Friday, May 29, 2009

Friday Focus : A Mind for Math, Part 3

image by redroko

Sorting is a basic math concept that can be learned at a very young age. My 2-year-old has mastered his simple sorting toy (four shapes) and works very hard at his more complicated one. I love holding him on my lap as he tries to figure it out.

For the 4- and 6-year-olds, I have an egg carton filled with colored beads. I think you can guess their task. We sort by color most often; sometimes they like to create their own sorting technique--one of each color in each space, or one bead in the first space, two in the second, and so on. I'm always amazed how long they like this activity.

To further boost math skills, find other sorting activities around your house:
Sort socks in the laundry
Sort toy cars by color, type, etc.
Sort treasures from a walk (pinecones, sticks, rocks)
Put the silverware in the correct tray places (a good chore for little ones
Sort buttons, blocks, legos, etc.

1 comment:

Giovani said...

Thanks great posst