When we think about our little preschool students, we don't always think they are capable of "math". But we must incorporate math into our preschool lesson plans. there are lots of things that we can do that can strengthen those pre-math skills.
One is graphing.I tend to use bar graphs because it's a lot more visual and obvious to the kids. You can graph anything- hair color, eye color, who has pets, and the list goes on. When using graphs you talk about more and less, you count how many people have on red shirts. You are expanding their knowledge of numbers and mathematical concepts.
Something else you can do is patterning. When preschoolers learn that there are patterns to things, they learn the principles behind math concepts. When they learn to predict the sequence of patterns, they learn skills that will transfer to math later.
Also, math skills can be exercised by sorting, counting of course, and recognizing sizes and shapes. Math is a skill that if nurtured early, can help a child succeed later in our life.
In our technology and science based culture, strong math skills can take them far. It's important to give children that head start.
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