Math readiness

Pre Math lesson plans that prepares kids to handle preschool math with confidence

A good foundational Math Readiness gives a child a great head start in preschool math. Kids love to learn and are intuitively building their knowledge of numbers and logic. When a teacher or a parent is intentionally creating an environment for pre kindergarten math activities through math games, it opens a child’s mind to the mathematical world.

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Here are some different ideas you may introduce in your Math Readiness Lesson Plans:

Pouring – provides many opportunities to learn division or fraction. Have the child serve drinks to friends or family members. Highlight the concept that a jug of water may be divided into two or more parts. You may like to try Piaget’s experiment on conservation of quantity. Fill 2 glasses with equal amounts. “Do both glasses have the same amount?” Pour one glass of juice into a thinner container. Ask: “Which has more?” According to Piaget, children under the age of 7 cannot understand the theory of conservation. It means they will think that the thinner taller container has more water.
Sorting – objects helps the child to identify groupings – This is an introduction to the concept of Multiplication and Division. Say: “Here you have 4 green beads, 4 red beads, and 4 blue beads – altogether you have 3 sets/groups of beads – 1,2,3”
Threading – beads may be used to help the child in understanding the concept of addition as the teacher or parent interacts with him on the number of beads required for each color. Eg “First we thread 2 beads – 1,2. Then we add 3 more – 1,2,3. There, now we have five beads altogether….etc
Cutting – a banana into pieces gives the concept of division and fraction. "Let's take a banana and cut it into half, and we can share it with 2 people - one for you and one for me"
Shapes – of various objects may be identified eg. “I spy with my little eyes something that is round – “a clock”…. Something that is rectangular – “a TV”…etc You’ve got the idea. This is the beginning of Geometry, isn’t it ?
Counting – is best done with something concrete like counting the flight of stairs as you walk up or down, counting the dinnerware on the table, toys….etc Rattling away numbers 1,2,3, and so on till ten or twenty, without associating them with any items will not help the child with number recognition or a real appreciation of its application.
Art and Craft – Such activities are ideal opportunities to introduce pre math. The teacher may ask the child to choose 3 colors, paint 4 circles, draw a line to divide a square into 2, or cut a pizza picture into 4, crush 10 “balls” from scrap magazines…etc
Music and Movement – introduces rhythm that requires counting. When a child calls out the beat to the rhythm of a song or dance, he is practicing his numbering as well as associating each number to each step or beat.
Songs & Poems – with numbers are of great value in preparing a child for math. It is enjoyable, musical, poetical and easy. Eg 1,2,3,4, Mary at the cottage door. 5,6,7,8 Eating cherries off a plate. However, do bear in mind that such songs are fun, it only provides a child with number sequence but not with understanding number concepts.

Try this:
“5 little joeys jumping on the bed, one fell down and broke his head. Called for the doctor, the doctor said, “No more joeys jumping on the bed !” (one child leaves) 4 little joeys jumping…… till no more joeys jumping on the bed.
It will give more depth to learning subtraction.

As you can see, Math Readiness can be incorporated in preschool or homeschooling in a wide choices of activities. All we need is to be intentional, to bring out the concept of math and relate it to the activities. It is a natural interactive learning process that will definitely enrich a child’s logic.