In a previous post (Kids learning to do maths: Early numeracy skills) I mentioned how important is to use mathematical terms as you go about your everyday tasks as a way to introduce maths concepts for preschoolers. Many math and science geniuses maintain that maths is just a language and when you understand the terms and you can determine what the problem requires of you, maths is as easy as …. well 1,2,3. Now, I know many of us use terms such as “plus” when adding ingredients to a pot or items to a shopping basket and we’ve taught our kids that “minus” means “take away”, but have you introduced the following maths concepts in your house?
* Does your child understand that a dozen means 12 and that half-a-dozen is 6? Similarly have you explained that a century is 100, that a 100 year old man celebrates his centenary and that a ten year old has lived for a decade?
* Does he know that radius means a constant distance all around a particular point? This concept lends itself so well to demonstration with toy figures and chalk circles and could even be incorporated into a lesson about personal space.
* You’ve probably introduced concepts such as longest, shortest, thickest and thinnest but can your child point out the second longest queue in the shopping market or the second largest pile of washing.
* Have you shown your child how long a millimeter is and that 10 millimeters fit into 1 centimeter?
Introducing these concepts at this age in such a concrete way will lay the neural foundations for your child to understand and remember these seemingly abstract concepts much more easily when they are formally introduced later in his schooling career.
