One Potato, Two Potato

As parents of young children we hear lots of information about early literacy skills, or how to help your child learn the building blocks of reading. We don’t often hear about early math skills. However, studies have shown that, just like for reading, a child’s math skills as they enter kindergarten are a good sign of their success in math by fifth grade.Like singing the alphabet and playing rhyming games with your toddler will help them learn to read in kindergarten, practicing numbers and discussing shapes will help them learn math.One of the exciting things researchers have learned is that infants and toddlers brains are ready to learn math. Most children learn the concept for “two” first, then one and three. But even before this they are learning “more” and “all gone.” They begin to understand that these words refer to quantity and that we learn to count using number words. Even very young children can understand changes in amounts, like when my pile of cereal has more than yours.There are lots of things you can do with your young child every day to work on math skills. And you may already be doing many of them. Here are some examples:

• Talk to your baby about numbers. Notice them in books and when you are playing with toys: “look at the three stuffed animals that are in the box” or “There are five mice in the picture.”
• Talk about “more” and “less.” “I am giving you more crackers. Look, now you have three crackers on your plate.”
• Practice counting with your baby. You can count the buttons on his shirt or the steps up to the front door. Show your child how to count by touching each item as you count it.
• Sing counting songs like: “One Potato, two potato, three potato, four, five potato six potato, seven potatoes more!” or “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.”

Math is so important for thriving in school and in life. Bring math skills into your everyday activities to grow a strong math student and help your child be a success all through their lives.This is the first in a series of articles created from Head Start’s High Five Mathemetize curriculum. You can find more information on teaching your young child math at Head Start’s website for families.