Edible Math

For the little ones we always use manipulatives to help them learn math. All of my kids love it when I bring out the edible math (I learned this from my mom). Yesterday we did fishy cracker math with Joanna and Jacklyn and they begged for more.

I write down a math problem like 4+2 = and then point to the 4 and say, "4 fish swam into the sea" (then Jacklyn separates out 4 fish). Then I point to the 2 and say, "How many more swam in?" Jacklyn will read the equation and say, "two!" and then get 2 more fish. Then I say, "Now, how many fish are in the sea?" and she will count them and say, "Six!" Then I say, "That's right. 4+2=6" The subtraction is even more fun because she gets to be a shark. I will say, "There are 6 fish in the sea, but oh no, here comes a shark and he ate 3! (she eats 3) So 6-3 =?" You can do this with all kinds of snacks (my kids love to use gummy bears too) and it really helps the little ones focus. It is also fun to make up all different kinds of stories. You can use raisins and pretend you are a frog and they are flies or use your imagination.

Jacklyn just turned 3 1/2 this week, so this was right at her level, but Joanna is not even 2, but she is counting a little and repeating everything we say, so I included her and just helped her count out 4 fish with her little finger. Joanna snuck a few crackers :), but other than that, I was surprised at how well she did with my help and I think it was great for sparking her interest in learning.

I encourage all mom's to start teaching their children before age 2. Count to 100 often (whisper it, shout it, sing it), count by 2's, 5's and 10's in the car, sing little letter/sound chants and keep some picture letter cards in your purse for waiting in the doctor's office or where ever, let your little ones write letters in a pan of sugar with their finger or write letters with cheese whiz on crackers. You can use magnetic letters on a cookie sheet or scrabble letters to teach letters or spell/read small words. I also have made flash cards of the 100 high frequency words (google it) and I teach Jacklyn a couple a week. Then we do relay races or hunts (like easter egg hunt) to find the words. Many of those words can not be sounded out because they do not follow the rules, or if the child takes time to sound them out, they will read very choppy, so they are great to memorize. I am not a big fan of tv or too many videos, but it is amazing how much my little ones learn from Leap Frog learning DVDs too.

It is incredible how "ready" they will be for kindergarten and for reading, if you just incorporate some of these fun ideas into their life when they are young!