In early April the wind still blows relentlessly and the rain drizzles non-stop. William peers out the sliding door saying, “When it stops raining maybe we go outside,” and Corinne crawls over to sit next to him and pounds on the glass. (Check out my post here about indoor rainy day activities that are physically…
Letter Recognition Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten
Alphabetic recognition is sometimes called letter recognition or letter identification, but all three terms have the same meaning. Letter recognition activities refer to the ability to visually recognize letters of the alphabet through hands-on learning. This includes the ability to name each letter and match that letter name with its written form, both upper and…
Pretend Play and How It Creates Critical Thinkers
One of my favorite things as a parent is to listen to my toddler jabber while he plays independently. I love hearing the dialogue that takes place between him and his toys, I love listening to conflicts and resolution, and I love watching the way he manipulates his play space to meet the needs of…
Dice and Beanbag Toss Game
When I think about William, this is what comes to mind: active, energetic, athletic, lively, high-spirited… I know, I know, all the above descriptors are ways to describe a very busy little boy, so I know better than to put William at the kitchen table to do math work. He has the discipline to sit…
No Dye Tie-Dye
Before my family and I returned back to the valley where I grew up, we would attend our local farmer’s market every weekend. My pace always slowed as I walked passed the table with tie-dyed clothing. I don’t wear tie-dye, nor does it decorate my house, but I cannot walk past such a booth without…
Teaching Beginning Math Skills Through Play
For most, the best and most well-rounded skill children have is their ability to play. And play is an extremely important aspect of learning. Just a few examples, think about the child who while playing kitchen, neatly stacks all the toys bowls in one pile and the plates in another, or the child who pretends…
Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs!
It all began with one of our weekly trips to the public library. After carefully selecting about ten picture books, the kids and I headed over to the juvenile non-fiction to browse. William loves reading books, and he doesn’t seem to care if the text is informational or story-like, so when we visit the library…
One to One Correspondence
One of the most significant mathematical skills children need to know in preparation for formal learning is one to one correspondence in counting. This is the ability to match each member of one set with another member of a matching set. For example, matching seven rubber ducks with a picture of seven rubber ducks. While…
