Free Toddler & Infant Pre-Math Activities

You don̵7;t have to be a mathematician to give your child a head start on school. Simply playing and talking with your child can build pre-math skills in infants and toddlers. Using toys and other household items, you can help your child learn numeracy, geometry and algebra skills in ways appropriate for your child̵7;s age and development.

  1. Numbers and Counting

    • Talk with your child about mathematical concepts as you go about daily routines and activities, suggests the EduGuide website. Count cans of vegetables as you put away groceries, count steps each time you go up and down stairs, or count socks as you fold laundry. Clap your baby̵7;s hands together as you count aloud, or point to her facial features in a mirror as you describe two eyes, two ears, one nose and one mouth. Let your toddler see you using numbers. Hold her in your lap as you write a grocery list, reading aloud the number of each item as you write its name and quantity.

    Correspondence

    • Help your child develop a sense of one-to-one correspondence. Help your baby shake a rattle or stomp his feet to the beat of a song, advises Education.com. Toddlers can match one marker with one lid after an art project. Give each baby doll one bottle, or park each toy truck in its own garage made from a cardboard box. Let your child help you set the table, laying out one plate for each place, then one glass, followed by one napkin. Pass out snacks for yourself and your child by saying aloud, ̶0;One for you, and one for me.̶1;

    Grouping and Sorting

    • Toddlers often enjoy grouping and sorting toys as they play. Encourage your child to store his blocks by color, shape or size, recommends the Teaching Tiny Tots website. Sort stuffed animals from plastic animals, or trucks from cars. Give your child a snack mix of dry cereal and crackers to sort and eat.

    Patterning

    • Infants and toddlers are natural imitators, making it easy to practice patterning skills. Say your baby̵7;s name in a loud voice/soft voice pattern and watch her response. After a while, deviate from the pattern by saying her name softly several times in a row, and she may appear surprised. Play ̶0;Peek-a-Boo̶1; and alternate appearing from the right and left sides. Soon your child will recognize the pattern and anticipate the side from which you will appear. Alternate sticking out your tongue and touching your nose, then invite your child to copy you. Build patterns by stacking blocks or stringing wooden beads.

    Relationships

    • Children use their senses to discover relationships between objects, according to Education.com. Use descriptive words to explain the source of what your baby sees, hears or feels. Show your baby the light switch and turn it off and on to discover the source of the light. Hold your toddler in front of a fan, then turn it off to show him the fan blades and describe how they move. Talk to your child using position words such as ̶0;inside,̶1; ̶0;under̶1; and ̶0;between.̶1; Block play offers your toddler an opportunity to be exposed to geometric shapes, to compare height and width, and to experiment with cause and effect relationships, suggests the Teaching Tiny Tots website. Classic children̵7;s toys such as stacking and nesting toys, shape sorters and simple puzzles also help develop spatial relationships.

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