Although it might seem like a daunting task but you will be astonished how encouraging toddlers imbibe numeracy skills will help them a lot to prepare for preschools. The good news is that she can easily learn them at home. Young children have an instinctive sense of addition and subtraction through their everyday interactions; though there are many workbooks available in the market, you can also incorporate these yourself. Here are ways you can help the child-
Play with Shapes
Make shapes interesting for your child using shape-sorters or by cutting paper into different shapes. Talk to her about different shapes and where they are found. Let her count the sides, describe the colors and talk about similar shapes she has seen at home. Keep the shapes basic and simple - circles, rectangles, squares and triangles at first and then move onto more complex shapes.
Group Things Together
Give your child a bag of chunky beads and tell her to group them according to their shape, size and colors. Count with your child at the beginning, but she should be able to do this on her own after a while. You can also play a game by collecting a group of balls into a bag and having your child guess the number. Count the number of balls and see who comes closest to the correct answer.
The Calendar System
It is never too early to start teaching her the address and phone number. Tell her about the days of the week and weather, by telling her about the different clothes we wear during each season. To make things fun, you can make a chart where the child can put a sticker each time it rains or is sunny; at the end of each week, count the stickers in each column.
Make Learning Time Fun
Make study time interesting for your child by reading her stories, singing songs and reciting poems. Choose books with numbers in them that repeat, rhyme and have rhythm. This exercise will help her practice language and social skills. Encourage your child to spot patterns at home, such as the dry food items, pieces of cut-out paper or flowers on the walls.
Let Your Child Help at Home
Let your child help in age-appropriate household duties. As you are sorting out the laundry, tell your child to sort out shirts and socks, and make pairs of socks of the same colour and size. Help your child count the number of shirts and socks. Take your child’s help in the kitchen as well and let her fill, stir and pour, helping her to count, measure, and add.
Teaching your child involves a great deal of creativity and innovation to make things interesting. Experiment these methods and more to see what suits her best. With a little care and perseverance, your little one will be able to adapt very well to the school system and emerge as a bright student in future.
Comments
Comments
