Helping Your Baby or Toddler Get A Head Start in Math!

Our little one’s grow up so fast.  They will be old enough to be in grade school before you know it.  So why not spend these early years snagging some one on one time that will bond the two of you, and help give them a stronger academic foundation for the future?  Oh, but they are so little.  What could you possibly teach them at this age that would help them in school all that much?  You have already been working on reading.  Well, how about math?  You would be surprised at just how much they can learn with only a little help from you. 

OK.  At this point you are asking yourself where in the world you should start.  You are wondering how this is going to work.  Math is not typically thought of as a “fun” subject.    But, before you break out the chairs and chalkboard, lets look at some fun, unconventional approaches to helping your toddler understand such an abstract concept as numbers.

Don’t start with the hard stuff.
Most kids at and around 1 would be completely lost if you started going on about these invisible numbers that measure things, and tell how many or how few.  Heck, sometimes even I get lost and bewildered trying to fully appreciate and understand the theoretical mess that is math and numbers.  Try to start with what they know.  Spatial relationships, shapes and sizes working together to make a big picture, is a good place to start when learning math.  The idea that everything has a shape and size will be easier for them to grasp, because they can see and touch this idea.

Play games with them that incorporate spatial knowledge.  For example, play ball with them.  Tell them to roll the ball far away from them, and then to go near it and bring it back.  This simple game will help your child understand space, near and far, without them even realizing it’s a lesson. 

Help them arrange their toys from biggest to smallest, or vice versa.  Name shapes.   Let them fill cups with water, and then pour the water into bigger cups and bigger cups.  Let them explore shapes and objects for themselves.   

The more they see and feel spatial relationships, the easier it will be for them to understand that numbers represent less and more of something. 

Apply it to real life situations.
No matter how young or old a person is, it is always our desire to understand how knowledge applies to our lives.  After all, why learn it if you can’t use it, right?  Once you and your toddler (probably around age 2 by now) have moved on to the big stuff, numbers, they will want to know why.  Why learn numbers?  What are they for?  The best way to answer this question is to show them.  Use their developing counting skills to help you set the table.  (i.e.  you need 3 forks here, 2 spoons there, and 4 napkins over there.)  You can make this task as simple or complex as you feel the child can handle.  Repeat this hands on process with other small jobs.  The grocery store is also a great place to put numbers into practice.  Maybe it's too early to tackle the subject of money and value but I would suggest asking them to place 2 carrots in the bag, 1 box of cereal in the cart, etc.  Be creative, even you might be surprised at just how much you use numbers and math every day.

Practice makes perfect.
You know the old saying, practice makes perfect, right?  The more you count with them, the more you use numbers in front of them, the faster they will understand.  Make it a game, lead by example.  Through repetition they will learn.

This blog post was provided by Stephanie Parker - our blog writer extraordinaire!