Getting Ready for

Kindergarten Mathematics!
 Your Child’s First Teacher
• Is you!
• Research suggests parent participation is directly
related to your child’s success.
• Pre-kindergartners and kindergartners love
mathematics making it easy to support at home.
• The following slides are ideas and suggestions to
help your child “get ready” for Kindergarten
Mathematics!
 Understanding Numbers
• Count everything! Count toys, dinner plates, snacks, and socks in the
dryer. Help your child count by pointing to and moving the objects as
you say each number out loud. Count forwards and backwards from
different starting places.
• Sing counting songs and read counting books. Sing songs such as,
"One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" and "Ten Little Monkeys". Read
counting books such as Anno’s Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno.
• Explore how numbers are used inside and outside your home.
Hunt for numbers in your home, neighborhood, books, magazines or
the newspaper. Point numbers out on the clock, television, cellphones,
stove, microwave, etc.
• Ask your child to help you solve everyday number problems. "We
need four tomatoes to make salad for dinner, and we have only two.
How many more do we need to buy?" "Two guests are coming for
dinner. How many forks will we need?"
 Understanding Measurements
• Measure items found around the house. Have your child find
objects that are longer or shorter than a ruler. Use items such as
popsicle sticks or string to measure the length of objects such as a
doormat. Fill different containers with sand or water and see which
containers hold more or less.
• Estimate everything! Estimate the number of steps from your front
door to the car, then walk with your child to find out how many there
really are. Estimate how many rolls of paper towels your family will
need for the week. At the end of the week, count up the number of
paper towels you actually used.
• Compare and organize household items. Take boxes or cans from
the pantry and have your child line them up from tallest to shortest.
• Talk about time. Ask your child to check the time on the clock when
he goes to school, eats meals, and goes to bed. Together, look up the
time of a television program your child wants to watch.
 Understanding Geometry
• Identify shapes and sizes. When playing with your child, identify
things by their shape and size: "Pass me an ice cube." "Take the
largest potato chip bag out of the pantry."
• Hide a toy and use directional language to help your child find
it. Give clues using words and phrases such as up, down, over,
under, between, through, and on top of.
• Play "I spy", looking for different shapes. "I spy something that
is round." "I spy something that is rectangular." "I spy something
that looks like a cone."
• Go on a "shape hunt". Have your child look for as many circles,
squares, triangles, and rectangles as he or she can find at home or
outside. Hunt for three-dimensional objects like cubes, cones,
spheres, and cylinders also.
 Understanding Patterns
• Look for patterns in storybooks and songs. Many children's books
and songs repeat lines or passages in predictable ways, allowing
children to recognize and predict the patterns.
• Create patterns using your body. Clap and stomp your foot in a
particular sequence (clap, clap, stomp), have your child repeat the
same sequence. Teach your child simple dances that include repeated
steps and movements.
• Hunt for patterns around your house and neighborhood. Your
child will find patterns in clothing, on toys, and among trees and
flowers in the park. Encourage your child to describe the patterns
found. Try to identify the features of the pattern that are repeated.
• Use household items to create and extend patterns. Lay down a
row of spoons pointing in different directions in a particular pattern
(up, up, down, up, up, down) and ask your child to extend the pattern.
 Understanding and Managing
• Sort household items. AsData
your child puts away their toys or clothing,
discuss which items should go together and why. Show your child
how you organize food items in the fridge – fruit together, vegetables
together, drinks on one shelf, etc. Encourage your child to sort other
household items such as crayons by color.
• Make a weather graph. Have your child draw pictures on a calendar
to record each day's weather. At the end of the month, make a picture
graph showing how many sunny days, cloudy days, and rainy days
there were in that month.
• Make a food chart. Create a chart to record the number of apples,
oranges, bananas, and other fruit your family eats each day. At the end
of the month, have your child count the number of pieces of each type
of fruit eaten. Ask which fruit was eaten the most/least.
• Talk about the likelihood of events. Discuss why you never do some
things (swim outside in January). Ask your child if it's likely to snow
today. Is it likely that a pig will fly in the air?
 Family Games that Use
Kindergarten Mathematical
•
Skills
Many card games require counting and score keeping.
• Dice games and dominos help kids learn to quickly recognize
groups of dots from 2 to 12. Also use dice to practice counting
on. For example if a 4 is rolled, have your child start counting
from the number 4.
• Play board games that involve counting squares, such as
Chutes and Ladders.
• Tic Tac Toe and Connect Four build recognition of rows of 3
and 4 counters.
• Mancala.
 Children’s Literature
with Mathematical Concepts
• See the attachment for a list of children’s
literature that supports the mathematical
concepts your child will be learning in
Kindergarten.
 Mathematical Websites
for Kindergartners
• http://www.middletownk12.org/curriculum.html
• http://www.primarygames.com/math.htm
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/numeracy.sht
ml
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/maths/
• http://pbskids.org/games/math.html
• http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/
• http://www.kidsnumbers.com/adding_foundations.php
• http://www.family-games-
treasurehouse.com/math_games_for_kids.html
 References
• Dreambox Learning. (2012). Parent
Tips to Support Kindergarten Math
Learning Fun at Home. Retrieved
from
http://www.dreambox.com/parent-tips-
kindergarten