Through exploration of their environment, this learning continues into the preschool years.
But these are advanced skills.
Its important first to understand how young children learn math in an informal and hands-on way.
All young children learn developmentally in a series of steps.
Skipping a step results in confusion and frustration.
Teaching preschool math should be fun and hands-on.
The opportunities to experience math are in abundance around the home, preschool, or playground.
Think of holding one block to understand the concept of one.
Expand the learning by holding two or three.
The child physically explores the concepts of more and less, fewer, add and take away.
Measurement is experienced with block towers or stacking boxes.
Math vocabulary such as taller, shorter, bigger, smaller, etc.
flows naturally from this key in of learning through play.
The Pictorial Stage
This stage follows the concrete stage.
Pictures now can represent real objects.
Children look at a picture of four apples and understand the picture means four apples.
Later, four dots represent the quantity of four.
Children look at pictures and see visual representations of amount, more, and less.
Picture stories showing addition and subtraction begin here as well.
The child has grown mathematically and understands that the numbers 4 and 3 represent a quantity to be added.
In addition, a concept introduced concretely is much easier to understand and solve.
Search your environment for objects to count, things to lift and carry, and patterns.
Moreover, the math basics for a preschooler should be high in quality and challenging.
This will create a keen interest in the subject.
How to Help Your Child Develop Early Math Skills?
Children use math skills during their daily routines and activities.
This is very important as these skills are necessary to make them ready for formal school.
Preschool children have an understanding of what addition and subtraction are through everyday interactions.
For example, John has two cars; Harry wants one.
After John gives one, he sees that he has one car left.
Similarly, other math skills develop through daily activities you have with your child.
For example, counting stairs as you go up or down.
Such easy activities give children an impetus to learn the formal math education that starts informal school.
It is good if parents start to develop maths skills when the child is in the preschool stage.
The following skills need to be developed.
Number Sense
This is the ability to count correctly, and at this stage only forward.
Later children learn how to count backward.
Child aged 2, saw the candies on the table.
He counted with his mother: One, two, three, four, five, six….
Such activities develop number sense in the childs mind.
Representation
Using symbols, words, pictures, and blocks to teach mathematical concepts.
Mother and father playing with their three-year-old child Sam.
Sam (aged 3) is setting out a fantasy picnic.
He cautiously laid out four plastic plates and four plastic cups.
The whole family can come to the picnic.
Spatial Sense (Geometry)
Also referred to as geometry.
One of the simplest and animating math concepts for preschoolers is learning shapes.
The world is full of unique shapes.
Counting
Learning how to count is a very important exercise for preschool children.
Put different objects like toys, blocks, and cars and encourage your child to count them.
For example, when there are two blocks, count with them and show them the number two symbol.
This way you will also teach them what the number two looks like.
Such activities should be repeated all day to make the child understand the concept of counting.
Conclusion
A Preschool childs brain is like a sponge it absorbs knowledge easily.
At this stage heavy responsibility lies on parents to engage with their children constantly.
The important thing is that the efforts should not stop.
Teaching math concepts is easy.
The parent should show and guide the child in his development stage.
Toys, blocks of different shapes, and colorful books can be used to teach different math concepts.
Special attention should be given to shapes, sorting, patterning, counting, and the math dimensions.
Through such activities, you will introduce your child to math concepts.
The response shown by the child gives happiness which is uncountable.
