Math sense

You can help DEVELOP your child’s MATH SENSE
by engaging in the activities below:

Play “Shop” with your child
Make tags for toys. Buy and sell toys
for pennies.
Play board games
using dice that require counting such as
Snakes and Ladders or Monopoly.
Work on numerals and math facts
such as addition and subtraction using flash cards.
Match groups of objects
or dots to the appropriate numerals. Have your child
put the appropriate number of stickers on one side
of an index card, and the appropriate numeral on the
other. Cut the cards in half using a unique shape. Have
your child find the parts that match.
Count objects around the house and outside
such as cars on the street or signs on the road.

Cook or bake with your child

This exposes her to math terms,

measuring, and beginning fractions.

To improve number recognition
have your child trace sandpaper numbers (used in the Montessori math curriculum), and draw
numerals in sand.
To develop number sequences beyond 10 & recognize recurring sequences
make a Hundreds Board. Make patterns using numbers.
Play card games
To improve number recognition, play Go Fish or Concentration. To improve number sequence
and more or less than concepts, play War, Spit, or Clock Solitaire. To improve matching and
adding skills, play Casino, 21, Solitaire, and Cribbage. Deal Me In by Margie Golick outlines
many card games and the types of skills each game reinforces.
Make up simple addition and subtraction questions
Solve these questions using candies, pennies, or buttons. Teach your child how to diagram the
problem using sticks or circles like this: X X X + X X = 5.
For addition or subtraction
Teach your child how to start with the biggest number and count up or down. For numbers up
to 10, she can use her fingers. Teach how to use known facts to work out answers.
Use books of connect-the-dots puzzles to teach number sequences
and help develop your child’s visuomotor skills.
Use workbooks with grade-appropriate number and word problems
Make copies of pages of examples of number problems, for example, addition and
subtraction, so that your child can do them more than once. Over a period of days, begin to
time her and reward her for completing the examples more quickly. This will help automate
retrieval of “math facts” such as 3 + 4 = 7.
DEVELOPING NUMBER SENSE



DATA MANAGEMENT
& PROBABILITY
• teach equivalent amounts, beginning with pennies and nickels.
• give your child a weekly allowance. Have her count her money and divide it up into saving and spending piles. Each week, have her graph how much she has in savings and for spending.

GEOMETRY & SPATIAL SENSE
• some children have visuospatial difficulties that affect their ability to distinguish the shapes of objects or where they are in relation to one another. These weaknesses may affect the development of math skills in this strand. Teach her to develop verbal strategies for spatial problems. Have her say them aloud initially, and then have your child use self-talk, first speaking the instructions aloud, and then “speaking” the instructions mentally.
• teach spatial terms including above/below, behind/in front, and near/far. Play games using these terms to position toys.
• teach names of two-dimensional shapes, for example circle, square, rectangle, rhombus, pentagon.
• use books of mazes to help develop your child’s visual problem-solving, planning, and visuomotor (hand-eye coordination) skills.


MEASUREMENT
• teach math terms such as bigger/smaller, more/less, and so on. Start with which toys are  bigger/smaller, then which group is bigger/ smaller. Introduce more/less as meaning the same as bigger/smaller.
• measure objects with a ruler, and place objects in order of size. Talk about which objects are bigger/longer and smaller/shorter.
• count piles of coins. Talk about which pile has more/less.
• play War with a regular deck of cards or try the Math War card game.


PATTERNING & ALGEBRA
• look for and point out recurring patterns. Make up patterns using colour, size, shapes, rhythms, or actions. As your child improves in recognizing patterns, use sequences of numbers or letters.
• put objects in order by size, by height, and by weight.