PRESCHOOL

MATH AT HOME
SIMPLE ACTIVITIES TO BUILD THE BEST
POSSIBLE FOUNDATION FOR YOUR CHILD

KATE SNOW

WELL-TRAINED MIND PRESS

 Copyright 2016 Well-Trained Mind Press
All rights reserved.

Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publication Data

(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)

Names: Snow, Kate.

Title: Preschool math at home : simple activities to build the best possible
foundation for your child / Kate Snow.
Description: Charles City, VA : Well-Trained Mind Press, [2016]
Identifiers: LCCN 2016930340 | ISBN 978-1-933339-91-7
Subjects: LCSH: Counting--Study and teaching (Preschool) | Numbers, Natural--
Study and teaching (Preschool) | Arithmetic--Study and teaching (Preschool) |
Educational games.
Classification: LCC QA135.6 .S66 2016 | DDC 372.7--dc23

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by

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Well-Trained Mind Press, 18021 the Glebe Lane, Charles City, VA 23030.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
What Your Child Will Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
What You Will Need. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Chapter 1: Counting to Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
1.1 Count Five Toys in a Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
1.2 Count Toys in Different Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1.3 Count with Fingers to Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.4 Introduce Zero with Fingers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.5 Count Around the House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.6 Match My Mat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.7 Set the Table for a Tea Party (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
1.8 Feed the Stuffed Animal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.9 Count Hops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.10 Match Claps to Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.11 Count Claps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Is My Child Ready to Move On?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

5
6 Table of Contents

Chapter 2: Counting to Ten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Chapter Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
2.1 Hide and Seek to Ten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
2.2 Count Ten Toys in a Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.3 Count with Fingers to Ten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.4 Count Scattered Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.5 Don’t Move the Counters! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.6 Count Pictures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.7 Play Store with Pennies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.8 Tens Treasure Hunt (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Is My Child Ready to Move On?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Chapter 3: Numbers from Zero to Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.1 I Spy Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.2 Hide the Toys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.3 Peek-A-Boo Fingers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.4 Fingers Up, Fingers Down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.5 Counters on the Five-Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.6 Peek-a-Boo Counters on the Five-Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.7 Missing Counters on the Five-Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.8 Hidden Handfuls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Is My Child Ready to Move On?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Chapter 4: Numbers from Six to Ten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Chapter Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.1 Five Fingers and Some More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.2 Peek-A-Boo Fingers with Two Hands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
4.3 Race to Ten Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
 Table of Contents 7

4.4 Hidden Counters on the Ten-Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

4.5 Nickels and Pennies (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.6 Fingers Up, Fingers Down to Ten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.7 Missing Counters on the Ten-Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Is My Child Ready to Move On?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Chapter 5: Written Numerals from 0 to 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Chapter Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.1 Number Snack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.2 Making Number Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.3 Number Race Game. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
5.4 Number Jump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.5 Mixed-Up Number Jump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.6 Number Card Matching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.7 Number Card Line-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.8 Number Memory Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5.9 Go Fish Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5.10 Number Scavenger Hunt (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Is My Child Ready to Move On?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Chapter 6: Comparing Quantities and Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Chapter Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.1 Compare Cookies, Part One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.2 Compare Cookies, Part Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
6.3 Equal Fish in the Pond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
6.4 More and Fewer Fish in the Pond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
6.5 Who Has More?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
6.6 Dice War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
6.7 Ten-Frame War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
8 Table of Contents

6.8 War Card Game (Optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Is My Child Ready to Move On?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Chapter 7: Addition and Subtraction Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Chapter Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7.1 Penny Addition Stories, Part One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7.2 Penny Addition Stories, Part Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
7.3 Add Handfuls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
7.4 Fish Pond Addition Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
7.5 Penny Subtraction Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.6 Subtraction Snack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.7 Balloon Subtraction Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Is My Child Ready to Move On?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Five-Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Number Race Game Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Number Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Single Ten-Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Double Ten-Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
 PREFACE

Five years ago, when my first child was a preschooler, I marveled at how
quickly and easily he learned new things. Whether he was building block tow-
ers, looking at his favorite picture books, or digging in the sand box, he always
seemed to be absorbing new information like a sponge. His vocabulary grew
every day as he learned to name and describe everything around him.
I wanted my son to learn about numbers and the language of math with
as much interest and excitement as he learned about the rest of the world. But
when I looked for a preschool math program, none of the available options
captured the joy and enthusiasm for numbers that I was hoping to instill. Most
programs were workbooks with lots of repetitive matching activities and far
too much writing. I knew my son would learn math best if he could move, talk,
and play—not sit in a chair and do worksheets! I didn’t want him to think of
math as boring pencil-and-paper work, but as a natural part of everyday life
that he could use to better understand the world around him.
Since I couldn’t find a high-quality, developmentally-appropriate pre-
school math curriculum, I decided to create my own. I had plenty of back-
ground as an elementary math educator—I had majored in math and teaching
in college, taught fifth grade, and even written math curricula—so I read
everything that I could find about how preschoolers learn math and created
simple, purposeful activities that would give my son a thorough understand-
ing of the numbers from zero to ten. I was busy with a new baby, though, so
every activity had to take less than ten minutes, be easy to implement for my
sleep-deprived self, and use things I already had around the house!

9
10 Preface

My son and I had a wonderful time playing with numbers together while
his baby sister napped. Now, five years later, I can see how the activities we
did together developed his confidence and gave him the skills he needed to
thrive in math. Math is now his favorite subject, and he loves to tackle chal-
lenging problems. His little sister is now five, and she’s learned preschool
math using the same activities that I used with her brother. As she begins kin-
dergarten math, I’m seeing how the foundation laid by our math time together
has helped her become a confident and enthusiastic math student as well.
I’m thrilled to be able to share with you this preschool math curriculum,
based on the simple, straightforward activities that I used with my own kids.
Even if you don’t feel very comfortable teaching math, this book is designed
to give you the tools you need to give your child a great start in math. Every
activity is clearly explained, step by step. Notes throughout the book help you
understand the reasoning behind the activities: what skill each activity devel-
ops, why they are sequenced in this particular order, and how each activity
will help your child develop solid math skills. By the time you reach the end of
the book, your child will be ready to learn kindergarten math with confidence.
I wish you and your child much fun and joy as you explore the world of
numbers together. Happy Math!

Kate Snow
Grand Rapids, Michigan
 INTRODUCTION

What Your Child Will Learn

Young children develop many informal ideas about numbers long before
receiving any explicit instruction. For example, most one-year-olds can tell
the difference between one cookie and three cookies (even if the only word
they have to express the difference is “Mine!”).
The activities in this book will build on what your child already knows
and help her become skillful with the numbers from zero to ten. They will also
teach her the language of math, the words and written numerals that allow us
to communicate about numbers and quantities. As you use the activities to
teach your child, you’ll focus on five key skills that help preschoolers develop
a solid math foundation:

ĕſ Counting
ĕſ Subitizing (recognizing quantities without counting)
ĕſ Recognizing written numerals
ĕſ Comparing numbers
ĕſ Joining and taking away (beginning addition and subtraction)

Let’s take a closer look at each of these skills.

Counting: More complicated than adults realize

Counting is the foundation of preschool math. As children count, they learn
what numbers mean: that two can refer to two apples, two books, two sisters,

11
12 Introduction

two jumps, or two taps. The idea that numbers represent quantities is very
abstract; counting is what makes this idea concrete for young children.
Counting seems basic, but young children’s counting mistakes show what
a complex skill it is. Perhaps you’ve seen a small child very earnestly point to
a pile of crayons and say “one, four, three, eight!” Or, you may have watched
a child “count” by pointing in the general direction of a pile of blocks and
rattling off “onetwothreefourfivesixseveneight” without any attention to how
many blocks there actually are. Some children can even point to three toy
cars and say “one, two, three”—but when asked, they can’t say how many toy
cars there are!
To be able to count accurately, a child has to learn:

ĕſ The order of the counting words (“one, two, three,” etc.),

ĕſ That you have to count each item once and only once,
ĕſ That you can count objects in any order,
ĕſ That any kind of thing can be counted (even intangible ones like
sounds or jumps),
ĕſ That the last number said when counting is the total number.

Since preschoolers are concrete thinkers and learn by doing, you can’t just
tell them these principles, though. To understand these important ideas, they
need plenty of experience counting real objects, pictures, jumps, and sounds.
The counting activities in this book are designed to help your child develop
this thorough understanding of counting.
Your child will learn to count to five in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, she’ll
extend the counting sequence further and learn to count to ten.

Subitizing: Recognizing quantities and combinations without

counting
While counting is the foundation of preschool math, it’s essential that chil-
dren also learn to recognize groups of items without counting. This is called
learning to subitize (pronounced SOO-bi-tize). To understand better what
subitizing is, take a quick glance at these illustrations.
 Introduction 13

Notice how you can immediately

tell that there are four fingers raised,
without counting each finger? Or
that you can just “see” that there are
three stars? That’s subitizing. Most
adults can easily recognize up to
five items at a time, no matter how
they are arranged.
Once there are more than five
items, though, it’s much more diffi-
Can you tell at a glance how many
cult to determine the quantity with- fingers and stars there are?
out counting—unless the items are
organized into smaller groups. Take
a quick glance at each of the illustrations
below. Can you immediately tell how
many objects are in each box, or do you
have to count them?
Each box contains eight objects. You
can probably tell at a glance that there
are eight triangles and eight squares,
because those objects are organized into
smaller groups (four and four triangles;
five and three squares). But since the
dots are scattered randomly, it’s very dif-
ficult to tell how many there are without
counting each dot one-by-one.
In Chapter 3, your child will learn to
recognize quantities from zero to five
by sight. You’ll use a simple grid of five
squares (called a five-frame), along with
Can you tell at a glance how many your fingers and household objects, to
triangles, squares, and dots there teach her this skill.
are?
14 Introduction

Once she has learned to

recognize small quantities by
sight, she’ll then use this skill
to learn the combinations that
make five (four and one; three Five-frame with three counters
and two; five and zero). The
five-frame makes it easy to
learn these combinations visually; in the example to the right, three boxes
are full and two are empty, so three and two must make five. Learning these
combinations previews addition and subtraction: a child who can mentally
“see” that two and three make five will later be able to solve simple addition
and subtraction problems like 2 + 3 or 5 – 2 with ease.
In Chapter 4, you’ll use a ten-frame (a grid of ten squares) to teach more
complex subitizing. Your child will learn how to recognize six to ten objects
as combinations of five and some more. For example, this arrangement on
the ten-frame will lead your child to discover that seven equals five and two
more (since there are five circles on the left-hand side of the dark line, and two
circles on the right-hand side).
Just as the five-frame
helps children learn the com-
binations that make five, the
ten-frame will help your child
learn the combinations that
make ten (five and five; six
Ten-frame with seven counters
and four; seven and three;
eight and two; nine and one;
ten and zero). With the ability to visualize combinations, she’ll be well-pre-
pared to master addition facts in kindergarten and first grade.

Recognizing written numerals: Making the connection between con-

crete objects, spoken words, and written symbols
Written numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, etc.) are our short-hand for communicating about
numbers. After children have a firm understanding of the concept of numbers
and have gotten to know the numbers from zero to ten well, they are ready to
 Introduction 15

connect spoken numbers with written symbols. Learning the written numer-
als in preschool will make calculations and more advanced work in kinder-
garten much easier. (Imagine trying to solve 3 + 6 when you’re not quite sure
what the symbols “3” or “6” mean!)
Recognizing these written numerals is much like learning the letters of
the alphabet, because children learn to match a symbol with a spoken word.
Just as learning the alphabet takes time, your preschooler will likely need
quite a bit of practice to learn which squiggly shape goes with which spoken
number. Chapter 5 focuses on teaching your child how to recognize the writ-
ten numerals from 0 to 10.

Comparing numbers and quantities: Which has more?

Learning to compare quantities helps preschoolers begin to make sense of the
relationships between numbers: seven is one less than eight, but it is one more
than six. Your child will build on these relationships in kindergarten addition
and subtraction. For example, a kindergartner might use her knowledge that
eight is one more than seven to solve 7 + 1.
Preschoolers already understand the concept of more and less informally,
especially if they feel that someone else is getting “more” and they are get-
ting “less”! Even without any instruction, most are able to compare quantities
if only small amounts are involved, or if two quantities are very different from
each other visually. For example, in the pictures below, your child could prob-
ably tell right away which box of cars has more cars, or which plate of cookies
has fewer cookies.

Most preschoolers can easily tell which

box has more cars and which plate has
more cookies.
16 Introduction

But comparing larger quantities (or quantities are that look about equal)
is much more difficult. To learn to make these more difficult comparisons,
preschoolers need instruction and
lots of practice. For example, in the
picture to the right, most young
children would find it very difficult
to tell which bag has more marbles.
Preschoolers who are just learn-
ing to compare larger quantities
begin by matching the objects one-
by-one to see which group has more.
Then, as they gain more experi-
ence with comparing, children learn
that they can use counting to com- Most preschoolers find it difficult to
pare quantities: “There are seven tell which bag has more marbles.
striped marbles and eight plain
marbles. Eight comes after seven, so
eight marbles is more than seven marbles.” In Chapter 6, you will help your
child learn to compare quantities and written numerals.

Matching one-by-one to
compare two groups

Joining and taking away: Beginning addition and subtraction

Counting, subitizing, recognizing written numerals, and comparing all help
children understand what numbers are. But preschoolers also need to begin to
learn what they can do with numbers. That doesn’t mean that you should make
your child sit down and solve pages of addition and subtraction problems,
though! What’s most important at this stage is that your child understands
 Introduction 17

the meanings of the operations: addition as joining two sets together, and sub-
traction as taking part of a set away. In Chapter 7, you will use simple stories
and concrete objects to introduce your child to the concepts of addition and
subtraction.

How to Use This Book

Start when your child is interested
Most children will be ready to start the activities in this book around age four.
If your child becomes interested in numbers at age three, go ahead and start
trying some of the activities. No matter what age your child is, if there’s frus-
tration or tears, stop! Put the book away for a month and then give it another
try. Sometimes, children’s brains just need a little more time to mature before
they’re ready to understand number concepts.

Do the activities in order, but follow your child’s lead for pacing
The activities in this book build math skills step-by-step. Each activity builds
on the activities that came before, and each chapter builds on the skills devel-
oped in previous chapters. Plan to teach the activities in order without skip-
ping around. (A few activities are labeled as optional, either because they are
advanced for most preschoolers or because they require a lot of props. Feel
free to skip those if they are too challenging for your child or too time-inten-
sive for you to set up.)
Take as much time as you need with each activity. Generally, you’ll want
to spend a few (short!) teaching sessions on each activity so that your child
understands it well before moving on to the next activity. Follow your child’s
lead. If your child has a lot of experience with a topic, you may breeze through
several activities in one session. On the other hand, if your child struggles
with a brand-new concept, you may want to stick with the same activity for a
couple of weeks.
At the end of each chapter, you’ll find a brief description of what your child
should be able to do before moving on to the next chapter. Use this to help you
decide whether to move on to the next chapter or give your child more prac-
tice with the current chapter.
18 Introduction

Have a consistent (and short) math time

You’re more likely to remember to do math if you choose a consistent time
each day. You might do a little math with your preschooler before bedtime, or
you might play with numbers together after morning snack each day.
Most four-year-olds have a very short attention span, so don’t expect a
focused, twenty-minute lesson. You’ll be amazed at what your child will learn
in a year if you do math together for just five minutes per day, several times
per week.

Ask, “How many?”

As your child masters counting, she needs to learn that the last number she
says when counting is the total number. For example, she may be able to point
to blocks and count “one, two, three,” but she may not be able to answer after-
ward when you ask how many blocks there are. Until she masters this impor-
tant skill, make sure to ask her how many objects there are every time she
counts. And, make sure you explicitly say how many objects there are every
time you model counting.

Weave math throughout the day

Math is more than just numbers, but the other math concepts your preschooler
needs to know will come up naturally during the day. Keep an eye out for
opportunities to talk about patterns, clocks, shapes, and measurements, and
use these teachable moments to introduce these ideas to your preschooler.
This can be as simple as checking the time on the clock or measuring flour
for pancakes together.

Have fun!
Math time for preschoolers should be fun! Feel free to adapt the games and
activities to your preschooler’s personality. Use her favorite trucks for the
counting activities, or pretend that the counters on the ten-frame are people
sitting on a bus.
Preschoolers especially love peek-a-boo games and being in charge. In
this book, you’ll see lots of hiding games and chances for your child to “be
the teacher.” Go ahead and make the hiding games as dramatic and fun as
 Introduction 19

possible, and enjoy the chance for your child to show off what she knows when
she leads activities. Most of all, enjoy this time with your preschooler.

What You Will Need

The activities in this book require only simple items from around your house,
and many of the activities do not require any materials at all. However, it’s
much easier to do math consistently if you don’t have to hunt for supplies. To
make it as easy as possible to have math time each day, put together a small
“Math Basket” with the most frequently-used materials, including:

ĕſ This book
ĕſ 20 small counters (You can use whatever you have around the house,
such as pennies, Legos, or plastic cubes. It’s best to use something
simple and geometric so that your child will focus on counting, not
examining the items. If your child still tends to put things in her
mouth, make sure to use something large enough not to be a choking
hazard, such as small wooden blocks.)
ĕſ Resources from the Appendix, preferably printed on cardstock (pages
89-91)
ĕſ One nickel and ten pennies
ĕſ Blank paper and a writing utensil

There are also some items that you will only need occasionally. If you
would like to gather everything you’ll need in advance, here is the full list:

ĕſ Ten small toys (like toy cars or small animal figures)

ĕſ Four stuffed animals
ĕſ Small blanket
ĕſ Two small paper bags
ĕſ Two regular, six-sided dice
ĕſ Tape
ĕſ Two different small objects for game tokens
ĕſ Two different-colored writing utensils
ĕſ Toy cups, plates, spoons, and play food items (optional)
20 Preschool Math at Home

ĕſ Dot stickers (optional)

ĕſ Small food items (raisins, pieces of cereal, etc.) (optional)
ĕſ Large index cards (optional)
ĕſ Small stickers (optional)
 — CHAPTER 3 —

NUMBERS
FROM ZERO
TO FIVE

Chapter Overview
In Chapter 3, your child will learn to recognize amounts up to five without
counting. (This important skill is called subitizing; see pages 12-14 in the
Introduction for more explanation.) You’ll use small groups of items around
the house, your fingers, and a simple grid called a five-frame to help him learn
to “see” at a glance how many objects there are in a group. Once your child
has learned to recognize the quantities to five, he’ll continue to use his fingers
and the five-frame to learn the combinations that make five (four and one, two
and three, five and zero).

3.1 I Spy Numbers

Purpose
Begin to think of quantities as groups rather than counting them
one-by-one

Materials
No special materials needed

Activity
Secretly choose a set of two objects in the room you are in (for example,
two pictures on the wall or two books on the coffee table), and say, “I spy
with my little eye two of something.” Encourage your child to guess your

39
40 Preschool Math at Home

secret objects. He might ask, “Are you thinking of those two toy cars on
the rug? Or the two lamps by the window?” Try to choose objects that
are large, obvious, and close together. If your child needs help, give clues
about the color or size of the objects, or look directly at the objects so your
child can follow your gaze.
Play several times, including sets with one, two, three, four, and five
items. Then, reverse roles and let your child choose secret objects for you
to guess.

Note
In Chapter 1, your child counted out small objects and counted items in
your home. He may find looking for a set with a certain number of objects
more challenging, because he has to think about what the number means,
hold the number in his head, and look for the matching set.
Also note that zero isn’t included in this activity, since it is very dif-
ficult to “spy” zero of an object!

3.2 Hide the Toys

Purpose
Begin to recognize quantities up to five without counting; explore the
combinations that make five (five and zero, four and one, two and three)

Materials
Five small toys (such as cars or plastic animals); small blanket

Activity
Line up the five toys and ask your child how many there are. (Five.) With
your child’s eyes closed, secretly hide one toy under the blanket. When he
opens his eyes, ask how many toys are still showing. (Four.) Also ask how
many he thinks are under the blanket. (One.) If your child’s not sure, have
him look at how many lumps are under the blanket.
After he answers, let him look under the blanket to see if he was cor-
rect. Then, move the hidden toy back to the line and play some more, hid-
ing different numbers of toys each time. To include zero, move all of the
 Numbers from Zero to Five 41

toys under the blanket (so that five are under the blanket and zero are
visible). Or, leave all the toys in the line, so that five are visible and zero
are under the blanket.
Allow your child to hide the toys and ask you how many there are, too.
Lining up the toys (rather than scattering them randomly) makes it
easier to tell how many are missing. When your child is ready for more
of a challenge, arrange the five toys in a haphazard pattern before hiding
any under the blanket.

Note
Many preschoolers can easily recognize groups of one, two, or three
objects but have trouble distinguishing between four and five objects.
One way to help your child tell the difference between four and five is to
point out that a line of five always has one object in the middle with two
objects on either side.
On the other hand, a line of four objects does not have a middle object.

A line of five always has one counter in the A line of four has a space in the
middle, with two counters on either side. middle, not an object.
42 Preschool Math at Home

3.3 Peek-A-Boo Fingers

Purpose
Become faster at recognizing quantities up to five without counting

Materials
No special materials needed

Activity
Review Activity 1.3 (“Count with Fingers to
Five”). Then, put your hand behind your back
and hold up three fingers. Tell your child
that you are going to show your fingers very
quickly, and his job is to tell how many fingers
you’re holding up, as fast as he can.
With drama, briefly show your child your
hand and then put it behind your back again.
Ask him how many fingers you are holding
up. (Three.) After he has guessed, bring your
hand out again to let him count the fingers and
see whether he was right.
Repeat with the other numbers up to five,
including a closed fist for zero. Then, reverse roles. Let him hide his hand
and ask you how many fingers he’s holding up.

Note
Keep this activity (and all of the peek-a-boo activities in this book) fast-
paced and fun, adjusting the speed to your child. Try to flash the fingers
as quickly as possible so that your child doesn’t have time to count one-
by-one but instead begins to recognize the quantities. Never push your
child to guess, though, and always allow your child to count one-by-one
any time he’s not sure or makes a mistake. With repeated practice, he’ll
learn to recognize quantities up to five instantly.
 Numbers from Zero to Five 43

3.4 Fingers Up, Fingers Down

Purpose
Begin to identify combinations that make five (five and zero, four and one,
two and three)

Materials
No special materials needed

Activity
Show your child four fingers, with your palm
facing you. Ask how many fingers are up
(four). Then, ask how many fingers are down
without turning your hand around.
After your child responds (one), turn your
hand so that your palm faces your child and he
can confirm his answer.
Repeat with other numbers of fingers.
Then, let your child be the teacher and quiz
you on how many fingers he has up and down.

Note
It might take your child a minute to figure Four fingers up, one
finger down
out how many fingers are down. Make sure to
give him some thinking time before offering
help. Children sometimes copy their parent’s hand with their own hand
to see how many are down, and sometimes they look closely at the edge
of the parent’s hand to see where the tucked fingers’ edges are. What-
ever method makes sense to your child is fine; what’s most important
is that he realizes he can reason out the answer. If he makes a mistake,
just turn your hand around to show him how many fingers are down and
then try again.
44 Preschool Math at Home

3.5 Counters on the Five-Frame

Purpose
Introduce the five-frame

Materials
Five-frame (page 89); five counters

Activity
Place three counters on the five-frame as shown below. When using the
five-frame, always place the counters from left to right, with no empty
spaces between counters.
Ask your child how many
counters there are. (Three.)
As in the other activities in
this chapter, encourage him
to recognize the quantity by How to place three counters on the
sight, but allow him to count five-frame
if he’s not sure.
Repeat for other numbers up to five, including zero. Then, tell your
child a number from zero to five and have him put the matching number
of counters on the five-frame.

Note
This activity introduces your child to the five-frame. This simple grid
helps children visualize quantities in an orderly way. It also helps chil-
dren begin to notice relationships between numbers, which is essential
for comparing numbers and for beginning addition and subtraction. For
example, when a child puts three counters on the five-frame, he can imme-
diately see that he would need to add two more counters for all five boxes
to be filled.
This builds a mental
framework for comparing
numbers (three is less than
five) and and for addition (two Three boxes are full, and two are empty.
 Numbers from Zero to Five 45

plus three equals five). You’ll use the five-frame (and its cousin, the ten-
frame) more throughout this book.

3.6 Peek-a-Boo Counters on the Five-Frame

Purpose
Practice identifying quantities up to five without counting

Materials
Five-frame (page 89); five counters; blank piece of paper

Activity
Ask your child to close his eyes. While his eyes are closed, secretly place
one counter on the five-frame and cover the five-frame with the blank
piece of paper. Tell him to open his eyes, and then remove the piece of
paper for a second and cover the five-frame again. Ask how many coun-
ters are on the frame. (One.) If he’s not sure, remove the paper and let him
look for as long as he needs.
Repeat with other numbers of counters from zero to five.

Note
As in Activity 3.4 (Fingers Up, Fingers Down), try to reveal the counters
for just a second so that your child doesn’t have time to count one-by-one
but instead begins to recognize the quantities by sight. Adjust the pace to
your child, going as fast as possible without frustrating him. Also, make
sure your piece of paper isn’t see-through. Construction paper or a manila
file folder works perfectly.

3.7 Missing Counters on the Five-Frame

Purpose
Learn to visualize the combinations that make five (five and zero, four
and one, two and three)