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Nurturing Numbers
Nurturing Numbers
Numbers
How to Playfully
Nurture Mathematical
Literacy in Toddlers
A Guide by:
TM
...the absorption of
mathematical knowledge can be
natural, easy, and a source of
joy; the joy of one who discovers
in himself powers that he had
not even suspected...
evil bad guy for way too long. Parents dread teaching math
change this. Learning and teaching math can be super fun and
of quantity. You know, when your two your two year old says,
"that's not fair!" when his baby sister has more blueberries than
he does.
Happy Counting!
Introducing
Quantity
Number symbols and quantity... are they the same thing?
not 'one'. It's just the symbol that represents the quantity of one.
I'm going to start with what you shouldn't be doing. Let's just get this
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
JUST YET. Okay but seriously, I don't mean that you should cover
their eyes everytime you go out and there are numbers. What i
mean to say is, don't show them '5' and say, this is five.
showing them number symbols and telling them that this is "one".
are five people in this room. I see one tree here and one tree there.
something, you play some really silly and fun games. What you
want to test here is if the child grasped and retained the name
of the item. My favorite game to play is play hide and seek. Ask
the child to "hide" one object at a time. So for example, put '1'
on your head! Put it in your shirt. Put '4' on your nose. Hide '7'
under your pillow! This is so fun to play and kids love it!
the item. "Oh no, i can't even remember what this is! Can you
tell me!?" Or play hide and seek again, but this time, your child
asks YOU to hide the objects, which would mean that they
would have to recall the name of the object. After you hide the
object, you can play Hot and Cold to find the objects and then
they would have to tell you what the object they found is
called.
Creative ways to introduce counting with
things you can find at home or outside
numbers, if possible.
legos leaves
colored marbles or circles
blocks
Fun Number Conversations
Oh, I see two trees here, and one tree there! Now there are
three trees!
Wow! Look at the ducks in the lake. One, two, thee, four, five,
six...
You might be curious about why you should stop counting at 10,
mathematics.
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
Now that your child knows how identify quantity up to 10, you
can introduce these pretty little symbols that everyone loves
so much. You never thought this day would come, did you?
1. First you start with a symbol, show it to your child and tell
them what it is. Start with two to three at a time Play the Three
curriculum, number rods are used, but if you don't have number
You really don't have to get fancy with this. Write down
numbers on cardstock or even paper. Cut them out of
cardboard or felt.
5 1 2 3 4 5
4
3
2
1
Creating
Muscle
Memory
After solidifying quantities and symbol
writing.
with a pencil ✏.
The nerves in our hand are wired directly to 70-80% of our brain.
Using hands-on tools such as sandpaper, felt, or wooden numbers
the brain .
it.
experience!
Zero
Means Nothing
Did you think about zero?
Zero just doesn't get the love it deserves. It sits there on the
of the time, a child will understand what 0 is when you tell them
a spindle box.
M a t h es
The Zero Game
s o ri
1. Tell the child you are going to play the zero game,
assuming you have already explained the idea of zero.
nothing!"
this guide.