Gryphon House’s engaging and instructive math activities for toddlers, infants and preschoolers encourage children’s emerging reasoning skills. Through repeatable counting games and hands-on observational activities, preschoolers learn foundational skills that set the tone for future development. Educators can use these preschool educational activities to inspire a lifelong appreciation of math with counting, sorting, and telling time activities.
Provoking Curiosity: Student-Led STEAM Learning for Pre-K to Third Grade offers a variety of STEAM provocations that can be used during less-structured classroom time. In this book, author Angela Eckhoff, PhD offers some much needed insight into the world of childhood engineering. Through the use of every-day classroom materials such as paper and glue, you can learn how to engage your students with the creative engineering processes like never before!
Math Science TechnologyCheck out these alternative block play ideas from The Thrifty Teacher’s Guide to Creative Learning Centers, and watch as children develop creative expression, problem solving, social interactions, language use, and more!
Movement and Play MathThis science activity from the book Simple STEAM allows children to explore a rain cloud by simulating the concept using shaving cream and food coloring. Science is the foundation of children’s learning about their world and is also a way of thinking. Encouraging children to ask questions and to observe, predict, and explain their ideas supports the development of scientific inquiry. The skills and processes of inquiry, observation, and exploration are foundation skills for all sciences and are not limited to “science” time. This activity will also show you ways to incorporate other disciplines like technology, engineering, art, and math in order to make this a well-rounded STEAM experience.
Math Science TechnologyWhen first learning measurement, students typically use nonstandard measures, such as yarn or paper clips. Loose parts are so perfect to use for learning measurement! Telling time is also one of the components of this standard. Students can use personal-sized clocks to manipulate and discover how the hands of the clock move to tell us the time. With this activity, children can build their own clock with loose parts, manipulate the hour and minute hands, and learn to tell time through the use of their own loose-parts clocks! Get the book—Loose Parts Learning in K-3 Classrooms—for more on implementing the loose-parts mindset as well as loose-parts activities in each of the STREAM disciplines.
Math Technology
Research indicates that when we engage younger children in the STEAM fields, we are promoting inquiry-based thinking and a discovery mentality. Teaching young children STEAM play is a way of teaching them how to research, think, and create as open-ended play becomes part of their early experiences. In addition to these benefits, introducing STEAM concepts using a multisensory approach and in a playful way gives young children a competitive advantage and sets a strong foundation for future study habits.
The good news is that you don’t have to be an expert, a researcher, or a scientist to get your child excited about STEAM careers and STEAM thinking. Remember, most STEAM learning is about exploring and learning from your exploration—so why not explore together? Check out these two exciting STEAM activities below from Simple Steam: 50+ Science Technology Engineering Art Math Activities for ages 3 to 6, and get the book for many more explorations and activities that will inspire your child’s fundamental learning in each of the STEAM experiments.
Math Art Science TechnologyReady, set, volcano! Engage students in hands-on STEM play with this creative activity from Hands-On Science and Math where children will explore the concepts of chemical change, creating a gas, and how volcanic eruptions occur.
Math ScienceFeatured in The Path to Early Math: What Preschool Teachers Need to Know by Ingrid Crowther, EdD, this Tree Math Stories activity allows children to manipulate the leaves on the tree as they draw cards with various number stories on them. In her book, Ingrid explains that in order for children to understand addition and subtraction, they need a lot of practice forming visual computations in fun and realistic ways, as well as working with concrete materials that they can manipulate. Find tons of stimulating early math activities like this one in The Path to Early Math.
MathFeatured in The Path to Early Math: What Preschool Teachers Need to Know by Ingrid Crowther, EdD, this Lily Pad Comparison activity helps children develop their understanding of forming sets. A set is a collection that contains a specific number of objects. Children are able to begin understanding sets before they even know how to count. This also leads to exploring concepts of one more or one fewer. "Oops, I guess that was one too many. The lily pad is sinking."
MathFeatured in The Possibilities of Play: Imaginative Learning Centers for Children Ages 3-6, by Dr. Jean Feldman and Carolyn Kisloski, this learning center activity is a perfect opportunity to develop eye-hand coordination and math skills like shape recognition.
Program Administration Movement and Play Math Summer LearningOur collection of math activities for toddlers, infants and preschoolers was created by award-winning authors, and were designed specifically for teachers charged with shaping and fostering early childhood education. These educational activities place an emphasis on learning through open-ended play and exploration. Our library of activities can be easily tailored to inspire preschoolers to think in patterns, learn how to classify objects, and view math as a playful adventure.
At home, parents can engage their children in fun math activities for toddlers and preschoolers with just a few household items. Because preschoolers learn best by using their bodies to explore the world around them, Gryphon House activities are based on making learning basic math principles fun and interactive.
Teaching math to kindergartners, toddlers and preschoolers can be accomplished through investigative play and following the scientific method to uncover how the world works. Connect with us on Facebook for the latest math activities for preschoolers and early childhood education news.
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