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Things You Should Know: Number & Math Milestones
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Jan 12, 2021 | Math
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Math
Tape Ten Frames for Toddlers
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Nov 2, 2020 | Math
Learning Resources Games that Grow with your Preschooler
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Nov 2, 2020 | Reading
Our 5 Favorite Learning Resources Sorting Products
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Nov 2, 2020 | Math
Ways to Make Learning New Math Skills Fun While Homeschooling
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Oct 27, 2020 | Back to School
Building Someone Amazing Series - Magical Marvelous Math
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Sep 28, 2020 | Math
By the time they reach their 18-month check-up, your little ones should be building rudimentary understanding of numbers and their place in the world.
Building Someone Amazing Series - Magical Marvelous Math
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By the time they reach their 18-month check-up, your little ones should be building rudimentary understanding of numbers and their place in the world.
Learn and Play at Home with Toucans to Ten!
- Patria Lincoln Posted On Aug 6, 2020 | Math
These fun, vibrant and tropical colored toucans are a great tool to teach young children all about early math! Designed for ages five and up, young children can learn the fundamentals of fact families with these simple activities that turn math lessons into engaging, hands on games!
Each Toucan to Ten set comes with ten numbered toy toucans and 120 addition and subtraction fact cards. Made from durable, wipe-clean plastic, the toucan toys of Toucans to Ten are strong enough to last year after year, and come with 120 fact cards that keep each play session fresh.
The set also comes with an activity guide, which is really helpful for those of us who have never taught our children before. Additionally, you can design these math games to be as simple or challenging as you see fit for your child.
Before beginning, it is helpful to read through the Toucans to Ten activity guide and to assess where your child is on the scale of math readiness. At five, my daughter has a basic understanding of numbers and counting, but we have not done much addition or subtraction with her at all, so we kept our games relatively simple.
START WITH A DEMONSTRATION
Before working on the activities, start with a demonstration of basic use.Line up the toucans in order, 1 to 10, and separate the cards into two piles, for both addition and subtraction. Count the toucans together with your child, pointing out each number as you go, in order to introduce or reinforce number recognition.
Once you have mastered counting and number recognition, you can move on to addition! Start with the stack of addition problems and select a card. Read the math equation aloud (“3 + 2 =”), and then solve, using methods best suited to the child’s ability level.
Together with your child, tap each toucan slowly until you reach the sum, 5. Then, place the card inside the corresponding number toucan’s back (my kiddo loved this part!). You can also pull the first 3 toucans forward to denote the first number in the equation. Then, one at a time, add 2 more toucans to the group (4, 5) while counting aloud.
LET THEM SOLVE INDEPENDENTLY
Once you have given your demonstration and solved a few problems together, try having your child use the toucans as counters in solving a fact. For example, when solving 5 + 3, you would start by counting your toucans from 1-5. Next, you would separate them from the group. (Note: this reinforces one-to-one-correspondence, an important skill to develop in early childhood education).Next, add 3 more toucans to the group. Pause for a moment and then ask your child, “Now, how many toucans are there in all?” Point out that the number on the final toucan in the group is also the answer!
Let your child solve more addition facts before moving on to subtraction. You can also refer to the activity guide for many more ideas!
Over time, and the more practice your children get playing these sort of math fundamentals games, the greater their understanding of fact families (the sets of math facts created using the same numbers) will be.
Once you’ve tried these games with your children, I think you will agree - these tropical toucan toys sure do make math fun!
Learn and Play at Home with Toucans to Ten!
READ MORE
These fun, vibrant and tropical colored toucans are a great tool to teach young children all about early math! Designed for ages five and up, young children can learn the fundamentals of fact families with these simple activities that turn math lessons into engaging, hands on games!
Each Toucan to Ten set comes with ten numbered toy toucans and 120 addition and subtraction fact cards. Made from durable, wipe-clean plastic, the toucan toys of Toucans to Ten are strong enough to last year after year, and come with 120 fact cards that keep each play session fresh.
The set also comes with an activity guide, which is really helpful for those of us who have never taught our children before. Additionally, you can design these math games to be as simple or challenging as you see fit for your child.
Before beginning, it is helpful to read through the Toucans to Ten activity guide and to assess where your child is on the scale of math readiness. At five, my daughter has a basic understanding of numbers and counting, but we have not done much addition or subtraction with her at all, so we kept our games relatively simple.
START WITH A DEMONSTRATION
Before working on the activities, start with a demonstration of basic use.Line up the toucans in order, 1 to 10, and separate the cards into two piles, for both addition and subtraction. Count the toucans together with your child, pointing out each number as you go, in order to introduce or reinforce number recognition.
Once you have mastered counting and number recognition, you can move on to addition! Start with the stack of addition problems and select a card. Read the math equation aloud (“3 + 2 =”), and then solve, using methods best suited to the child’s ability level.
Together with your child, tap each toucan slowly until you reach the sum, 5. Then, place the card inside the corresponding number toucan’s back (my kiddo loved this part!). You can also pull the first 3 toucans forward to denote the first number in the equation. Then, one at a time, add 2 more toucans to the group (4, 5) while counting aloud.
LET THEM SOLVE INDEPENDENTLY
Once you have given your demonstration and solved a few problems together, try having your child use the toucans as counters in solving a fact. For example, when solving 5 + 3, you would start by counting your toucans from 1-5. Next, you would separate them from the group. (Note: this reinforces one-to-one-correspondence, an important skill to develop in early childhood education).Next, add 3 more toucans to the group. Pause for a moment and then ask your child, “Now, how many toucans are there in all?” Point out that the number on the final toucan in the group is also the answer!
Let your child solve more addition facts before moving on to subtraction. You can also refer to the activity guide for many more ideas!
Over time, and the more practice your children get playing these sort of math fundamentals games, the greater their understanding of fact families (the sets of math facts created using the same numbers) will be.
Once you’ve tried these games with your children, I think you will agree - these tropical toucan toys sure do make math fun!
What to do when Back to School snuck up on you!
- Patria Lincoln Posted On Jul 15, 2020 | Back to School
Fun with Census Data
- Patria Lincoln Posted On Jun 30, 2020 | Math
In 2020, America will be counted in the US Census. The U.S. Census Bureau collects and organizes a wide variety of population data and other types of information for the nation, states, and counties. Governments, businesses, and school districts use this information to make decisions that affect everyone. Did you know that many of these facts are available om their website? Here are some activities that can be done at different grade levels with the information about your neighborhood and the nation:
Pre-School
- Transportation is a fun and common theme in early-preschool classrooms. Discuss how you and the people in your community get to work, school, or the grocery store, or go to visit people in another state. Do they walk, drive or use public transportation? You can see how your answers compare to the transportation data from your state and other states.
- Use the census data on popular jobs in your area to discuss what your child would like to be when they grow up. Use your creative side to draw out what you think you would look like doing that job!
Kindergarten
- Put yourself in the shoes of a U.S. Census Bureau agent. Pick things in the house or classroom that you want to count. Write down your final data and explore the concepts of greater than or less than. You can also introduce addition and subtraction.
1st Grade
- The 2020 Census is in full swing. Students and their families can join in from home by using the response rate map to explore how many people are responding to the 2020 Census in their community. The map is updated daily.
2nd Grade
- Learn how to understand data from the U.S. Census Bureau that show the number of bedrooms in people’s homes all around the United States. Use this data to create your dream home! How many bedrooms and bathrooms will it have? What will it look like? Who will live there with you? For an added activity, draw or construct your house.
3rd Grade
- How does the population of your state compare with the population of another state? Look at data from different states and create bar graphs to make comparisons.
- Create a geography scavenger hunt! Pick out a location, and give students a series of clues about landmarks, weather, and population—and use a U.S. Census Bureau data tool called State Facts to answer questions that lead them to the place!
4th Grade
- A good way to compare and contrast data is to place those data on a graph. Use 2018 data from State Facts for Students to make a line graph comparing the estimated numbers of births in two U.S. states over four years.
- Analyze and compare census data on the earnings of people with different college majors. You can also create word problems and draw conclusions about the data. How does your dream job compare with that of your friends?
Get your children involved in filling out the census for your household! Visit https://my2020census.gov/ to make sure your family is counted. It takes just minutes to complete and the U.S. Census Bureau keeps all your information confidential.
Fun with Census Data
READ MORE
In 2020, America will be counted in the US Census. The U.S. Census Bureau collects and organizes a wide variety of population data and other types of information for the nation, states, and counties. Governments, businesses, and school districts use this information to make decisions that affect everyone. Did you know that many of these facts are available om their website? Here are some activities that can be done at different grade levels with the information about your neighborhood and the nation:
Pre-School
- Transportation is a fun and common theme in early-preschool classrooms. Discuss how you and the people in your community get to work, school, or the grocery store, or go to visit people in another state. Do they walk, drive or use public transportation? You can see how your answers compare to the transportation data from your state and other states.
- Use the census data on popular jobs in your area to discuss what your child would like to be when they grow up. Use your creative side to draw out what you think you would look like doing that job!
Kindergarten
- Put yourself in the shoes of a U.S. Census Bureau agent. Pick things in the house or classroom that you want to count. Write down your final data and explore the concepts of greater than or less than. You can also introduce addition and subtraction.
1st Grade
- The 2020 Census is in full swing. Students and their families can join in from home by using the response rate map to explore how many people are responding to the 2020 Census in their community. The map is updated daily.
2nd Grade
- Learn how to understand data from the U.S. Census Bureau that show the number of bedrooms in people’s homes all around the United States. Use this data to create your dream home! How many bedrooms and bathrooms will it have? What will it look like? Who will live there with you? For an added activity, draw or construct your house.
3rd Grade
- How does the population of your state compare with the population of another state? Look at data from different states and create bar graphs to make comparisons.
- Create a geography scavenger hunt! Pick out a location, and give students a series of clues about landmarks, weather, and population—and use a U.S. Census Bureau data tool called State Facts to answer questions that lead them to the place!
4th Grade
- A good way to compare and contrast data is to place those data on a graph. Use 2018 data from State Facts for Students to make a line graph comparing the estimated numbers of births in two U.S. states over four years.
- Analyze and compare census data on the earnings of people with different college majors. You can also create word problems and draw conclusions about the data. How does your dream job compare with that of your friends?
Get your children involved in filling out the census for your household! Visit https://my2020census.gov/ to make sure your family is counted. It takes just minutes to complete and the U.S. Census Bureau keeps all your information confidential.
