bit small at 22 months old. Play with dice - you can make really big ones and use games that are not board games to introduce the concept if she is still young (as in if a three shows up then jump three times or whatever) Show her prices at the supermarket and let her pay so she understands money even if she doesn't get the concept of exactly how much things cost or what the coins are. Have duplo/lego or any version thereof available and let her build. Block stacking and building is also great. If she's interested in the time then tell her what the time is and show her a clock - it doesn't have to be formal and she'll probably still pick it up.

There are many shape games you can play with her also - use manipulatives though rather than 2d shapes and show her where the shapes are in the things around her (a stop sign, the cupboard door, a ball etc) Make recipes and show her how to measure and pour - or have a sandbox and lots of containers (same in the bath) Let her sort the socks and other patterned items.

Maths I guess is everywhere its just knowing how to point it out.

[physmom]

Originally Posted by Tanikit 

My DD is 3 years old and took a bit longer to get into maths than yours did - closer to 2.5 years old although she could count to 10 long long before that.

I have been wondering the same thing about the math rich environment - we count while she is swinging and so she is learning to count to 100 (I have heard her get beyond 30 and have a feeling she knows higher but gets tired of counting out loud) We also do skip counting and around 2 we went on a bottle top finding spree (the plastic ones that seem to lie in the road all the time) and we did basic addition with this too - "you want 5 bottle tops and we have found 3, how many more do we need to find before we go home?" Nowdays we do basic addition with her toys and items she thinks she would like to share with them - this works for both addition and subtraction. I have always read her the numbers on the houses we pass so she has a good idea what digits look like even into the much higher numbers.

Definitely have puzzles around with increasing numbers of pieces, shape sorters, the game brainy blocks is also very good for maths though the pieces may be a bit small at 22 months old. Play with dice - you can make really big ones and use games that are not board games to introduce the concept if she is still young (as in if a three shows up then jump three times or whatever) Show her prices at the supermarket and let her pay so she understands money even if she doesn't get the concept of exactly how much things cost or what the coins are. Have duplo/lego or any version thereof available and let her build. Block stacking and building is also great. If she's interested in the time then tell her what the time is and show her a clock - it doesn't have to be formal and she'll probably still pick it up.

There are many shape games you can play with her also - use manipulatives though rather than 2d shapes and show her where the shapes are in the things around her (a stop sign, the cupboard door, a ball etc) Make recipes and show her how to measure and pour - or have a sandbox and lots of containers (same in the bath) Let her sort the socks and other patterned items.

Maths I guess is everywhere its just knowing how to point it out.

Thank you very much for the ideas! I love the dice idea.  I'm going to have to try that.  Also, I need to be better about talking to her about prices at the grocery store that's another good one!

We went past a clock store and she flipped out today! She still can't pull off the "l" in clock so it's a bit entertaining when she starts yelling out clock!

She's also been obsessed with pointing out shapes in everyday objects.  Last night she was taking a potty break at 2am and noticed a role of paper towels and started screaming circle, woke DH right up!

We haven't tried any addition/subtraction with her (besides one elevator incident when she figured out what one floor up was) but I'll have to see if she'd be interested in that too. 

Thanks again for the ideas! I love the concept of her just learning from her surroundings instead specific lessons or something so I really like ideas that I can easily incorporate into our everyday life.

----------------------------------------------------------------

On a side note I'm a bit frustrated because we're visiting family and I really feel like they are trying to push her quite a bit.  My mom was watching her while I took a nap and when I came back I saw that she had made flash cards with words on them to teach her site words and my mom claimed that she was reading them.  I get that DD doesn't get to see grandma much (and DD absolutely adores her) but I just don't think that sort of thing is needed... It's weird because I don't remember my mom doing that stuff when I was a kind but now she claims that she raised my IQ by buying me certain books growing up.  Sigh...

[emmaegbert]

I didn't read the other thread but have you seen Teaching Montessori in the Home by Elizabeth Hainstock? She explains the M manipulatives and also how to make your own versions. I like M math b/c it focuses on the concepts, ratios, relationships, not so much learning by rote. Also they have some really awesome ways of showing the use of digits- its hard to explain but using these little cards (very easy to make!) of the units (1-9), the 10s (10-90), etc, and then to make a number you "stack" them up... so if you have 33 you stack a 3 card on top of a 30 card. This makes SO much more sense to me for showing kids what that means... not "three three" but "three tens and three units". YKWIM? I think the way that materials are designed helps to teach the kids to manipulate things in their hands and in their minds. You might want to read both books- the preschool years and the school years, so you can pick and choose where you want to go with things.

Lots of homeschooler resources online for M style math too. I copied sections of the Hainstock book but apparently didnt' scan them in, so its anyone's guess where the heck they are right now, since about 90% of my belongings are in storage still.

Tomorrow evening I am going to the presentation at DS's school on Singapore Math (for early elementary) and I'd be happy to tell you what I learn there if you're interested. (maybe IRL?)

-Emma

[physmom]

Thanks Emma! I'm definitely going to check it out.  We're actually going to be out of town until Dec. 15th but let's get together then! 

Originally Posted by emmaegbert 

I didn't read the other thread but have you seen Teaching Montessori in the Home by Elizabeth Hainstock? She explains the M manipulatives and also how to make your own versions. I like M math b/c it focuses on the concepts, ratios, relationships, not so much learning by rote. Also they have some really awesome ways of showing the use of digits- its hard to explain but using these little cards (very easy to make!) of the units (1-9), the 10s (10-90), etc, and then to make a number you "stack" them up... so if you have 33 you stack a 3 card on top of a 30 card. This makes SO much more sense to me for showing kids what that means... not "three three" but "three tens and three units". YKWIM? I think the way that materials are designed helps to teach the kids to manipulate things in their hands and in their minds. You might want to read both books- the preschool years and the school years, so you can pick and choose where you want to go with things.

Lots of homeschooler resources online for M style math too. I copied sections of the Hainstock book but apparently didnt' scan them in, so its anyone's guess where the heck they are right now, since about 90% of my belongings are in storage still.

Tomorrow evening I am going to the presentation at DS's school on Singapore Math (for early elementary) and I'd be happy to tell you what I learn there if you're interested. (maybe IRL?)

-Emma

[emmaegbert]

well its possible I will actually find the chapters I copied before you return then ;)

you never know...

-Emma

[half-pint]

I read an article about a simple game to make to help with the concept of number sequence, number line  here http://www.parentingscience.com/preschool-math-games.html 

It is super simple and seems like it would be boring but my son loves to play .He's 4, not exactly gifted, but he does like numbers so i was looking for ideas beyond just basic counting.

You make your own board game - writing 1-10 in adjoining squares.  Start by using a spinner or a coin with the numbers 1 and 2.  Each player takes a turn and instead of counting 1 space, 2 spaces, you say the number that is on the board.  So if you are on #4 and you spin a 2 you say 5,6 not 1,2 (which is how you probably usually count when moving your piece) The article explains it better than I can. You can then expand the spinner to 1,2,3 and -1 and the numbers to however high you want.  He plays it over and over and you can have fun decorating the board and such.