At Beth Emek Preschool, we believe that opportunities to explore math are everywhere. Here are three play-based activities to help your little one practice counting, sorting, and recognizing shapes.
Snacktime Counting
What you need: A handful of cereal pieces, grapes, crackers, or another small snack
What to do: Pour the snack into a bowl and ask your child to count out specific amounts: “Can you give me 5 cheerios?” You can even turn it into a game: “Let’s see who can make a line of 10 crackers the fastest!”
Sorting Sock Pairs
What you need: A basket of clean laundry, especially socks of different colors or patterns
What to do: Dump a pile of mismatched socks on the floor. Invite your child to sort them by color, pattern, or size: “Can you find all the blue socks?” Once sorted, count each group: “How many polka-dot socks do we have?” Bonus idea: Turn pairing into a memory game; grab one sock, hide it, and see if your child can find its match!
Shape Scavenger Hunt
What you need: A simple checklist with circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles drawn on paper
What to do: Walk around together and look for objects that match each shape. When your child spots, say, a clock face (circle) or a window (rectangle), have them mark it off on the checklist. Celebrate every find with high-fives and descriptive language: “Great job! That pizza pan is a perfect circle!”