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(Unit 2) Topic 5: Math for Young Children

2 Clock Hours of Early Childhood Education

Math for Toddlers

Toddlers are absorbing new information at incredible rates and are pushing the boundaries of the knowledge that they already have. 

Topic 5 Page 6

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Whether they are climbing on furniture in an attempt to reach something or throwing toys across a room, they are exploring and creating new knowledge about their world. Mathematical concepts are also increasingly explored by toddlers.

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Five Little Pumpkins Finger Play Lesson Plan

http://www.lessons4learners.com/five-little-pumpkins-finger-play-yi.html

When a toddler throws an item across the room, they are learning that lighter items do not go as far as heavier items.

This is a comparison activity that teaches them the relationship between flight and weight. This is also an opportunity to measure the weight of the two items to explore their properties. The very common act of a toddler throwing a toy or other item is in many ways an important math exercise, while inconvenient and possibly dangerous, it is not intended to annoy or bother a caregiver or peer. It is a normal part of toddler development and math skill development.

Toddlers are busy and are at the perfect developmental stage for absorbing math concepts. It is important to support those budding math skills as much as possible.

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Some suggestions for supporting math for toddlers are:
Play games
Play games that support math skill acquisition.
Help in the kitchen
Toddlers can help measure, pour, stir, and scoop in the kitchen. This teaches them about measurement which is an important math concept.
Shape play
Talk about shapes, sizes, sides, and colors of shapes that you see all around. You can play a shape scavenger hunt game or I Spy.
Give choices
Give the toddler choices by asking questions (e.g. would you rather use the square block or the rectangle block?)
Solicit help
Solicit the help of toddlers in passing things out, organizing toys, placing things in the trash. This supports the development of spatial relationships.
Talk about it
Talk about math concepts frequently. Point out shapes, numbers, patterns, quantities and more.
Make it fun
Make math fun for toddlers. Praise them for their efforts and make math an exciting part of their day!