Teach math skills with play food

Simple activities can introduce the concept of addition to your child. Give your child a pile of similar play food items, such as plates. Ask your child to sort the objects into two piles by size or color. Help your child count how many objects are in each pile. The count how many objects you have altogether. After you count the total, you can gently introduce math terms with a simple statement: "Yes, four plus two equals six."If your child is doing well with basic one-to-one correspondence, introduce a new challenge. Select a play food item of which you have several. Ask your child to count both the items and the people in the room. Ask, "Are there enough hot dogs for everyone?" If there are enough, then ask, "How many will we have leftover?" If there are not enough, ask, "How many more would we need for everyone to have one?"One-to-one correspondence is the concept that numbers can be matched to objects. The way to practice this skill is to match one object to a corresponding number or another object. To practice one-to-one correspondence with play food, choose type of food that has several parts to it, such as hamburgers. Set out a few bottom buns and count them with your child. Then match a corresponding number of burgers to the buns, and place a corresponding number of top buns on the meat.View the list »
Comparing sizes is an important preschool math skill. Give your child several similar play food items in a variety of sizes. Ask your child to line up the items from smallest to largest. Start with comparing just two objects, then work your way up to a small group of items.

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Math is all around us. Basic math skills are so important to our daily lives that we often use them without even thinking about it. For young children, however, learning those basic skills is a necessary and important goal of their early education.

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Because math is so intertwined with everything we do, it's easy to teach beginning math to children using everyday objects. In fact, hands-on, real-life examples are the best way to teach math to young kids. One fun way to introduce simple math concepts is by using play food. View this list for five ways to use play food to teach math to young children.

Mathematics is an important subject in Illinois' Early Learning Standards, so it's important to spend time teaching math concepts to your young children. However, math education doesn't have to be boring. It can easily be incorporated into play time with your children. Look here for five ways to sneak learning into your pretend cooking session.

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  • Comparing sizes is an important preschool math skill. Give your child several similar play food items in a variety of sizes. Ask your child to line up the items from smallest to largest. Start with comparing just two objects, then work your way up to a small group of items.
  • One-to-one correspondence is the concept that numbers can be matched to objects. The way to practice this skill is to match one object to a corresponding number or another object. To practice one-to-one correspondence with play food, choose type of food that has several parts to it, such as hamburgers. Set out a few bottom buns and count them with your child. Then match a corresponding number of burgers to the buns, and place a corresponding number of top buns on the meat.
  • If your child is doing well with basic one-to-one correspondence, introduce a new challenge. Select a play food item of which you have several. Ask your child to count both the items and the people in the room. Ask, "Are there enough hot dogs for everyone?" If there are enough, then ask, "How many will we have leftover?" If there are not enough, ask, "How many more would we need for everyone to have one?"
  • Simple activities can introduce the concept of addition to your child. Give your child a pile of similar play food items, such as plates. Ask your child to sort the objects into two piles by size or color. Help your child count how many objects are in each pile. The count how many objects you have altogether. After you count the total, you can gently introduce math terms with a simple statement: "Yes, four plus two equals six."
  • Young children can begin to understand the concept of fractions when the idea is introduced in a fun way with real life examples. Some play food items lend well to fraction lessons. Choose a food with two equal parts, such as a pizza. Explain to your child that the two parts together make one whole. Each part on its own is called one-half.
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, Peoria Homeschooling Examiner

Meghan Ross is a homeschooling mother of two young children in central Illinois. She has been working with children for 15 years, in church, public school, and homeschooling settings. She believes that good books and hands-on activities make lessons come to life for both children and the adults...

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