Your toddler may be starting to count “one, two, three,” but their little brains are beginning to discover math concepts beyond counting! Day Early Learning students explore concepts like number recognition, geometry, patterns and sorting throughout their day.
Keep reading to see what math learning looks like in our one- and two-year-old classrooms and get tips to encourage math learning during family time!
One-year-olds
One-year-olds are just learning the basics of numbers, geometry and measurement. Below are a few examples of math learning you’ll see in our one-year-old classroom.
- Teachers help children compare toys as they play, pointing out sizes, shapes and colors. They use math words such as heavy and light, big and small, long and short, and more or less.
- Toddlers clap to the beat of music, learning about rhythm, which is an early patterning skill.
- Teachers encourage toddlers to match simple shapes with real objects. For example, “Yes, a bagel is a circle. Do you see anything else around the room that is a circle?”
- Children fill, pour and dump in the sensory table, using a variety of container sizes to learn about measurement.
- Teachers provide a consistent daily schedule, which allows children to know what comes next.
Try it at home:
Two-year-olds
In our two-year-old classrooms, teachers encourage mathematical thinking by asking questions and incorporating math into everyday activities. Below are a few examples of math learning you will see in our two-year-old classrooms.
- Teachers ask children to count while touching a variety of objects. For example, “How many dinosaurs do we have on the table?”
- Teachers prompt children to explain if something is more or less, first or last. For example, “Is that more or less than the number of sheep we have in the block area?”
- Children complete simple patterning activities with materials like lacing beads.
- Children explore puzzles and begin to understand how different shapes fit together.
- Teachers encourage children to explore measurement using materials in the classrooms. For example, “How many blocks does it take to match how long the table is?”
- Teachers encourage children to keep trying even when they get a little frustrated.
Try it at home:
