Teach Young Children with Hands-On Activities
Young children learn best through play activities with interaction and plenty of hands-on fun. You can teach your child early math concepts using toys and common household objects. The concepts of "different" and "same" will be used in later school years in math in both visual and word problems. These concepts are critical first steps in learning to classify objects based on their visual characteristics. You can begin to introduce these concepts in kindergarten. Your child will learn the concepts non-verbally before she can talk about them verbally. If your child is showing signs of learning disabilities or developmental delays, learning activities can support his concept development.
Young Children Enjoy Positive, Brief Play Sessions
Whenever you teach your child during play, it is important to stay positive and keep it brief. Working with any one skill works best when playing for about 10 - 15 minutes at a time, perhaps two or three times a week. Being spontaneous and flexible can make learning a natural part of play. Watch your baby, and take cues from her on when it is time to change to a new activity or for a rest. She may look away, appear disinterested, show signs of being tired, or become cranky when she needs to stop learning activities.
This should be bonding time as well as learning time for both of you. If it becomes unpleasant, or you feel yourself being apprehensive about her progress and perhaps wanting to push her, it is time to stop. She needs to learn at her own pace, and you will need to be responsive to that.
Use Safe Hands-on Materials to Teach Concepts
Use extra-large pop-beads that are about four inches wide as a way to introduce these ideas to young children. Use other suitable objects such as stuffed animals, toy balls, or toy cars can be used if you do not have the beads or if your child prefers other toys. You can also make your own multisensory materials. These hands-on learning materials are fun for children and tap into visual and language based learning that tap into students' different ways of learning through their senses.
Work together at a table or on the floor on your child's level. You can also do this activity as you are out doing tasks like grocery shopping or waiting for an appointment. Use objects around you to show your child as you talk about the concepts. Magazines, catalogs, objects in rooms, and scenes outside the windows offer many opportunities to show different and the same.
Focus on One Concept at a Time
First, begin working on same. It is a concept that is often grasped earlier and more easily. Keep it fun as you sort and divide the beads into groups, first one color. As you talk with your child, tell her the beads are the same color. Emphasize the word, same. As she enjoys and explores the beads and interacts with you, pick up a bead from a color group, and ask her to give you another bead that is the same. Wait a bit if she needs to think about it. If she needs help, smile and continue to keep the activity fun. Pick up another appropriate bead and show her while telling her they are the same.
Work with these concepts using the color groups, usually red, blue, yellow, and green for the pop-beads.
When your child is familiar with the concept, same, it is time to begin working on different. Follow the same strategies you used for same. If you find your child has ongoing difficulty with the ability to visually discriminate the colors, consider talking with her pediatrician or vision care professional for an examination to address any potential vision problems.
