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Preschool MathHere are a couple books I recommend for ideas on teaching math to young children:
Ruth Beechick's book is particularly good. It explains about the stages a child goes through in learning about arithmetic (or calculation). It can be frustrating at first to read that you should not attempt to "teach" arithmetic to your child. This is ultimately for the best though, as she explains. Unless a child thoroughly understands what is happening when two blocks are added to the pile of 4 blocks, then 2+4=6 will be an abstraction and not a description. You don't need to sit down with blocks and try to do any kind of "lesson." Just play with your child and along the way practice counting by counting the blocks in a tower. Then put on another block and count again. There is no need to try to explain that four plus one is five. Your child will see for himself what has happened and understand at his own level.  When we think of math class in school we often think of learning to tell time, reading maps, measuring etc. in addition to arithmetic. A preschool aged child can begin to grasp geometry, telling time, etc. just by asking questions. "When will Blue's Clues be on?" or "What shape is my bedroom?" Any kind of structured teaching is unnecessary for these things. Time for example can be "taught" many informal ways. Just show your child the clock and tell her where the hands will be when her show is on. Or help her draw a clock with the hands in the correct position for a certain time. Then she can compare the picture with the clock to see if it is time yet. Make several of these pictures for several events that happen everyday and label them with both words and pictures. Learning to measure is particularly fun for preschoolers. Instead of using a ruler from the store, help your child make his own. Use a strip of construction paper, or cut a strip out of one of the foam trays that meat comes in (washed of course!). A six inch ruler is fine to start. Write the numerals on a piece of paper and have you child copy them in the proper places on the ruler. Now he's practiced writing and identifing numerals in addition to doing a craft project! Then the real fun begins. Show him how the line up the edge of the ruler with the beginning of what he wants to measure and look to see what number the end is closest to. Don't try to get into 1/2 inches, rounding to the nearest inch is fine for now. Your child will soon be measuring every thing in the house! Debbie's Retreat|The Tightwad Page| Preschooling At Home|The Gentle Mothering Page Recipies|Faire Costumes for Children Graphics courtesy of 
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