Math for the Very Young: A Handbook of Activities for Parents and Teachers - Paperback

by Lydia Polonsky (Author), Dorothy Freedman (Author), Susan Lesher (Author)

Using household items from clocks and scales to books and candles, this illustrated study presents mathematical concepts to young children using the daily routines they share with parents. Familiar activities like cooking, going shopping or reading are used to introduce such age-appropriate concepts as counting, measuring, sorting, telling time, and shapes and patterns. The text is based on the innovative techniques of the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP).

Back Jacket

Exciting, imaginative ways to make learning math fun for your child! Preschool to second grade is the ideal age span for introducing math concepts to young children. We all know how important it is in this technological age to grow up at ease in the world of mathematics. Math for the Very Young shows how to instill that comfort and confidence early-using activities, games, songs, crafts, and special projects that make math interesting, fun, and relevant to children's daily lives. Here are exciting, novel ways for parents and children to explore together the myriad mathematical possibilities in the world around them. Familiar tasks like cooking, doing laundry, going to the store, planning a party, and reading introduce patterns, numbers, collecting and understanding data, geometry, and measurement. An art project with folded paper teaches symmetry. A car ride offers an opportunity to count the car colors or distinguish the shapes of road signs. A trip to the zoo encourages youngsters to make comparisons. All the activities use materials that are easy to find. The math concepts are clearly presented so that even the most math-wary parent will find them inviting and understandable. The approach teaching mathematics is in the same spirit as the highly regarded University of Chicago School Mathematics Project, whose curriculum materials have made math more meaningful, more easily understood, and much more enjoyable for thousands of children.

Author Biography

Lydia Polonsky is a staff developer and author for the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project. Dorothy Freedman, Susan Lesher, and Kate Morrison are teachers at the University Chicago Laboratory Schools and authors for the Project. They have all seen how young children respond with wonder and pleasure to the mathematical adventures in their daily lives.