Special Start

Use regular household items like Cheerios, popsicle sticks, Legos, etc. to talk about numbers (1 through 5) with your child: count them, group similar objects together, sort different items. See how many different ways you can arrange the objects; is it still the same number of objects if you put them in rows, circles, stacks?

Look for the letters of your child’s name throughout your house.

Involve your child in making meals or snacks. Following a recipe involves measuring, following directions, reading labels, which are great incidental math and literacy skills.

Reading is a great chance to work on comprehension skills. Read a short book to your child, or ask them to read it. Every few sentences or pages, ask comprehension questions, such as who, what, what is X doing? You can also ask your child to label or point to various objects in the pictures.

Use pictures, words, or the items themselves, line up 2-3 activities your child can complete independently (ex. insert puzzle, a coloring page, blocks to stack, etc.), followed by something that they love, such as a few minutes of computer time or a few goldfish crackers. You can repeat this several times during the day to break up longer stretches of time.

Using items such as blocks or pom-pom, ask your child to group them together by the same item. You can work this into regular household routines, like sorting laundry, putting eating utensils away, etc. In the packet, there is also a color-sorting sheet. Children can practice color sorting by collecting small objects around the house of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple and sort the objects by placing them inside their matching spot.