Develop early math skills using recycled paper towel tubes to count and measure.
What You Need:
- 3 or more recycled paper towel tubes
What To Do:
- Invite your child to use recycled paper towel tubes to measure things around the home.
- Ask your child to guess how many tubes it will take to measure the item. For example, ask your child, “How many tubes tall is the table?” “Let’s measure it, starting from the bottom and measure all the way to the top.” “Let’s count, 1, 2, 3 tubes…”
- Help your child confirm his guess by counting and measuring together.
Make this math game using recycled plastic containers with lids to support sorting and shape recognition.
What You Need:
- Assorted plastic containers with matching lids that you no longer need.
- Black sharpie marker
What To Do:
- Write a number on the container that matches the same number on the lid. For example, write '1' on a container and '1' on the matching lid.
- Invite the child to match the plastic container to the lid by the same numbers.
- When the child finds the matching lid to the container, point to the number and say, “You found the #1 lid for the #1 container.”
- The child will have fun sorting containers and lids while learning early math skills.
Develop math concepts through simple counting songs and rhymes.
What You Need:
None
What To Do:
- Sing the rhyme as you gently touch the child’s fingers, toes, piko (belly button in Hawaiian), and nose.
- Then sing the rhyme again, and then count the child’s body parts aloud. For example, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, you have five fingers!"
- You may also gently tickle the child’s piko and/or nose to make it fun and exciting.
Rhyme:
Counting fingers,
Counting toes,
Counting piko, and your nose.
Make a cold treat with your keiki and work on early math skills by counting and measuring the ingredients.
What You Need:
- 1 (13.5 ounces) can of coconut milk
- 2 cups fresh pineapple or 1 14-oz can pineapples, drained
- 1 banana, sliced
What To Do:
- Together with keiki, count and measure the ingredients. For example, “We have 1 can of coconut milk, 2 cups of fresh pineapple (or 1 can), and 1 banana, which was sliced into 8 pieces. Let’s count.”
- Put ingredients into a blender and puree. When putting the ingredients into the blender, use math words: “First, 1 can of coconut milk.” “Second, 2 cups of fresh pineapple (count “1, 2.”) “Next, 1 banana.”
- Pour puree into Popsicle molds. Ask keiki to guess how long it will take to freeze into a popsicle.
- Freeze for at least 4 hours
- Enjoy!
