Mathematics - Wednesday

Today's activity takes a little more prep, so I'll just be posting one math game today. However, it is one that I think is a really good learning tool, and I encourage you to use it not just on Wednesdays, but throughout the week whenever you have a kid with some down time who needs directed to a good activity before they find a crayon and color on your walls...not that that has ever happened around here...

My hats are tipped on this idea to my mother and my little sister, the concept for this game emerged out of conversation with them.

Numbers

PBS Skill Targeted: "On average, an older two-year-old understands the words "one" and "two" (e.g., distinguishes "one" or "two" from many; can identify pairs of items as "two"; identifies three or more items as "many" rather than as "one" or "two"; asks for "one" or "two" of something; knows age; responds appropriately to the request, "Take just one," or "Give me two."). A few two-year-olds may also begin to understand the word "three," and a very few may grasp the concept of "four."

Activity:
The Counting Buckets

Description:
  There's a lot going on with numbers. We have symbols for our numbers (1,2,3,4,etc). They represent quantity. There are specific words associated with them. In this sense, numbers are a lot bigger than most of the things that kids have to learn that have one association or one meaning, (ie - the letter A is just the letter A).

And to build a strong foundation for success in mathematical critical thinking it is important that children make he connection about all the different representations and ways numbers are used as soon as possible. 

Enter the counting buckets.

This game assigns a given number to a bucket. Then your child will go around the house finding X amount of items to add to their bucket.

The trick is that it isn't just enough to have your given number represented numerically, like in the picture below.

Rather, you number bucket should show the literate for of the number and a quantity representation of the number.

So  your bucket will actually have all of these symbols on it:

One  1   *                Two   2    * *            Three   3   * * *

To access a Google Doc with these symbols made for you for the numbers one through ten, CLICK HERE

Remember, the specific numbers young children will be able to understand varies by their age. Visit the PBS Child Development Tracker to learn more about the average mathematical concepts children understand at various ages!

Enjoy your counting day!