Big and small concept for toddlers
Big and small activities - The Measured Mom
PSPKK123November 2, 2014 • 12 Comments
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Looking for big and small activities for preschool? Today I’m sharing a fun collection!
image via Deposit Photos(This post contains affiliate links.)
So much of the math we do with preschoolers is just part of everyday life. You can find plenty of printables to cut apart and have your child put in order by size, but you can also learn this skill without any computer ink. Check out this fun set of size activities for preschool!
Big and small activities for preschool
1. Read!
Prekinders has a list of books about sizes for preschoolers.
2. Put tools in order by size.
Raid the toolbox for tools that come in different sizes, and invite your child to sort them from small to large. This is an extra fun activity for kids because the tools are usually off limits.
Amazon.com Widgets
3. Play with sorting and stacking toys.
Do you have a size puzzle or other toys that have parts in different sizes? Those old stacking rings are great for this. Browse the widget above for some other toys that will help your child learn more about sizes.
4. Compare shoe sizes.Teach Preschool compared shoe sizes in the classroom. The Educators’ Spin on It compared shoe sizes at home.
5. Play an active outdoor game.
We played a size game outdoors with printable action cards, but you don’t even have to print the cards. Just give your child instructions, like “Go stand by something taller than the house” or “find something that is very, very small.”
6. Sort items from nature.
The Nurture Store arranged leaves by size and labeled them.
7.
Play with nesting cookie or biscuit cutters.Prekinders has a center for ordering and putting away cookie cutters.
8. Play with measuring tools.
Check out the learning opportunities at Teach Preschool when the children explored measuring tape and other measuring tools.
9. Collect lids of different sizes and make your own game.
Try this do it yourself sorting box from The Imagination Tree.
10. Sort large, medium, and small household items.
Go on a hunt around your house for items that are large, medium, and small. Then make some three bears counting mats for sorting. Totally Tots has a big list of household items to sort!
11. Order straws by length.
Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds put straws in order by size. Be sure to check out the rest of their every day math play ideas!
12. Compare lengths using yarn.
Help your child use yarn to measure different body parts and cut the end. Compare lengths.
Which is longer, his arm or his leg? Who in the family has the biggest bicep? Check out our big collection of yarn measurement activities here.
I hope you found some fun ways to explore the concept of big and small with your preschooler!
You might enjoy these other playful math collections:
- Math with toy vehicles
- Math with toy animals
- Dice games for preschoolers
- Monster math games
- Ladybug math activities
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Filed Under: Math, Time, money & measurement Tagged With: Sorting, preschool, measurement, kindergarten, size, Pre-K, ordering
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Table of Contents
Are you looking for big and small activities for toddlers and preschoolers?
Here’s a really fun and simple activity that incorporates big & small games using none other than items you probably already have right at home!
There are really only 3 ingredients to this simple DIY and what a fun learning activity it turned out to be!
I’ll be sharing below how simple this DIY learning activity is to put together, the preschool learning tools associated with this activity and what we used. 🙂
Note: Are you looking for a fun big and small printable? I have a couple in my store! Check them out here 🙂
Materials:
This post contains affiliate links.
Recycled Cereal Box or cardboard cutout
Foam shapes or Foam cutouts you’d like to practice learning with.
Clothespins (we used the big ones and some small ones)
And, those are the 3 ingredients that made this easy set of big and little activities for kids!
Big and small activities for early years
Here are the steps I took to create this epic preschool sizes DIY activity:
I used 3 different size bowls as a stencil onto the cereal box cutouts.
Then, I used scissors to cut the 3 different sized circles.
Add your foam stickers around the circles.
Add those same foam stickers to the tip of your clothespins.
These are meant for matching for making learning fun!
Tips:
I made sure to use small foam stickers on the small circle, medium foam stickers on the medium circle and large foam stickers on the large circle.
This easy peasy big little crafts activity will also work on fine motor skills as your child opens and closes the clothespin onto its correct match.
If you are using this big and little theme for preschool, you can make sure each child gets a turn with each foam sticker and try it again with a different foam sticker.
How do you teach big and small?
An easy way to teach big and small to preschoolers is by trying this easy homemade method mentioned above.
But there are many, many ways to teach big and small to children.
Here are some ideas:
Use their small figure toys! Make a pile of big-medium-small and practice measurement activities for kids in this simple way.
Another fun set of educational activities for preschoolers is to make small balls of playdough and large balls of playdough. Compare the two and learn in this way!
Are there a lot of pencils in your classroom? I’m sure there is. Bring out 3 different sizes and compare them from smallest to largest.
These are just some ideas I can think of off the top of my head that may be super helpful in differentiating big activities and small activities for preschoolers.
You can add these ideas to preschool small group activities in the classroom and talk about the differences of each of the items in the center.
Or you can also use this as homework for preschoolers that they can try when they are home.
🙂
How do you introduce big and small concept to preschoolers?
There are many different ways to introduce this concept to preschoolers.
The ideas mentioned above are great and very simple to try out as most require only household items.
There is also another fun way to teach the concept of big and small by applying the concept of measuring.
How do you teach preschool sizes?
One way is to introduce preschool measuring activities or length activities for kids.
You can use simple manipulatives such as clip on block manipulatives for measuring and learning the difference between how to measure a big and small item.
For example if we are in the month of September, which is the Fall season, we could incorporate preschool themes for September by collecting leaves from outdoors and use this method to measure the bigger leaves from the smaller ones.
How do you explain big and small numbers to kindergarten?
Kindergarteners can learn numbers in a way that is so easy they’ll grasp it quickly.
You don’t need worksheets for this.
Using mini erasers or pom poms on a nice cardboard cutout will do the trick!
Create a 3×3 grid or a ten frame onto the cardboard cutout.
Then, draw numbers within each square.
Use the manipulatives (pom poms and mini erasers) to match with the number within the squares.
Kindergarteners will be able to visually see how different numbers have less and different numbers have more.
This is a great Montessori approach in learning about numbers and counting for kids!
Note: For some easy and fun printables for learning about big and small in a fun way, don’t forget to check out our Big and Small Lesson Plan PDF’s in our shop.
And of course, don’t forget to check out our “Big and Small Activities” Pinterest ideas!
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More play value for 't Parelbosch Kindergarten Eindhoven
Our account manager Niels Jellema proudly talks about his project at 't Parelbosch Kindergarten Eindhoven. Thanks to the good collaboration between 't Parelbosch and Niels, IKC has succeeded in transforming a number of kindergarten spaces into a true children's paradise.
Suitable play value for different age groups
Nursery 't Parelbosch provides care for children up to 4 years of age. Kindergarten has different spaces, each adapted to the age groups that are looked after there, so each space has its own theme with activities to match.
It's time to renovate the kindergarten, and the new interior was supposed to offer children more experiences, with beautiful design and great play value.
“Thanks to a clear explanation and good input from Roel and Bas van de Waal, owners of 't Parelbosch, together with the IKC design team, I was able to come up with the right solution. After that, we started redesigning the first room at Droomland Kindergarten.”
Play concepts for children from 3 to 4 years old
Droomland (Dreamland) - the largest room in the kindergarten, children from 36 to 48 months are taken care of here. “We turned the Droomland theme into cozy playhouses, great floor and wall decorations, custom wall play units and an awesome car track. All parts of the play area correspond to the themes of nature and fantasy. In addition, there are small graphical surprises hidden in various places in the wall decoration. For example, the animals hidden in the trees and the ladybug, the logo of the kindergarten, are in the air. As a result, children will be constantly surprised and interested in exploring the room.
Playground for babies
Next room - Zwanennest (Swan's Nest): room for babies from 18 to 27 months.
Children of this age experience many stimuli because they have outgrown the infant stage and are constantly learning. To create a balance for this age group, the owners stressed the importance of this space conveying a sense of warmth and security. This leads to the fact that the children become calmer, and the staff devotes more time and attention to each child.
“Using soft materials and light colors, we created this space with many visually recognizable aspects such as swans, a pond, a play farm and a beaded table. The bead table is a very suitable play system for this age group, children are stimulated to play with colorful beads, which promotes fine motor skills.
Even the smallest children get their place.
The third room we took was Hertenweide (Deer Meadow). This space is designed for the smallest: children from 0 to 18 months. In order to introduce children to nature and various materials in a playful way, we gave this space a natural theme and placed a special house.
This house has several different materials and surfaces that kids' sensitive fingers can explore, such as artificial grass, cork, mirror, and faux leather.
Kermistuin Indoor Playground
Finally, and to top it all off, we have turned Kermistuin (Amusement Park) into a children's indoor playground. I had to carefully consider the layout of this area. In this way, children can sit quietly on one side of the room, while children can play freely on the other side. Kermistuin indoors is filled with fantastic play concepts. For example, there are playhouses on an artificial grass floor, a haunted loft, and a custom carousel. What child doesn't want that?
The important moments of the day are included in the design
Every age group gathers in a collective circle every day. This moment is used by educators to explain to children what the day will look like. From a pedagogical point of view, these moments are most effective when children experience them as a group, when educators are part of the group.
We looked at the best visual way to enhance this feeling and ended up adding a suitable, recognizable place to gather in a circle in every room. For example, Zwanennest has a round pond and Kermistuin has a large round whirlpool.
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