Making Preschool Math into a Game

Before entering primary school, small children may learn basic arithmetic such as addition and subtraction. At that age, most children are very visual learners, meaning that simply explaining a concept to them is not sufficient. They must be able to see it in action and, if possible, interact with the subject they are learning.

Therefore, addition and subtraction are explained through preschool maths games that illustrate the concepts in a fun and challenging way. For example, the children might pretend that they own a pizza shop and have to figure out how many slices they have left out of eight if a customer were to buy three of them.

Using a cardboard pizza (or even a real one) to illustrate the idea more effectively might increase the children’s excitement about the subject and encourage them to pay more attention. It is essential that any preschool math game be age appropriate like this so as not to overwhelm the children and turn them off to learning. A child that young does not need to learn how to figure out sales tax or discount prices. Very simple adding and subtracting should suffice until primary school.

Learning in the Kitchen

For parents looking to extend the learning beyond the classroom setting, there are easy ways to reinforce mathematics concept at home. Ensuring that the children absorb the information is crucial so, just as with the preschool math games, the numbers should be simple and straightforward.

An easy way to involve the children in learning at home is to let them help in the kitchen, allowing them to measure out ingredients and add them to the recipe. Preschool math games typically work with whole numbers and so should your recipes.

If any ingredient calls for fractions of a measurement, such as a third of a cup, there are two ways to handle it. Either use a measuring cup that is already that size, so the child only has to know how many times to fill it up, or do the more complicated measurements yourself and leave the simpler ones for the child.

It may be a little messier and a little more time consuming, but the reinforcement of the information and the family bonding time it offers make cooking with your kids well worth it. Children gain a great sense of pride by helping in the kitchen, which translates to enthusiasm for learning more and actively participating in preschool math games in the classroom.