
Home Site map Teaching Ks ..................... Art Holidays Learning Centers Math: How to teach Attribute blocks Geometry Graphing Math & Literature Measurement Manipulatives Money Numbers Pattern Sorting Symmetry Vocabulary Math Index Reading & Writing Science: Environmental Teach science Science Centers Science Fair Science Index Show & Tell Social Studies Themes ..................... *Free newsletter* Be a K Teacher Free K worksheets Bulletin boards Graduation Homeschool Ks K Gifts K Magazines Software Support parents ..................... About Create a website Contact me Can't find it? Amazon.com K-lessons store	Teaching Kindergarten and Preschool Math How to teach math pages: 1 2 3 How do I teach math concepts? Teaching kindergarten and preschool math concepts requires much more than handing children math workbooks or worksheets. Children need to have math experiences that incorporate their senses, that require them to experiment and make observations, and that allow them time to investigate a topic further. Children learn at their own rate and frequently return to former tasks and try solving them in new ways. Kindergarten and preschool math - how do young children learn math? 1. Concrete objects - Children need concrete objects (real stuff, manipulatives - materials, blocks, counters, popsicle sticks...) in order to make sense of new math concepts or abstract ideas. Read, "Teaching with manipulatives", for easy steps on how to do this . Only after children have had ample opportunities to learn a new concept with real things are they ready to connect their learning to abstract symbols such as numbers and math symbols (34, 22, +, -). 2. Time - Children need plenty of time to play with math materials before they use them for teacher guided math activities. 3. Meaningful vocabulary - Children need to link math to their everyday experiences. Math games and activities are good opportunities to build math vocabulary. They need vocabulary to express their mathematical experiences. For more information read, "Helping children build a math vocabulary". EXAMPLE: Teaching kindergarten and preschool math measurement 1. Always give the child a couple of weeks to play with the concrete objects that you are planning to teach with, in this case, wooden blocks. Children need to explore the materials before they are ready to use them in a structured activity. 2. Demonstrate what you would like the child to do. Choose a pile of blocks that are identical and a book. Line the blocks up against the book; then count the blocks. Say, "My book is 4 blue blocks long". Repeat this process a few times. Point out where the first block starts and the last block ends. (Blocks will not be the exact length of the book) Talk about why you need to use identical blocks. Have the children choose a book and identical blocks and try to measure their books. At the beginning, the children are just getting used to the idea that things can be measured. Next math period, children pay more attention to accuracy, where their blocks are starting and ending. Use vocabulary such as half a block and middle of the block. 3. Next day model measuring an object and then recording the results with a picture. Teaching kindergarten and preschool math requires lots of modeling. After the children have recorded their math results as a group on a large paper and they appear to understand the concept of measurement with concrete objects, have them repeat the measurement activity and record their learning. You can provide them with teacher made worksheets or have them create their own recording sheets. Now the children begin to connect their concrete learning to abstract symbols, known as the representational, connecting or picture stage. 4. Only after the above connections have been made are children ready to use only abstract symbols. In this case they would have had much more work with units of measurement and standard units like inches or centimeters. 5. Read more measurement activities... TEACHER TIPS - When teaching kindergarten and preschool math start with shorter periods of structured activities and increase when the group is ready. Change groups frequently as children learn from and gather ideas and vocabulary from each other. When children lose interest, change the materials and tasks slightly. Small groups of ten children work well for kindergarten math structured activities. The other children can be doing unstructured free exploration with other math equipment at this time. You will need to train kindergarten and preschool children to care for classroom materials during the first month of school and with each new set of objects you add to the classroom. Don't put all the math materials out at once. How to teach math pages: Page 1: Kindergarten and preschool math activities - What we believe about how children learn will determine the teaching methods we choose. Page 2: So how do young children learn math? Page 3: Kindergarten math activities - what skills am I teaching? Math activities table of contents: How to teach math successfully: Teaching kindergarten and preschool math - how kids learn math Kindergarten and preschool math - What skills do I teach? Teaching math with manipulatives: Teaching with math manipulatives- helping students get it... Ten steps to teaching with math manipulatives - an example... Best math manipulatives - choose products that teach more than one math concept Teaching math vocabulary: Vocabulary - how to teach math vocabulary Specific areas of the math curriculum: GEOMETRY & SPATIAL SENSE GEOMETRY - What geometry and spatial skills should I teach? Geometry activities ATTRIBUTE BLOCKS -Teach logical thinking, geometry and spacial sense SORTING - Develop classification skills with kindergarten sorting games CLASSIFICATION - teach classification vocabulary an skills with games SYMMETRY -Teach early learners about symmetry GEOMETRY GAMES - simple games that reinforce geometry concepts PATTERN Pattern 1- what pattern skills do students need to learn? Teaching tips Pattern 2- ideas and games to recognize, create, copy and extend patterns Pattern page three - help children know what you mean when you say"pattern" NUMBER SENSE Number Activities - how to provide experiences that build number sense Number Games - how to improve children's number sense with easy games Number Skills - what number skills do children need to know? GRAPHING AND DATA ENTRY Graphing 1 - what do I teach? how do kids collect data and organize it? Graphing 2 - what do we graph? sample graphing lesson Check out the SCIENCE section for more graphing and data collection ideas MEASUREMENT Teaching measurement - measurement skills and ideas to teach them MONEY Teach about money skills & activities Teach about money with games Teach about money with fundraising projects CONNECT MATH AND LITERATURE Math & literature connections - books increase mathematical thinking Ten Apples Up On Top! - open-ended math activity with a Dr. Suess book... 10 Little Rubber Ducks - ideas to promote math with this wonderful Eric Carle story 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo - practice counting, making number sets, ordinal numbers and more Math index- just math pages	Teach Math Pages... 1. K math activities 2. How to teach... 3. What skills to teach... Teach early learners about pattern ........................ Reinforce basic pre-reading and math skills with children's computer software. Visit the software page. ........................ 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Teaching Kindergarten and Preschool Math

How to teach math pages: 1 2 3

How do I teach math concepts?

Teaching kindergarten and preschool math concepts requires much more than handing children math workbooks or worksheets.

Children need to have math experiences that incorporate their senses, that require them to experiment and make observations, and that allow them time to investigate a topic further.

Children learn at their own rate and frequently return to former tasks and try solving them in new ways.

Kindergarten and preschool math - how do young children learn math?

teaching kindergarten and preschool math with real things- playdoh and straws 1. Concrete objects - Children need concrete objects (real stuff, manipulatives - materials, blocks, counters, popsicle sticks...) in order to make sense of new math concepts or abstract ideas. Read, "Teaching with manipulatives", for easy steps on how to do this . Only after children have had ample opportunities to learn a new concept with real things are they ready to connect their learning to abstract symbols such as numbers and math symbols (34, 22, +, -).

2. Time - Children need plenty of time to play with math materials before they use them for teacher guided math activities.

3. Meaningful vocabulary - Children need to link math to their everyday experiences. Math games and activities are good opportunities to build math vocabulary. They need vocabulary to express their mathematical experiences. For more information read, "Helping children build a math vocabulary".

EXAMPLE: Teaching kindergarten and preschool math measurement

1. Always give the child a couple of weeks to play with the concrete objects that you are planning to teach with, in this case, wooden blocks. Children need to explore the materials before they are ready to use them in a structured activity.
measurement activities

2. Demonstrate what you would like the child to do. Choose a pile of blocks that are identical and a book. Line the blocks up against the book; then count the blocks.

Say, "My book is 4 blue blocks long". Repeat this process a few times. Point out where the first block starts and the last block ends. (Blocks will not be the exact length of the book)

Talk about why you need to use identical blocks. Have the children choose a book and identical blocks and try to measure their books. At the beginning, the children are just getting used to the idea that things can be measured. Next math period, children pay more attention to accuracy, where their blocks are starting and ending. Use vocabulary such as half a block and middle of the block.

3. Next day model measuring an object and then recording the results with a picture. Teaching kindergarten and preschool math requires lots of modeling. After the children have recorded their math results as a group on a large paper and they appear to understand the concept of measurement with concrete objects, have them repeat the measurement activity and record their learning.

You can provide them with teacher made worksheets or have them create their own recording sheets. Now the children begin to connect their concrete learning to abstract symbols, known as the representational, connecting or picture stage.

4. Only after the above connections have been made are children ready to use only abstract symbols. In this case they would have had much more work with units of measurement and standard units like inches or centimeters.

5. Read more measurement activities...

TEACHER TIPS - When teaching kindergarten and preschool math start with shorter periods of structured activities and increase when the group is ready.

Change groups frequently as children learn from and gather ideas and vocabulary from each other. When children lose interest, change the materials and tasks slightly.

Small groups of ten children work well for kindergarten math structured activities. The other children can be doing unstructured free exploration with other math equipment at this time.

You will need to train kindergarten and preschool children to care for classroom materials during the first month of school and with each new set of objects you add to the classroom. Don't put all the math materials out at once.

How to teach math pages:

Page 1: Kindergarten and preschool math activities - What we believe about how children learn will determine the teaching methods we choose.
Page 2: So how do young children learn math?
Page 3: Kindergarten math activities - what skills am I teaching?

Math activities table of contents:

How to teach math successfully:

Teaching kindergarten and preschool math - how kids learn math
Kindergarten and preschool math - What skills do I teach?

Teaching math with manipulatives:

Teaching with math manipulatives- helping students get it...
Ten steps to teaching with math manipulatives - an example...
Best math manipulatives - choose products that teach more than one math concept

Teaching math vocabulary:

Vocabulary - how to teach math vocabulary

Specific areas of the math curriculum:

GEOMETRY & SPATIAL SENSE

GEOMETRY - What geometry and spatial skills should I teach? Geometry activities
ATTRIBUTE BLOCKS -Teach logical thinking, geometry and spacial sense
SORTING - Develop classification skills with kindergarten sorting games
CLASSIFICATION - teach classification vocabulary an skills with games
SYMMETRY -Teach early learners about symmetry
GEOMETRY GAMES - simple games that reinforce geometry concepts

PATTERN

Pattern 1- what pattern skills do students need to learn? Teaching tips
Pattern 2- ideas and games to recognize, create, copy and extend patterns
Pattern page three - help children know what you mean when you say"pattern"

NUMBER SENSE

Number Activities - how to provide experiences that build number sense
Number Games - how to improve children's number sense with easy games
Number Skills - what number skills do children need to know?

GRAPHING AND DATA ENTRY

Graphing 1 - what do I teach? how do kids collect data and organize it?
Graphing 2 - what do we graph? sample graphing lesson
Check out the SCIENCE section for more graphing and data collection ideas

MEASUREMENT

Teaching measurement - measurement skills and ideas to teach them

MONEY

Teach about money skills & activities
Teach about money with games
Teach about money with fundraising projects

CONNECT MATH AND LITERATURE

Math & literature connections - books increase mathematical thinking
Ten Apples Up On Top! - open-ended math activity with a Dr. Suess book...
10 Little Rubber Ducks - ideas to promote math with this wonderful Eric Carle story
1, 2, 3 to the Zoo - practice counting, making number sets, ordinal numbers and more

Math index- just math pages