Mathematics is one of the most fundamental subjects young children will learn and develop during their time at school. For toddlers preparing to enter preschool, it’s never too early for them to start learning the simplest form of math such as counting, comparing objects, doing simple reasoning, and basic problem solving among other lessons. Without a core foundation in mathematics, your toddler may lag behind other students in certain areas as they progress through school.
At ACE Daycare, we’re a licensed daycare in Thornhill that offers both junior and senior kindergarten programs for young toddlers. We’re a subsidized daycare that prioritizes the learning development for your child by giving them flexibility, independence and hands-on experience for their input of ideas. In turn, we believe their cognitive, social, and mathematical skills in the process.
Learning math is an important step for helping your child grow and succeed in school. We will explain how we’ll teach your toddler necessary mathematical skills they can learn on their own and how you provide assistance.
What Are The Mathematical Skills In Early Childhood Education?
Early mathematical educational experiences for toddlers can have a lasting impact on the architecture of a child’s brain. They can influence not only the cognitive abilities of your child, but also foster their behavior, social skills, and self-esteem.
Teaching your young toddler math-related exercises helps form the foundation for their problem-solving skills, logic, and self-determination. It helps enhance literacy and language skills, leading to a more positive impact on reading cognition and problem-solving persistence. This in turn will help your toddler make better decisions towards achieving their goals, increasing the chances for a more successful and prosperous life.
Some of the basic mathematical skills important to early childhood education include number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, comparing differences, and identifying different patterns.
Number recognition helps children learn about the true value of numbers. One-to-one correspondence involves recognizing when two different groups have the same number of items and visualizing them in relation to different things. Mathematics will also help your child compare and distinguish different items in value, height, weight, and shapes. As a result, it helps develop their critical thinking skills, spatial awareness, and more advanced math skills. Mathematic fundamentals also help toddlers make predictions, logical connections, and reasoning to solve problems.
How Do You Teach Math Skills To Preschoolers?
There are many practical ways you can start teaching your toddler basic math skills that extend beyond the classroom. Even after helping your child learn math at our daycare, you can still help them learn from the comforts of your own home.
Activities such as numbered hopscotch and dice games are great options for developing their number recognition. Traditional board games can facilitate math skills in early childhood and experience things such as grouping, matching, sorting, numeracy, deciphering geometric figures, and much more. These fun, simple activities will help young toddlers see that numbers can be represented in many different ways.
Routine tasks such as setting the table, cleaning rooms, or helping in the kitchen can help foster your child’s correspondence in recognizing different numerical amounts. For example, they can count the number of plates to set or the amount of ingredients to add when they’re helping you bake something.
Getting your child to play with blocks or other kid-safe items can assist them in knowing the different shapes and colors of different objects. You can buy these blocks from any store or make your own that’s also safe to use. Patterns with different colored blocks can prompt your child to match ones with the same or different shading. Singing a song cal also helps them recognize patterns through rhyme and volume. Fun children’s songs often engage them by prompting them to count or sort out different things they see.
How Do Preschool Kids Learn Math?
The best way for young preschool kids to learn math is to have them experience real-life situations and activities that can be fun for everyone involved. They’ll be able to remember these practical experiences and continue learning through basic routines you set at home. This will set them up for great success in math at school and encourage them to continue practicing their math skills the best that they can.
At ACE Daycare, we have many different programs and areas like block building centres, floor toys, and puzzles to help engage your child’s curiosity and develop their basic math skills. Contact us at our Thornhill location today at 905-764-9555 for more information about enrollment and programming. Work with us now to ensure your child receives the social skills they need to succeed in life.