Month: November 2010

Number Fun

Simplicity is underestimated…but today, i have some simple math measures for you to take.

When it comes to numbers, you want your child to store away those number images in their minds; you want him/her to visualize the numbers when they are counting and not just saying the number words when counting. One of the simplest ways to help him/her in this process is to read counting books to your child. Ask him/her questions about the number…”What does this number look like?” -number one a fishing pole, number two has a candy cane in it, etc. These associations help your child to recall the number by visualizing it in many ways.

Another way kids store things into their memory for easy recall is HANDS-ON learning. This is probably the most advocated form of teaching young children, and for good reason.
So, one way you can create a hands-on activity using things around your house is to make a word document of numbers. Blow them up to whatever size you like (I chose 500 of the font “Color Font”). Then print, cut out, and trace onto a thick paper type (I chose a marker box because it was what was in front of me at the moment), but you could also use: cardstock, a file folder, sandpaper—great for texture, or something that you would recycle like a cereal box. Cut the number out, put a piece of paper over it, and then let your child color over the number until it appears.

Numbers Color Font PDF

Children also need to learn to visualize a number amount for each number, but I will talk more about this in my next math post, and of course, provide an activity 🙂
As always, HAVE FUN!

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Start a Binder of Their Reading Responses

A great beginner reading activity is to read a book to your child and ask him/her to draw something about it: their favorite part, favorite character, silliest part, etc.    If your child says “I dont know how to draw” ask what he wants to draw and give him some simple tips like “Maybe you can draw a circle ‘like this’ for the ‘pig’ in the book”. Then write the date, the book title, and what he drew (the exact way that he dictates it to you) at the top. Read it out loud as you write so that he begins to understand that you are writing in order to tell a story about his drawing. Then, later on, if you ask him to tell you about the book I bet his picture will jog his memory.

I know you are probably beginning to think that you are going to accumulate so much stuff, and you might. But for now, here is something you can do….Start a binder with 3 dividers: Reading, Writing, Math. It will help to keep them organized.  Here are three dividing pages for you below if you want them:

Binder Dividers binder dividers.001 binder dividers.002 binder dividers.003

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Inside Scoop on Name Writing


Well yesterday (November 13, 2010) I posted a writing activity (in Daily Fun Work) and I have some insight I want to share about this teaching opportunity! When you are teaching your child how to write his/her name you can actually be teaching A LOT more than just tracing.
You have the opportunity to teach your child that there are letters in his/her name. I know this may sound like a very simple observation, but letters are very multi-faceted to children. Let’s talk about all they need to learn about letters:
1. There are a lot of letters! There are 26 uppercase, 26 lower case, and 2 letters “a” and “g” that look COMPLETELY different in a book and children don’t even realize they are the same letters.
2. Letters look different! If I want to write a letter for the first time I have to figure out how the letter is formed. Does it have a straight line, curvy line, both, etc.? Is it tall, short, or does it have a tail? They are learning all these letters and learning how to make them. It is no simple task for a little one. Try to teach them to “start at the top” when forming a letter.
3. Letters have purpose! Each letter stands for a different sound, and some have more than one sound, and some letters sound different than in words you might introduce! This is initially very confusing to teach.
4. Letters can be put together to make words! When just beginning, children don’t understand that there are letters, words, sentences, etc. They have to be taught these print concepts. We get to teach them that their name is a word
just like a word in a book .

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Pre-Reading Activity

If you want to start working with your little one on being able to read then the first order of business is to READ TO THEM!  Children love being read to and they love to read.  But when they read they need to know that it is OKAY to make up words for all the pictures.  Cozy up next to them and ask them to read you a book.  If they say “I dont know how to read” then ask them to make up words and explain to them that that is what the writer of the book (or the author) did.  Explain that “When Mommy/Daddy reads I read the words the author wrote, but I want to hear your story.”  You want them to start telling you about the things they see for several reasons….they will start to understand that print carries a meaning, they will learn that they can use picture clues to help them read, they will start to comprehend the sequence of a story line, and many other pre-reading skills 🙂

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