Learning Greater Than And Less Than

Learning Greater Than And Less Than

I'm working on helping my little one out with learning more than & less than, plus she needs help with her number recognition so this game is great for both . We were watching Bubble Guppies the other day & it inspired me to make this game . On the show they had a dinosaur running & they were checking it's speed . That's the reason there is a dino . . .

All I did was make a chart with numbers from 1 - 10 & we were using the number 5 as our greater than or less than number . So I circled it in green & underlined all the less than numbers in green as well, then I underlined all the greater than numbers in red . I also made a small arrow & then cut out some number (of course 1 - 10)

We took turns drawing numbers from the bowl, she had to tell me the number she drew, show me how many fingers it is, then count it out on the chart & put the arrow on it .

I had her lay the number she drew on the dino so she could see her number vs numbers on the chart . Simple enough right . . . After a couple of turns I started to ask her if the number she drew was greater than 5 or less than 5 . She got the first one wrong but after that she was getting them all right, now she loves playing .

The tricky part was when she drew the number 5 . . . I guess I didn't really think that part through until it happened . I just told her that 5 is not more than or less than 5 because it's the SAME .

We played this all morning, it turned out to be more fun than I thought & we had a dino - rific time . It really did help her with her number recognition more than I accepted .

Hope you enjoyed this idea & let me know if you & your toddler play anything similar to this or if you plan on using it for yourself . . .

Learning Letters

Learning Letters

Getting children school ready can be a little challenging, they have to know their ABC's, numbers, colors, & how to write . It feels like a lot to go over all before the age of five . Since my little one stays home with me I want to make sure she can do it all before it's her turn to go to school . Getting started is really the hardest part, just make sure you set aside time everyday & keep up with it . Start simple . . . with your ABC's

Just singing the alphabet song is extremely helpful for your toddler . After they have that somewhat down lay out letters & point to them while you sing your ABC's . This is to help with letter recognition .  

On the backside write the letters in lower case that way you can practice capitals & lower case .

Don't forget to practice writing . . . kids seem to love this one because they get to "draw". Again keep everything simple, no pressure, just start with their name . You draw it out with dotted lines & let them connect it with a pencil . You'll have to help your child along the way with holding the pencil correctly & teaching them to stay in the lines .

A more challenging game is to put the letters out on the floor & let your little one grab the letters to make his / her name .

Don't forget keep it simple, you don't need fancy supplies or a bunch of paperwork . Make it fun . . . kids love GAMES. I've learned that if my kiddos felt pressured to do "work" they didn't want to participate but if it's just a game that we're playing they are all in .

Remember you are your child's first teacher

Make your time count .