Ideas from Miss Kay - Paperclip Math

My last two posts were about counting books, Seven Spunky Monkeys and One Monkey Too Many by Jackie French Koller. This prompted my mom, Miss Kay, to send this wonderfully simple hands on math idea. Miss Kay is a retired kindergarten teacher whose teaching is always creative and hands on. For more Ideas by Miss Kay see Fun Places to Visit in the sidebar.

I love to think of inexpensive things to use around the house to help our children learn. A pack or two of large, plastic- coated, colored paper clips will do just fine. These activities are especially good for 4 and 5 year olds. First lay them out on the table and let your child explore what he might want to do. Try these activities. Sort them by color. Count each set. Use the terms, more, less, and same. Help your child make a chain using a pattern( red, yellow, blue etc.) See if your child can keep the pattern going. Vary the pattern, making it more difficult. See if you can make sets of 5's and tens and practice counting to 100. Now see what ideas you and your child can come up with. Have fun! Don't push. Give them time to develop in their own time. If they are not interested they are probably not ready.

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