This post is about preparing your child for first-grade math in daily life without worksheets or flashcards Parents are so busy with care, feeding, developmental milestones, birthday parties, family, and friends from the time a child is born until he or she attends first grade, that it is very easy to overlook developing math concepts to prepare the child for first grade. Most parents realize they should read to their children, and the more books the better. But with the constant demands and work of parenting, some parents neglect to help a child develop math skills beyond counting and perhaps some flashcards.

Let your child spend 50 cents or so at a garage sale. You may have to toss whatever is dragged home, but the math learning is invaluable.

A lemonade stand or something similar will also provide some experiences with coins. Even if the only customers are the family and a few others, coins (and math) will take on new meaning and importance.

A mother told me this great tip:  she let her child have the change when she used cash and if the child could count the coin change, he could keep it. If not, she explained how to count it and the little brother got half the money.  In no time at all, her child could count coins. Smart parent!

Play family games like Yahtzee or Life where math is used. Board games can teach many skills. Just think about Yahtzee, it is really multiplication readiness, even if you help count.

If you drop a coin just say, “Please pick up the nickel,” rather than “Could you pick that up for me?” Such a simple thing helps children learn if we remember to be precise in our speech. While waiting at the doctor or dentist, your child could practice naming and counting change in your purse or wallet.

For children who can add and subtract, think about easy multiple step problems. For instance, if two children go shopping, each has $10, one spends $8 and one spends $9, how much money is left over in all? How much more does one have than the other? Multiple step math problems from actual life experiences will have meaning and show the child a reason for math.

Coins are a big part of the first-grade math lessons and involves skip counting, counting on, counting back, and so on. Many math homework pages from programs like Everyday Math have dozens of worksheets involving coins, during the early grade years. When children are tired from their first full days of school and growing socially and emotionally, it is difficult for parents to try to introduce new skills like counting coins. Children who enter first grade able to do this are ahead of other children in math class.

Prepare to Tell Time

 For preparing to tell time, children need some awareness of the different kinds of clocks and telling time. Don’t expect your child to answer questions like when will grandma be here if she arrives in 3 hours and 40 minutes.

Instead:

Point to clocks when you say it is a certain time and do not expect the child to understand at first.

Mention that the digital time is the same as time on the analog clock . . . it is never 300 o’clock!

Have your child look and tell what the time is on the hour when he or she is ready.