Learning shapes and colors may well be a young child’s first educational endeavor. Although recognizing objects as red or blue, round or square might seem like child’s play, it’s actually integral to a young child’s cognitive development, and sets the stage for math concepts from sorting and patterning to geometry, and beyond! What can you as a parent do to help your young learner master these academic milestones? You may not have to look beyond the backdrop of your life for the perfect learning tools. Try a few of these fun activities to help your child master colors and shapes.

There are many natural ways to teach preschool math. Everyday activities, like cooking and grocery shopping involve mathematical concepts.

As the parent of a preschooler, you probably enjoy experiencing the world through your child’s eyes (and hands and feet!) as he or she explores and learns with great enthusiasm. And as your child’s first teacher, you can start teaching the basics of reading, writing, and math. Giving preschoolers a solid foundation in early math literacy is critical to their future academic success, not to mention how important it is to their day-to-day functioning.

Teaching math to young learners at home can be successful if you respond to your child. Children learn best when they aren't forced to learn. Introduce them to ideas, books, educational television, and most importantly, show them how this stuff is used in everyday life. they will catch on and learn it at their own pace.

This wonderful blog is written by a homeschooling mother who wants to make learning math fun. It is a place where you can learn about new ways of learning, teaching, and understanding math. Math is a game, playing with ideas. This blog is about the ongoing adventure of learning, teaching, and playing around with mathematics from preschool to precalculus.

Simple approaches to teaching math for preschoolers and kindergarteners in the home environment.

Summer reading clubs and story times can help with early literacy and reading, but it might seem daunting to figure out how to prepare a young child for math. Here’s the great news: you’re the right person for the job.

This youtube video demonstrates some great strategies to help preschoolers learn counting by tens and odd and even numbers.

Preschool and Kindergarten – what fun ages! Play is learning and learning is play. Perhaps you’re looking for some ideas for your formal Tot School or perhaps you just want to make sure that your little ones will be ready for first grade when it comes along.

Young children are unique creatures who love nothing more than to experience everything from tactile, hands-on items to feeling the wind in their faces as they jump off a wall. They are all about hiding under blankets to see what happens if they walk through the house like a ghost or playing safari and taking pictures with their imaginary camera.

Preschool-age children are ready to explore more than one might think! Parents often focus on counting from one to ten, but there are many other skills that children are ready and able to investigate.

Learning about numbers is a preschooler’s first step toward becoming a budding young mathematician. And in preschool, math learning is all about counting, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence. If a child doesn’t ace these seemingly simple skills in a timely manner, don’t fret: even math whizzes need time to blossom. But with age appropriate techniques, helping your child to master these math milestones will be as easy as 1, 2, 3!

Parents may think counting and recognizing numbers are the nuts and bolts of preschool math. While these are important skills for young mathematicians to master, building a foundation for complex mathematical thinking begins in the early childhood years. Sorting and classifying objects helps children begin to notice how items are alike and different, and creates an awareness that is vital for math learning.

Patterns are all around us, from the clothing we wear to the repeating patterns found in nature and everyday routine. Patterning is also a basic math skill upon which many mathematical concepts are based. Times tables, addition and skip counting all require an understanding of and proficiency in patterning. In preschool, identifying and creating patterns is just the beginning of the mastery of life-long mathematical skills.

Every child is unique and hence the best way for them to learn math in preschool depends on their innate aptitude and the level of interest that they demonstrate in this subject. What math teachers must do is nourish, develop and refine this aptitude and interest by creating an atmosphere that encourages learning and using activities that are effective and engaging. Parents should also try to use the methods used by preschool teachers so the child can continue to learn at home.

Parents are bombarded with messages to read with their children, but it’s rare to hear about the importance of doing math with them. Here are some helpful tips on why and how to instill a love of math in your children.

Preschoolers do math even though they are not sitting at desks with workbooks or memorizing multiplication tables. Preschool math helps them make sense of the world around them and teaches them to reason and problem-solve. Teachers of preschool math build on children's prior knowledge and capitalize on their spontaneous discoveries to further their understanding of mathematical concepts.

These are ideas and strategies to incorporate math learning into everyday life.

This list is a great start to incorporating fun activities and games into your homeschool math curriculum.

HomeschoolMath.net is a comprehensive math resource site for homeschooling parents and teachers: find free worksheets, math ebooks for elementary grades, an extensive link list of games, a homeschool math curriculum guide, interactive tutorials & quizzes, and teaching tips articles. The resources emphasize understanding of concepts instead of just mechanical memorization of rules.

Practice patterning with this spring-themed set of pattern boards. children will be able to determine the next picture in the pattern and will be able to continue the pattern on each of the boards.

A selection of songs and lyrics from a variety of different albums teaching how to count, recognize shapes, use the concept of zero, use units of measurement and money.

Kids love to pretend and test their limits within boundaries of make believe. Combining pretend play with math is a great way to challenge your kids without making them feel like it’s a test. Pretending to be a postal worker gives the task of sorting meaning and with that meaning their learning is deeper and better retained.

These fun printables feature poems to help young children learn the value of coins.

Number activities for preschoolers don't have to be boring and just worksheets. Make them fun so your preschooler will love math. These number activities help with identifying numbers, counting and one to one correspondence.

A simple activity to teach measuring and number lines. Easy to put together and understand.

Wonderful collection of math games and activities that you can create at home.

When it comes to math, a good foundation is essential. With these fun math activities for kids, numbers become friends and the basic foundation for the subject is established at an early age. Different math activities for kids of different age groups can be effective in teaching them basic but essential math concepts. Here are some interesting grade-based math activities that parents and teachers can use to make math a whole lot of fun!

This is a huge collection of online math games for preschool and elementary aged kids.

These simple early learning math activities teach skills like number recognition, counting, simple addition and subtraction, sorting, sequencing numbers, and measuring.

Enjoy these activities that introduce number concepts and active learning through play.

These math games are designed for ages 4 and 5. Here you'll find pattern matching, counting games, and shape games.

Preschool math games let kids have fun while getting practice with early math concepts like number recognition and identifying shapes. This online learning program, Brainzy, includes math games for preschoolers that work!

This list is a great start to incorporating fun activities and games into your homeschool math curriculum.

These easy and fun math activities are great for helping preschoolers learn number recognition, one to one correspondence, counting, and understanding quantity.

These cute math songs help young children learn about addition, money, time, and skip counting.

Counting and learning about patterns is fun with Duplo blocks. These easy activities can be put together in no time at home.

The fun and colorful tubes are a great way to practice 1:1 correspondence, counting, and numbers.

Practicing math skills like spatial awareness and geometry can be fun, especially when the math activity involves Legos! Here’s a free printable math challenge for kids using Lego or Duplo bricks!

Learn 10s with these free printable cards that offer a fun way to practice. Read about different ways to use the cards for enjoyable math games to teach this concept.

Teach confidently with Sonlight's handpicked math resources — the programs are the best on the market for elementary math to Calculus. Every math curriculum has potential strengths and weaknesses, so you'll find included information to help you find the best fit for your students. They offer several math programs for the elementary grades. Young children benefit from an enriched environment in which they see math being used in different ways and in which they approach problems from different directions.

Singapore Math books are clear, logical, and sequential. There is a strong focus on mental math. Word problems and geometry are integrated throughtout the series. Singapore Math® books are a popular choice of homeschool families and for parents looking for math activity books to support what their child is learning in school. There are also titles to help home educators understand the foundations of Singapore Math® methodology, giving you tools to help your student be successful and have fun.They offer math texts from pre-K to 12th grades. This series challenges children to think through and understand mathematical concepts instead of simply memorizing facts and algorithms. One of the benefits of using this program is its affordability. The textbooks are inexpensive and are reusable. The consumable workbooks are priced so that even families with multiple children using this program will find it affordable.

Professor B Math delivers world-class mathematics and national precedents by means of a unique perspective on children's real gifts for learning mathematics.

The Numbers Plus Preschool Mathematics Curriculum is a comprehensive set of detailed plans for small- and large-group early childhood mathematics activities, with ideas for extending learning throughout the program day. What’s special about Numbers Plus is that children’s mathematical learning is sequenced within activities — each activity has a built-in progression so children of different developmental and ability levels can participate together and have a positive and meaningful learning experience. By actively engaging young children with materials and ideas, Numbers Plus builds on the latest knowledge from research and practice about early mathematics learning and how adults support it.

IXL provides comprehensive math practice for K-12.

In the Primer level your child will learn not only how to write numerals but also addition and subtraction, basic counting, skip counting, geometric shapes, telling time, and they will be introduced to the manipulative block system. It’s a gentle introduction to "doing math."

Making Math Meaningful is a wonderful beginning. It lays the strong foundation for understanding math. Every concept is introduced with a simple conversation (which is provided for you) using math manipulatives. You are spending quality time with your children talking about each math concept. The conversations are simple. The activities are easy to do. The lesson plans tell you exactly what you are to do and what you are to say. Perfect for the busy mom. There are no seminars to attend and no videos to watch! Simply pull the book from the shelf and start teaching. Each child has his own student workbook. Levels K through 4 give you a written script to teach each concept and skill. Levels 5 and 6 and Algebra are written directly to your child. Your child will simply pull the book from the shelf and teach himself. There is no easier math manipulative program for mom.

Homeschooling parents will find that when it comes to choosing the curriculum for math, there is a huge variety available. In fact, the number of math curriculums available to choose from may make choosing the right one difficult. These supplemental math activities for grades K-5 are fun ways to incorporate more math into your homeschooling.

Ray's Arithmetics teach arithmetic in an orderly fashion, starting from rules and principles, building knowledge piece by piece, leading pupils from simple to complex. From the very first pages, Ray's Arithmetics incorporate what has become the scourge of today's math students - story problems. Students must READ simple sentences which pose real life problems, decide whether to add, subtract, multiply or divide, and finally arrive at the answer - sometimes mentally - sometimes in writing.

This is a free math curriculum from Great Britain. MEP is a workbook-based, spiral curriculum that emphasizes concepts and logical thinking. It encourages creative thinking and unique approaches to mathematical computation.

These printables are free and help provide extra support for teaching preschool math. You'll find calendars, number tracing cards, number mats, patterns, and more.

HomeschoolMath.net is a comprehensive math resource site for homeschooling parents and teachers: find free worksheets, math ebooks for elementary grades, an extensive link list of games, a homeschool math curriculum guide, interactive tutorials & quizzes, and teaching tips articles. The resources emphasize understanding of concepts instead of just mechanical memorization of rules.

Practicing math skills like spatial awareness and geometry can be fun, especially when the math activity involves Legos! Here’s a free printable math challenge for kids using Lego or Duplo bricks!

Preschool math worksheets help your young learner develop essential early math skills. From number recognition to counting to addition, preschoolers learn a lot about numbers in one year. Our collection of preschool math worksheets is designed for kids who want to build skills that will prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. These preschool math worksheets help present new number topics to kids in a way that's fun and easy to understand. Help foster a culture of learning by doing these preschool math worksheets with your child.

Fun and free printables that are great for preschoolers. These activities make learning fun!

Learn 10s with these free printable cards that offer a fun way to practice. Read about different ways to use the cards for enjoyable math games to teach this concept.