Series: Ideas at Work
Real-World Math Activities for Kids in the Early Years
Teachers and adults can try out and discuss math activities for kids in the classroom and at home. The Ideas at Work series aims to highlight real-world examples of adults finding the math in activities, games, and everyday life.
Series: Ideas at Work
Games to Play at Home Using Attributes for Math Thinking
May 25, 2020
Language and math have a lot in common! For example, every time you describe something—as red, tall, sticky, or loud, for example—you are helping to define and categorize things. And defining and categorizing is huge in mathematics!
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
- Tags Games, Sorting, Attribute, Family Math, En Español
Series: Ideas at Work April 28, 2020
Dishing Up the Math: Tasks at Home Can Become Math Time
Every day dishes need to get cleaned, and every day dishes need to get put away. By involving children in tasks like doing the dishes, you can help them see mathematics in this work.
- Topic: Measurement, Spatial Relationships
- Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
- Tags Family Math, En Español
Series: Ideas at Work April 26, 2020
We’re Going on a Math Walk, Going to Find Some Math Talk
Going for walks is an excellent time to talk about math with your child. You’ll be surprised how much math talk you can have when you look for the math in your very own neighborhood.
- Topic: Number Sense, Counting, Spatial Relationships, Shape
- Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
- Tags Family Math, En Español
Series: Ideas at Work April 25, 2020
Let’s Wash that Math Right Into Laundry Day
Whether you have a machine at home or visit a laundromat, there is all kinds of math involved in doing laundry. And there are all kinds of ways that children of all ages can join…
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
- Tags Estimation, Comparing, Attribute, Family Math, En Español
Series: Ideas at Work April 24, 2020
DIY Puzzles Develop Spatial Thinking
Jigsaw puzzles are a great way for children to develop their spatial thinking and problem-solving skills. Children enjoy doing all kinds of puzzles and making ones from materials found around the house keeps it fresh…
- Topic: Spatial Relationships
- Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
- Tags Games, Family Math, En Español
Series: Ideas at Work October 30, 2019
All Sorts of Families: Connecting School and Home with Math
All members of a household have things in common and things that set them apart. Exploring the important ways that loved ones go together and what makes them unique involves both mathematical thinking and a…
- Topic: Sets
- Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
- Tags Family Math, Emily Jenkins, Five Creatures
Series: Ideas at Work October 16, 2019
Counting Collections Builds Strong Counting Knowledge
There are all kinds of things to count in pre-k to second grade classrooms. Counting Collections is an activity that develops the Big Ideas of number sense and counting, such as cardinality, one-to-one correspondence, and…
- Topic: Number Sense, Counting
- Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade
- Tags Cardinality
Series: Ideas at Work June 8, 2019
Build Tangram Shapes with Do-It-Yourself Puzzles
A tangram puzzle consists of seven pieces — five triangles and two quadrilaterals made from one square. Tangrams originated in China hundreds of years ago. They traveled to Europe in the 1800’s, where they gained…
- Topic: Spatial Relationships, Shape
- Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade
- Tags Play, Family Math, Grandfather Tang's Story, Ann Tompert
Series: Ideas at Work November 7, 2018
Counting on Good Food for the Holidays
Traditions around food and feasts provide rich opportunities to connect math at school with children’s experiences at home. From Diwali to Thanksgiving, fall is a season of special meals with loved ones.
- Topic: Counting
- Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade
- Tags Seasonal, Holiday, Cathryn Falwell, Family Math, Feast for 10
Series: Ideas at Work September 11, 2018
Preschool Number Sense Routine Perfect for Transitions
Moving from one activity to another just got a lot more mathematical with this simple routine that builds early number sense with preschoolers.
- Topic: Number Sense
- Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
- Tags Subitizing, Dot cards
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