At-Home Early Math Learning Kit for Families: Ideas for Supporting Young Children’s Math Skills During Coronavirus and Beyond
By the DREME Family Math team
During the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, DREME seeks to help families with young children and the professionals who support them by offering free, research-based early math resources.
Many professionals who work with families, including early childhood educators, are looking for resources to share with families as they shelter in place with their children. We know that for families, this time is filled with many stressors and we want math learning to be enjoyable.
Our goal is to give families ideas that are fun, easy to implement, require no special materials, and can be folded into daily life rather than feel like an extra task. For example, a rewarding early math experience could be a conversation about sorting laundry by color or type of clothing, or a discussion about counting while setting the table for a meal.
Fun, Easy Activities to Support Learning at Home
To support families with at-home learning during this challenging time, we’re offering a quick start kit of free early math resources. The resources are geared toward children from birth to age 8, but children of all ages will delight in the learning. Scroll down to the end of this page to download the kit in PDF format. Available in both English and Spanish!
Included in the kit are:
- Tips for Reading: If you’re reading books with your children, here are some tips for bringing math into storybook time.
- Recipes: If you’re in the kitchen preparing food, these two easy recipes for cookies and personal pizzas allow families to start math conversations while cooking.
- Math Snacks: If you have just a few extra minutes as you go about your day, check out these brief ideas for uncovering and talking about math in everyday moments, like cleaning up toys or getting ready for bed.
- Card Games: If you have a deck of playing cards and 10–15 minutes, take a look at these directions for four card games that are fun and allow children to practice skills like adding and comparing numbers.
Tell Us: How Are You Using and Sharing the Kit?
Feel free to download these resources and share them widely. We know that families are amazing innovators and we would love to hear how they are using and adapting these resources. Please send your stories and questions to contactdreme@stanford.edu.
Stay tuned for more learn-at-home resources in the coming months. For more activities and ideas, visit the DREME Family Math website at familymath.stanford.edu. We will be adding new early math content for families soon, so keep checking back!
