What is Math for Toddlers and Preschoolers?

Practicing to count is a wonderful, easy way to incorporate math into our monthly curriculum and daily activities, however, there are so many other wonderful ways to incorporate planned math activities for our budding bilinguals!!!  Take a look at your curriculum calendar to look for balance and variety. If all of your math ideas are "counting ideas" then it's time to start adding new skills for the children to develop!!

 The idea of curriculum is to build upon the knowledge that you already have and developing new skills throughout the year.  Check out these ideas from all of the schools which are linked to the Guidelines for Preschoolers and also for Toddlers!!  I could have done a picture for each guideline but I tried to edit myself a little.  There's just so much out there!! Keep it up!!

DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS

(15)  Organize and draw conclusions from facts they have collected.

 Toddler guideline: The Toddler explores with  materials and discovers mathematical concepts.

Indicator: The toddler shows interest in matching and sorting according to color, shape and size.

(15)  Organize and draw conclusions from facts they have collected.

SORTING/CLASSIFYING...

Preschool Guideline (8): Sort, categorize, or classify objects by more than one attribute.

 Toddler guideline: The Toddler explores with  materials and discovers mathematical concepts.

Indicator: The toddler shows interest in matching and sorting according to color, shape and size.

PATTERNING

Preschool Guideline (9):  Recognize, describe, reproduce, extend, create and compare repeating patterns of concrete materials.  

Toddler Guideline: The younger toddler demonstrates an awareness of simple patterns.  

The older toddler recognizes and creates simple patterns.

Making patterns with toddlers by using toys like large stringing beads, pegs and pegboards...

Patterns in predictable books like, La Viejecita Que no le Tenia Miedo a Nada.

SHAPES & SPATIAL SENSE

Preschool Guideline (10):  Investigate and identify materials of various shapes, using appropriate language.  

(12)  Listen to and use comparative words to describe the relationships of objects to one another. 

(comparing the sizes of the planets using fruit and balls) 

(using simple balance scales to compare the weight of classroom materials)  

  (Seriation: concepts Grande y Pequeno)

NUMBER SENSE

  Preschool Guideline (1) Listen to and say the names of numbers in meaningful contexts.

Toddler Guidelines:  The older toddler shows an understanding of number concepts one, two more and less.  

Counting seeds from apples during Fruta de la Amistad...

  

Counting one to one correspondance to fill containers with cotton balls.  

Preschool Guideline (2)  Connect many kind/quantities of concrete objects and actions to numbers.

Writing and creating number books:  

Measurement:

Preschool Guidelines (14):  Use nonstandard units to measure length, weight, and amount of content in familiar objects.  

Preschool Guideline (13)  Use estimation in meaningful ways and follow up by verifying the accuracy of estimations.  

Toddler Guideline:  The toddler shows an aareness of quantity.  

Counting 1 - 10 through songs...

Pointing to items when counting them aloud...

BE INSPIRED!!!

-Jacie