3 Ways to Teach your Little One Math, Every Day

 Is it just me or does it feel like everywhere you look there is a new STEM based learning system, more monochromatic toys and tools, and a whole host of “ways” for your child to learn everything they need to know before they are five?

Wouldn’t it be so nice to just be able to teach your child as you do life?

Teaching Math in Daily Life

Wait …

You absolutely can! It doesn’t have to be hard to teach your little one math. You can do it in all of the daily activities you do; you just have to be mindful.

Let’s start by breaking out what I mean when I say, “teach your little one math.” Math is numbers, colours, counting, shapes, time, location. Math, when you’re young, is pretty much anything and everything that isn’t reading.

The Three C’s of Homemaking

So, if you take a moment to consider all the instances in a day where you would use or find math, you can quickly identify the plethora of opportunities to teach your child math without all the fuss and muss of a new toy, DIY abacus, or curriculum..

So, let’s be mindful and brainstorm a few ways you can incorporate math learning with your little one in the ebbs and flows of homemaking. Let’s make it fun and call them the three C’s of homemaking (the three C’s that are never ending).

Cooking – A Kitchen Full of Learning

Cooking – If you have a little one who doesn’t immediately want to shadow you in the kitchen, I’d say that you have a unicorn in a fairy land. Almost all children are mesmerized by the ongoings of mealtime. From what we are eating to how it’s made, why you cut the carrot that way or where does the food go when I don’t finish my plate? It seems that the kitchen beckons the wonder and inquisitiveness of the young mind.

So use it!

Take out the measuring cups and sort them biggest to smallest. There’s no need to modify the language; talk with your toddler about one cup, half a cup, a quarter cup and so on. Stack the measuring cups, fill them with water and pour them into the mixture.

The kitchen is full of math and learning.

Not to mention the kitchen is colourful and tasty! Explore colours as you count orange carrots or place green peas in a row, wonder at the yellow-brown banana and contrast it with the Royal Gala apple you sliced for snack.

There’s no shortage of math (and science) to be found in the kitchen!

Cleaning – Tidying Away with Toddlers

Cleaning – Oh, this is always a fun one! Cleaning! Now, if we are working with little ones, as the title of this post suggests, when I say cleaning and math, I am not speaking about mixing the drops of essential oils in with the vinegar and water so that the counters can be wiped down (although that is a great lesson!), I’m talking about tidying away.

Tidying up with toddlers is a great way to teach location and even the difference between left and right.

Put the teddy on the shelf. Grab the doll under the sofa. Place the bowl beside the cup on the counter.

You can even integrate left and right into the instructions and watch as your little one learns to not only navigate their space but also builds confidence and understanding of what is expected of them when it comes to cleaning up.

Clothing – Laundry as an Exciting Learning Opportunity

Clothing – Laundry, while a tedious chore, can be an exciting learning opportunity for young ones. I’m not just talking about sorting and pairing socks (pro tip: get all the same socks when your children have similar sized feet. A whole bunch of black or white Fruit of The Loom socks and you NEVER have to search for a pair) I’m talking about sorting colors, types of clothing, sorting by family member, there really is no limit to how you navigate this task.

Work together to sort the laundry BEFORE it goes in the wash by whites, colors, denims, or towels – however intricate you sort your laundry is completely up to you. Give your little one freedom to set up the machine, add the detergent, and put the load in.

Select the settings and start the load. The jingle of the machine is a reward in and of itself.

When it’s all said and done sort the shirts and pants, each family members articles, try folding or hanging the clothes.

All math! All skill building! And all done on the daily.

Math doesn’t have to be a big, scary subject that is confined to drills and worksheets; it can be incorporated into simple daily rhythms and skill building opportunities; you just need to be mindful to include your little one and narrate the math concepts as they arise.