Oaklee’s Guest Post by Dr. Mary Mokris, Senior Advisor at Kumon North America.
Chances are, your toddler is already using math every day without even realizing it. Math is everywhere! Whether stacking blocks or counting toys, your child is already applying basic math concepts to daily activities. Take advantage of this time when all your child’s surrounding are a “discovery” and he or she is full of curiosity.
- Connections:
Look for mathematics in your everyday life and don’t worry about what the particular aspect of mathematics might be. Something as simple as pouring water into different sized cups and thinking about which cup will hold more is a low-key activity that actually involves estimation, measurement, and spatial sense.
- Patterns and Relationships:
For a hands-on activity, try stringing wooden blocks or pasta necklaces into a simple red-blue-red-blue pattern. As children get older they can reproduce and create more complex patterns.
- Geometry and Spatial Sense:
You can help your children learn geometry by helping them learn to identify different angles, shapes, and three-dimensional figures. Ask them to identify and describe different shapes, to draw them in the air with their finger, to trace over them with their fingers, and to draw them on paper.
The ease with which children can acquire knowledge during their early years is amazing. In the early levels of the Kumon Math Program, children become familiar with numbers up to 10 by counting fun and engaging pictures of items like bunnies, cars, and turtles. With guidance from the Instructor, each child progresses at his or her own individual pace, building confidence and a love of learning along the way.
The Kumon Method empowers children to become self-learners. Each time Kumon students overcome a new challenge, their confidence grows. As a parent, you’ll begin to realize your child is achieving more than you ever imagined he or she could. Kumon puts children on the path to becoming the confident, independent, self-reliant people all parents hope their children can be.