Math games for 2 year olds


Math5Littles | Early Math Activities for Two- and Three-Year-Olds

We’ve designed these games to focus on the six key skill areas of early math.

When young children learn early math skills, it isn’t about equations and flashcards—it’s all about having fun while helping your little one’s brain grow. Take some time to browse the play activities below and try some with your 2-to-3 year-old. We’ve designed these games to focus on the six key skill areas of early math:

  • Counting
  • Computation
  • Shapes
  • Spatial awareness
  • Measurement
  • Patterns

Start with the first set of activities and then move on to the others when your child is ready. As you play, remember that children master skills at different speeds—for example, counting errors are common in the early years. Feel free to adjust the challenge level to suit your child. Remember the goal is having fun, so avoid making a big deal about mistakes. Just explain the correct answer and move on with the activity.

Activity Levels:

  • Starting Out
  • Next Up
  • Ready to Soar

If you are looking for the Spanish translations of the activities, click here.

If you are a professional and would like to use these activities with the families in your program, check out the User’s Guide to assist with your planning and implementation.

Math5Littles is a collaboration between American Institutes of Research and ZERO TO THREE.

 

Starting Out

  • One Cracker, Two Crackers
  • Counting Fun
  • Ones and Twos
  • Basket Ball
  • Teddy Bear Climbs a Chair
  • Over Under Obstacle Course
  • Counting Rhymes
  • Only One
  • Now, Listen to Me Count
  • Step on the Shape
  • Shape Sorting
  • Shape I-Spy

Next Up

  • Comparing Apples and Oranges
  • Shape Hunt
  • Red, Blue, Red, Blue
  • Counting As You Go
  • Counting What You Eat
  • How Many on the Plate?
  • One Dot, Two Dots
  • Can You Match This?
  • Patterns with Forks and Spoons
  • Tracing Shapes
  • Find the Shapes
  • Match the Shapes to Their Shadows

Ready to Soar

  • Shoe Shoe Train
  • And the Beat Goes On
  • Circle, Circle, Square
  • One More for the Birds
  • How Many Fingers?
  • Macaroni Math
  • Big Spoon, Little Spoon
  • Warm Soup, Cold Soup
  • Puppy Tails
  • Apple Tree Math
  • What’s in the Bowl?
  • Matching Sets of Rocks

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25+ Hands-On Math Activities for Toddlers

Math for toddlers? You might wonder what I mean. It is not like toddlers are doing addition or subtraction... right?

Did you know that you begin teaching simple math concepts to children long before they ever enter a classroom? There are so many ways to embed learning math concepts like counting, measuring, and identifying more and less through simple daily experiences along with easy activities that you can enjoy alongside your child.

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.

My husband loves math and he grew up doing math problems and talking about numbers all of the time. My kids love it too! On the other hand, math was my least favorite subject. As I became an elementary school teacher and found more ways to teach math to kids with different learning styles (and in a more hands-on way), I began to love it!

I am going to share some quick and easy-to-set-up activities that help you introduce your child to some simple math concepts! We are going to start with NUMBERS and OPERATIONS!

WHAT ARE NUMBERS & OPERATIONS?

This means understanding the concept of number, quantity, order, ways of representing numbers, one-to-one correspondence (that one object corresponds to one number), and counting.

Some examples from the NAEYC include...

“You have two eyes, and so does your bear. Let’s count:--1, 2.”


“I have more crackers than you do. See, I have 1, 2, 3, and you have 1, 2. I’m going to eat one of mine. Now I have the same as you!”


“That’s the third time I’ve heard you say mama. You’ve said mama three times!”

When we understand math concepts, we can use what we know as we interact with our children each day. 

WAYS WE CAN TEACH KIDS ABOUT NUMBERS & OPERATIONS

Kids need to be able to...

  • count forward and backwards
  • recognize what a number looks like and name it
  • understand one-to-one correspondence (each number corresponds to one specific quantity)

Kids will do all of these things at different stages. Some kids will be fascinated with counting to 10 or 20 way before others are. Just because they can count up to 20, doesn't mean they actually know what they are doing or what that means. Rote counting and matching numbers is only a beginning stage to start understanding numbers. 

When we are exploring numbers with toddlers it is all through PLAY and every day experiences and interactions! This is not the time to break out flashcards or do drill and kill rote learning activities. 

The number activities we are sharing below are simple and playful. They help teach the math concepts shared above while allowing you to connect with your child. 

Some of the concepts that toddlers will begin to understand are listed below...

  • They understand "more" and "enough" and "no more."
  • They also may understand the words one and two or "pick two." 
  • Many two-year-olds can hold up two fingers to show you. 
  • Some two-year-olds will be able to recite numbers words in sequence or may be able to identify some numbers. 
  • Many will still recite numbers out of order. 

There is a broad spectrum of abilities during the toddler years. Each toddler will be different. I encourage you to focus on exploring these math concepts and not worry about comparing your toddler with their peers or trying to rush them to mastery of these skills.

5 WAYS WE CAN EXPLORE NUMBERS WITH TODDLERS

1. Match Numbers

Matching numbers is a simple way to teach kids to recognize numbers and be able to say their names. These activities are great for helping kids learn to recognize, name, and match numbers.

Number Pocket Matching Game

Number Bug Sticky Wall

Leaf Number Movement Game

Car Parking Match Game by Housing a Forest

Cup Number Matching Game by Laughing Kids Learn

Sticky Number Match Activity by Busy Toddler

Number Dig and Match- Happy Toddler Playtime

2. Sing rhymes and counting songs

Rhymes and songs are great for teaching math concepts! They really stick into memories and kids love using their hands to help them sing as well. When you pair music with movement, kids retain so much more! If you click on each rhyme or song, you'll be taken to a YouTube video where you can listen or watch and sign along!

Ten Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree

There Were Ten In The Bed

Two Little Blackbirds

Five Green, Speckled Frogs

The Ants Go Marching

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

One Potato, Two Potato

Hickory Dickory Dock

Zoom Zoom Zoom!

3.

Count together

These simple, but fun activities are great for helping kids count from 1-10 and even higher in a playful way!

Counting Movement Game

Race to Lose a Tooth Counting Game

Boat Sink Challenge

Candy Cane Hunt and Match

Number Toy Hunt

Counting Croquet

Counting and Crushing Cars

Pipe Cleaner Pick Up Sticks Game

Lily Pad Number Hop

4. Read books about numbers

These are a few of our favorite books that explore numbers and counting! They are simple, colorful, and short to read.

Chicka Chicka 123 by Bill Martin Jr.

10 Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth

Counting Kisses: A Kiss & Read Book by Karen Katz

Doggies by Sandra Boynton

Bear Counts by Karma Wilson

How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten by Jane Yolen

Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews

Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins

My Very First Book of Numbers by Eric Carle

Eight Silly Monkeys by Steve Haskamp

5.

Play with numbers

These number activities are great for helping your toddler explore numbers while also moving, exploring, and playing!

Press the Homemade Elevator Buttons

Number Hockey

Number Basketball

Pom Pom Toss game

Number target practice

Count by 2s with sticks

Number Hunt in the Pool

Roll 6 and Splash Number Game

Stroller Math

Put Out the Fire Number Game

Do you have any other simple ways that you like to embed math into everyday life?

EVERY DAY WAYS TO EMBED MATH INTO YOUR DAY

  • Count cars as you are driving
  • As you collect items at the grocery store, count them up
  • Go on a number hunt at the store, on a walk, or while you are driving
  • Count together and count the eggs that are added, tablespoons, etc.
  • Play "pick up 5" and see if everyone can pick up 5 toys in a messy room and put them away
  • Hunt for specific numbers on license plates
  • Workout together! Count jumping jacks, laps around the kitchen, and push ups!
  • Build with blocks- work together to create a tower with a specific number of blocks and then count them together
  • Count when you are having snack! Encourage your child to eat 5 raisins or 3 slices of apples. Count them up together.

What else do you do?

Mathematics for kids 2-3 years old. Learning to count. Games and exercises.

What should be the math for kids 2-3 years old? Fun and exciting! Entertaining games develop a child's interest in counting, numbers, simple mathematical operations. Your patience, imagination and perseverance will be the key to success.

Audio version of the article "MATHEMATICS FOR KIDS 2-3 YEARS" The audio tag is not supported by your browser. Download. BABY MATH 2-3 YEARS

Contents

Mathematics for children. How to start learning numbers

One to Many Math Game

Learning to Compare Greater, Less, Equals

  • Butterflies on Daisies
  • Bunnies with Carrots

Counting Games 0 23 903 Ratio 0 23 numbers and objects

  • Numbers and cubes
  • "Lost"
  • Fun exercise

First examples. Learning to add and subtract

Babies learn the world around them very actively and absorb new knowledge like a sponge. It is important to feed this attraction, but at the same time not to overload the child. The age of 2-3 years is the time to consolidate knowledge and get acquainted with colors, shapes and quantities.

The task of parents is to help the child learn to understand numbers and visualize them clearly. For example, what is “five pears”, is it more or less than three, etc. We have prepared interesting games for fixing the score, comparison, as well as the ratio of numbers and objects. Open the fascinating world of mathematics to your child.

Mathematics for children. Where to start learning numbers

From the age of two, children's thinking develops at a rapid pace. It's time to introduce your child to simple mathematical concepts and counting. Kids already know a lot of geometric shapes, have an idea about the shape and size. Developing games and exercises will help to make friends with numbers and numbers.

If you study regularly, then by the age of three you will be able to develop the first mathematical skills:

  • baby will learn sequential counting from one to five;
  • will understand the difference between "one" and "many";
  • learn what the words “more, less, equally” mean, get used to comparing groups of objects;
  • will remember the graphic representation of the first five digits, be able to recognize them on the cards and compare them with the quantity;
  • will recognize the signs “+” and “―”, learn how to perform simple addition and subtraction examples.

At first, the baby learns to count objects by pointing or touching them. So it is easier to join the visual-figurative thinking. To make counting a habit, ask your child to help you. Let him bring a certain number of spoons, apples, socks.

An indispensable condition for success is the good mood of the child and mother, praise for the efforts of the crumbs. Noticing signs of fatigue, take a break: let the baby jump, run, rest. A quarter of an hour a day is enough for casual activities.

One-to-many math game

By the age of 2, children already know the word “many” and understand what it means. It's time to teach your baby to compare different numbers of objects. As a result of the game, the child should form an idea of ​​how “one” differs from “many”.

Give the child a basket with five balls or marbles. Ask: What is in the basket? (balls). How many balls? (a lot of). I'll take one ball. You, too, take one ball. How many balls do you have? (one).

Let's give one ball to the bear and one to the duck. How many balls are left in the basket? (one). How many were there at the beginning of the game? (a lot of).

“There were a lot of balls in the basket, but there was only one left. Now we will collect all the balls in the basket. Put your ball in there. Take another ball from me. Take the balls from the bear and the duckling." The kid collects balls. “There was one ball in the basket, but how much is it now?” (a lot of).

To fix the mathematical concepts “one” and “many” in children's memory, use everyday situations more often: “How many apples are on the table - one or many? (one). What about nuts? (a lot of)".

Use cards with pictures of one or more familiar objects: fruits, vegetables, geometric shapes. First, ask the child to find pictures with one object. Then change the task: you need to show cards where many objects are drawn.

You can download all the pictures from the gallery by clicking on the button below.

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Learning to compare "More, less, equal"

We continue to introduce the kid to mathematics. Next in line are games and exercises with comparison of populations. Comparing the number of objects, the child learns to determine the difference: less, more or the same.

Butterflies on Daisies

Draw a row of five large daisies on a piece of paper. Cut out 5 paper butterflies or use pre-made ones. Sit the baby at the table and start the game.

“Daisies have grown in the meadow. How many? Let's count. Well done three.

Beautiful butterflies have arrived. Count how many butterflies? That's right, four. Each butterfly sat on a chamomile (put three butterflies on the flowers, and the fourth one next to it). Look, one butterfly was not enough flower.

Think about why it happened? What do we have more, butterflies or daisies? Well done, there are more butterflies - 4, and fewer flowers - 3 (show cards with numbers). Repeat after me.

Look, one butterfly has flown away. How much is left? That's right, 3. What about flowers? Also 3. Now there are as many daisies as butterflies.

Another butterfly has flown away. Now what is more, flowers or butterflies? More flowers, well done.

How many daisies? Three. And there are 2 butterflies, one less. What needs to be done to make flowers and butterflies equally? That's right, remove one chamomile.

When saying numbers, show cards with the correct numbers. As the game progresses, ask the baby to repeat new words: more, less, equally, the same.

Bunnies with carrots

The game strengthens the skills of counting and quantitative comparison. Designed for children 2, 5-3 years old. Our task is to teach kids how to establish equality between groups of objects.

You will need images of five identical hares and five carrots, a sheet of paper. Draw one under the other 2 parallel lines. The distance between them should be sufficient to accommodate the figures.

Have your child place 4 bunnies on the top line and 5 carrots on the bottom line. Make sure that the figures are located exactly one under the other.

This makes it easier for the child to determine the difference in the number of objects.

Ask your child what is more - hares or carrots? Offer to count. What can be done to make them equal? That's right, remove 1 carrot.

And if you don't remove the carrot, how can you make it equal? That's right, plant another bunny. How many rabbits are there now? Five. What about carrots? Five. What more? That's right, they are equal.

Such games and exercises teach the baby to operate with the concepts of "greater than, less than, equal to".

Exercises for Consolidating Counting to 5

Start your training with sequential counting within five. Remember that the purpose of classes is to captivate the baby with mathematics. To maintain interest, we learn to count casually.

Let's ask the child to help in the kitchen: “We'll have lunch soon. Who will sit at the table? Anya - one, dad - two, mom - three, grandfather - 4, grandmother - 5. Repeat after me. Help mom, get 5 large spoons from the tray so that everyone has one spoon.

Young children willingly imitate the actions of their mother. Helping around the house, the kids at the same time reinforce the skills of mental counting.

Show your baby how to count fingers. Children like rhyming counting rhymes: "One, two, three, four, five, let's count our fingers!".

Do your counting whenever possible. Count toys, spoons, fruits, animals in a book, cars in the yard. Don't forget that math for 2-3 year olds is supposed to be fun.

Little children love entertaining games:

1. The dog wants to go for a walk, but Masha is sleeping. The dog wakes up the girl, jumps and barks: woof-woof! How many times has the dog barked? Show on your fingers. Repeat for several variations.

2. The kitten is calling its mother. Take a soft toy and say "meow" 4 times. How many times did the kitten meow? Show 4 fingers.

Teach your child to show numbers in different ways. Explain that the number 5 can be shown on one palm or otherwise: 3 fingers on the right hand, and 2 on the left. So the baby learns that numbers are decomposed into component parts. In the future, this will help solve examples for addition and subtraction.

Games for the ratio of numbers and objects

It is convenient to introduce your baby to numbers while walking. Show and call the numbers of houses, cars, apartments. So the child will quickly remember the graphic image and the names of the numbers.

The next task is more difficult. You have to figure out how many items are hidden behind each number. Place in a conspicuous place a table or cards with large numbers, supplemented with images of familiar objects in the right amount.

Pictures must be uniform, eg squares. One square will be drawn next to the number 1, two squares near the two, and so on. Pay your child's attention to these images more often. Gradually, the child will understand the connection of numbers with the number of objects. Additionally, educational games and exercises will help.

Numbers and cubes

Show the child the card with the number 1, ask for one cube. Continue to number 3. The child needs to count and bring the correct number of cubes. Show how to complete the task.

If there are no difficulties, go to the count up to 5. With the help of a simple exercise, the baby will learn to correlate the number of objects with the number. It is convenient to use magnetic numbers that are attached to the refrigerator or a special board.

"Lost"

You will need numbers from 1 to 5 on cards or made of dense material. The game is played on a children's rug. Lay out piles of any small items in advance: pebbles, nuts, balls.

Explain to the child that the numbers are lost, they cannot find their place, they need help. Instruct your child to find the pile corresponding to each number and place the “lost” next to it.

Cheerful exercise

We've had a good workout, it's time to exercise. Mom shows cards with numbers and gives tasks: number 3 - you need to jump 3 times, 2 - squat down and so on, up to number 5.

First examples. Learning to add and subtract

The kid already knows how to count up to 5, correctly recognizes numbers, knows the concepts of "more", "less", "equal". It's time to get acquainted with the first arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, plus and minus signs. As before, we learn to count through the game.

To prepare your child for classes, introduce new words into everyday use: add, subtract, become more/less. Let's say a kid collects beautiful pebbles on a walk.

Mom asks: “Show me how many stones you have? (3). I will add one more, there will be more pebbles. How much did it turn out? (four). We put together 3 pebbles and 1 pebble. There are 4 in total. And if I take away 2 pebbles, how many will remain? (2). Pebbles became 2 less”.

Use 5 items of the same type in class: nuts, candy, buttons, or cubes. Prepare cards with numbers up to 5 and signs "+" and "-".

Mom says to the baby: “To learn how to count like mom and dad, you need to know numbers and signs. We are already familiar with the numbers. Three major signs arrived today. Their names are Plus, Minus and Equals. A truck drives up, in the back there are cards with images of signs.

“Look how you can play with signs. Plus, he likes to add everything up, he likes to add, to do more. For the child to remember the name of the sign, read the rhyme: “Plus will help us play, add and add!”.

Place 2 cubes side by side. Ask the baby: “How many cubes are on the table? (2). Now I will put the Plus sign, and you add 1 more cube. Are there more or less cubes? (More). How much more? (On 1). Now let's put an equal sign, it will show what we got. Put an "=" sign next to the last die. "How many cubes are there? (3)".

In the same way children are introduced to subtraction. Use the rhyme "Minus loves to reduce, subtract and subtract!". If the child can easily cope with tasks, complicate the task.

Have your child point out the number cards as you go. From this one step to classes with examples. As a result, the baby will learn that when adding, the number of objects increases, and when subtracting, it decreases.

Affordable mathematics for toddlers aged 2-3 is useful in that it develops attention, logical thinking and ingenuity. During everyday games and walks, the baby learns new concepts. Lessons with counting and numbers become familiar and interesting.

Math games for children aged 2 to 3 | Card file in mathematics (junior group) on the topic:


Mathematical games for children from 2 to 3 years old will help children form basic mathematical concepts: quantity, magnitude, number, number composition. The concept of quantity, or the concept of "a lot - a little" is very important. Having mastered it, the baby will be able to move on to the “more - less” comparison, and then to the account.

At the age of 2-3 years, a child develops elementary mathematical concepts. He is already familiar with the basic directions: forward, backward, up, down, sideways; is able to distinguish objects by size (large, small, the same), determine their set (one, two, many).

It is useful to have sets of identical toys, such as wooden Christmas trees or mushrooms. Children really like ordinary nesting dolls, which can also be used for story games.

Many - few

What we are learning: Compare without recalculating the number of identical objects.
You will need: Two toy trucks of different sizes, a few blocks.

How to play: This math game works like this - together with the baby, put 3 cubes into the small car, and 5 cubes into the big car. Show your child that one has few cubes and the other has a lot. Say: "Let's take the cubes to the bear!" Take the cubes to the bear. Unload from a large car: “Here you are, a bear, a lot of cubes!” Then unload from the small one: “And here it’s not enough!”

Next time load a lot of cubes (4-5) into the small machine and smaller ones (2-3) into the big one. Show the child that now there are few cubes in the big car, and a lot in the small one.

You can ask your child to make sure that there are equal numbers of cubes in both machines. Say: “Same! Equally!" In one of the machines (any) put two more cubes. Show: "Now there's more here!" By adding a different number of cubes to cars, you can watch with your baby several times, where there are more and where there are fewer.

Variations: If you are playing outdoors, you can load the pebbles into the car. You can offer the baby to transport carrots, potatoes, onions.

Berries on the palm of your hand

What we are learning: Addition, subtraction; direct and reverse counting; selection of a single object from a set.

You will need: 2 sheets of paper, 2-3 colored markers, colored cardboard, scissors, bowl or bucket.

How to play: With your child, cut out 5-6 cardboard berries (circles 2-3 cm in diameter) in red or blue. Spread them on the floor and invite the baby to walk around the "forest" and pick berries. Take the "box" with you. It can be a bucket, a bowl or a basket.

Sing the song “Let's go through the raspberries into the garden...” or any other song about berries. Look for berries and, picking up one at a time, put them in your “body”. "That's how many berries they found!"

The kids love this math game, so you can invite your little one to unfold the berries again and pick them up again. After the game, collect the berries in the "box" and put away until the next time.
When you decide to play this game again, tell your baby: "Let's pick berries right in the palms." Lay out the berries and, collecting, put them right in your hand: “One, one more! Two! Mom has two berries!” Now put the berries in the palm of the baby: “One, one more, one more! That's how much! Three! And Dani has three berries!” Remove one berry from your palm: “Now how many berries does mom have? One!" Remove another one and ask: “Now how much?” And show the baby an empty palm: “No berries! Zero!" Then you can count the baby's berries.

Variations: Sit at a table with a blank piece of paper in front of you. Sit the child on your lap. Place your palm on a sheet of paper, spread your fingers slightly and circle your hand with a bright felt-tip pen. Remove your hand from the sheet and be surprised: “Oh, my mother’s hand turned out!” If the baby does not resist, circle his palm as well. On one sheet of paper, two palms turned out - a large one and a small one! Now repeat the game with the berries, putting the berries on the painted palms. You can lay out the berries of not one, but two colors - red and blue.

Paper hands make it easy to play addition and subtraction. Put one berry (of any color) on the palm of your hand. Say: “Here is one berry. Let's put one more. How much has it become? That's right: two! You can point to an empty palm nearby and say: “There are no berries here. Let's put one in, shall we? Grab one berry! Now let's count how many turned out: there are two berries on my mother's palm, and one on Vanina! How much? One, two, three berries!”

Thus, in this math game for children, you can count, add, subtract berries of one or two colors on one and two palms at the same time. Do not take a large number of berries. To master the operations of addition, subtraction, comparison and recalculation, five berries are quite enough.

Bear picking berries

What we are learning: Counting; comparing quantities; concepts of "more - less", "many - few".

You will need: Cardboard berries of the same size but different colors, 3 different containers (bags, plates, baskets), a teddy bear.
How to play: Arrange the berries on the carpet. Each of you walk with your basket or bag, sing and pick berries: Let's go to the garden by raspberries, let's go to the garden, let's go to the garden. We will collect raspberries, we will collect, we will collect. The sun is in the yard, and there is a path in the garden. You are my sweet raspberry. Then compare who has more berries. Count them. Game Variations: Include a berry lover and children's favorite teddy bear in the game. Let him pick berries while talking to the baby. Tell your child that the bear is very smart and can count. Ask the bear where there are more berries and where there are fewer and why, and then count the berries with his paw, saying for him: “There are five berries here! A lot of!" Let the baby play for the bear. The bear can collect berries of different colors, such as green (1 berry) and red (4 berries).
These mathematical games for children will allow the child to master the basic mathematical concepts with interest: quantity, magnitude, number, number composition.

Find a pair

The game develops attention, perception, the ability to compare

Necessary equipment: cards with drawn paired objects, or paired toys. You can use special kits purchased in the store.

◈ Lay the cards (toys) in front of the child and ask him to find a matching match for each item.

Counting sticks

The game helps to master counting, get acquainted with geometric shapes, the concept of symmetry.

Equipment needed: a set of counting sticks (pencils, straws, needles).

◈ Lay out various pictures or stick figures with your baby - a house, a mushroom, a Christmas tree, a hedgehog, a dragonfly, flowers, a boat, an umbrella, letters. Tell the child what the name of this or that figure is.

◈ Counting sticks can be crafted into wells (square or triangular).

The apples are ripe

The game helps to learn counting

Required equipment: thick colored cardboard, scissors, thread, buttons.

◈ Cut out a tree and some apples from cardboard. Sew small buttons onto the branches, and loops of the appropriate size to the fruits. Invite your child to fasten the apples to the branches.

◈ During the harvest, the child unfastens the apples.

◈ Several apple trees can be turned into a garden by adding other trees such as pear, cherry, plum, or apricot.

◈ If you have a little patience and add flowers to apples, this material can be used as an illustration of the fruit ripening process. In this case, it is necessary to tell the baby that the trees first bloom and then bear fruit.

Help to harvest

The game helps to break classification skills

Equipment needed: dummies or pictures with images of vegetables and fruits.

◈ Arrange vegetables and fruits (or pictures of them) mixed up. Ask your child to collect and put fruits in one basket and vegetables in another.

◈ You can then sort vegetables and fruits by type.

Two roads

The game helps develop classification skills

Equipment needed: cardboard or paper, cars of different sizes.

◈ Cut out two strips of cardboard (paper) of different widths. Explain to your child that a narrow lane is a road for small cars, and a wide one is for large ones.

◈ Show how by stacking stripes on top of each other you can determine which one is wider.

◈ Ask why a big car can't drive on a narrow road.

◈ Drive the cars on the roads.

◈ By gluing together strips of different widths, you can build a whole network of roads.

Choose the way

The game promotes the development of classification skills, develops the ability to compare.

Equipment needed: cardboard or paper, different size cars.

◈ Cut out two strips of cardboard (paper) of different widths. Explain to your child that these are roads for cars.

◈ Ask him to choose the cars for which the narrow road is suitable. And vice versa, choose the road on which this or that car can pass.

Matryoshka

The game develops fine motor skills, skills of comparing objects by size.

Equipment needed: a set of nesting dolls.

◈ Almost all children love nesting dolls.

◈ Show your child a big doll. Shake her. Open with your child and take out a smaller nesting doll. Put them side by side and compare.

◈ Have a child put a small nesting doll into a large one and take it out.

◈ Gradually show him all the dolls.

Who is faster

The game helps to master the concepts of "long" - "short".

Equipment needed: two cars, ropes.

◈ Tie a string to two cars - a short one and a long one. Give your child a car with a short rope.

◈ Offer to see whose car "gets" to the owner first if everyone winds their own rope around a pencil.

◈ Laying strings side by side, visually show what is long and short.

Gorka

The game promotes the development of logical thinking.

Equipment needed: cardboard or boards.

◈ Make a small slide out of cardboard, planks, or anything else you can find.

◈ You can roll small cars, balls, baby dolls down the slide.

◈ Place a cube in front of the slide and show how the rolling car stops when it hits the cube.

Building a tower

The game promotes the development of motor skills, skills of classification, counting, comparison.

Equipment needed: two-color cubes.

◈ Have your child build two different colored towers after sorting the bricks.

◈ During the construction process, deliberately make mistakes by choosing the wrong color cubes.

Geometric shapes

The game teaches you to distinguish objects by color and shape

Equipment needed: five colorful circles cut out of cardboard.

◈ Look at one of the circles with the baby, telling him: “This is a circle. He is red. What does he look like?" Look for round objects in the room. ◈ Learn circles of different colors.

◈ After the child has mastered the concept of "circle", you can move on to other geometric shapes, while expanding the range of colors.

◈ Compare two identical figures of different colors. Use the association method.

Let's figure it out

The game helps develop classification skills

Equipment needed: 3 circles and 3 squares cut out of cardboard.

◈ Shuffle the shapes. Ask your child to help you select only the circles.

◈ Then color the circles with one color and use another color for the squares.

One - there, one - here

The game promotes the development of fine motor skills, teaches counting.

Equipment needed: two containers (buckets, boxes), cubes or small items.

◈ Place the blocks in front of the baby and place two buckets or two boxes. Invite your child to arrange the cubes in boxes.

◈ Taking a cube in your hand and placing it in a box, say: "One in this box, here's another one in another."

◈ When the child understands the concept of “one”, start picking up two objects: “I will put two blocks in this box, and you, please, put two blocks in another box.”

A lot is not enough

The game promotes the development of logical thinking, introduces elementary mathematical concepts

Required equipment: two identical boxes, cubes of the same color.

◈ Put 10 bricks in one box and 3 in another box. After asking your child to build a tower or a house, ask: “Please bring me a box that contains a lot of bricks.” If the child is at a loss, help him.

◈ After you have built the towers, compare which one is higher (the one with more cubes).

◈ Repeat the words "a lot", "little" more often, using them in various situations.

“Once a step...”

The game helps to master counting

◈ When climbing stairs, count the steps. Do not ask the child to repeat after you, he will do it himself when he understands the essence of the game.

◈ Count how many apples or sweets you bought, how many plates you put on the table, etc. , balloons, dominoes, pyramid rings), geometric figures cut out of cardboard.

◈ Invite the baby to the store. Explain that your store sells toys for money (which is geometric shapes), but only if the shape of the chosen toy matches the shape of the cut out geometric figure. For example, a ball can be bought for a cardboard circle, a cube for a square, etc.

◈ Then make the task more difficult by explaining to the baby that, for example, two squares can buy two cubes.

Hide in your palm

The game develops the ability to correlate objects by size

Equipment needed: small and large balls.

◈ Give your baby balloons. Say: "Now I'll show you a trick!". Take a small ball and hide it in your palm. Ask your little one to do the same.

◈ Offer to repeat the big balloon trick. Explain why a large balloon cannot be hidden in the palm of your hand.

◈ Compare the balloons with each other, then with the baby's palm.

◈ Do this trick with any small object.

Distribute plates

The game introduces the concepts of "many", "few", "one", "one at a time"

Equipment needed: 10 plastic plates.

◈ Give your baby a stack of plastic plates. Pay attention to the number of dishes, using the words "a lot", "a whole stack of plates."

◈ Ask to distribute one plate to each family member or toys. Comment on the child's actions: "Dad was given a plate, now dad has one plate ...".

◈ After distributing the dishes, make a conclusion: “We distributed a whole stack of dishes and everyone had one plate each. Now let's put the plates back together. Look, you've got a lot of plates again."

Fungus to fungus

The game promotes the development of motor skills, teaches to correlate quantitative sets, helps to master the concept of “as much as”

Equipment needed: 5 yellow and 5 orange mushrooms cut out of cardboard.

◈ Explain to the child the rules: you put one mushroom, under it the child must put his own mushroom. Pay attention to the fact that you need to lay out the figures from left to right. This will allow the child to acquire the skills needed in the future to write correctly. After placing all the mushrooms, comment: “I put 5 mushrooms and you put 5 mushrooms. So your mushrooms are as many as mine, they are equally divided.

◈ Instead of carved mushrooms, you can use two-color cubes or any other toys that can be divided into two parts.

Pick up the lid

The game develops the skills of classifying and matching objects

Equipment needed: pots with lids.

◈ Children enjoy spending time with their mother in the kitchen.

◈ While you are cooking, tell your child that your lids are mixed up and you don't know which lid belongs to which pot.

◈ Ask your toddler to help you find the right size lids.

Grandmother's pancakes

The game promotes the development of matching skills, the ability to systematize objects according to a certain attribute

Required equipment: 4 circles 3 cm in diameter cut out of paper, 4 circles 6 cm in diameter, a box for large circles, a box for small circles.

◈ Think of a game plot. For example, my grandmother baked pancakes, large and small. Large for mom and dad, small for grandchildren. But all the pancakes are mixed up. You need to help your grandmother put the pancakes on plates.

Game. What is rolling?

Acquaintance with the form of objects.
Make a small slide out of a slanted plank. Put a cube and a ball in front of the child. Offer a competition for who the figurine will roll further down the hill.

At first, the child will not care which figurine to take. But after several trials, he will understand that only the one who has the ball wins, and he will try to choose it.
Make a conclusion together with the child: "The ball is rolling, but the cube is not." The cube has corners that interfere with rolling, but the ball does not. Look in the dice box to see what other pieces can roll. Game.

We build a tower

The concept of "Big - small".
Give the child blocks of different sizes (you can use different construction sets) and ask them to build a tall tower.

Let the kid see for himself that the tower is stable enough, the biggest cube should be at the bottom, the smaller cube should be higher, and the smallest one should be even higher. Teach them to select cubes sequentially, choosing the largest one each time. For comparison, they can be applied to each other.
Having built a tower of cubes, you can proceed to the construction of towers of flat figures, laying them out on the table so that the size decreases from bottom to top. Also for this lesson, you can make a magnetic mosaic of geometric shapes. More about mosaic

Fun Geometry

Exploring Shapes

Lay sheets of colored paper or paper houses with multi-colored roofs on the floor, and on top of them are geometric shapes of the same color.


Learn more


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