Unit 2- Counting Quantities, Comparing Lengths

Related Activities to Try at Home

Counting A major focus of this unit is

counting. You can help your child learn to

count fluently by finding many opportunities to ask your child to count in different ways.

For example, sometimes count aloud together and see how high you can count. At other times, ask your child to count a small set of objects (“How many books are on the table?”) or the number of pictures on a page. A slightly different kind of question is “Can you make a group of 6 blocks?” or “Can you count out 7 pennies?” You can also ask your child to count to solve a problem; for example, “If everyone

needs a fork, how many forks do we need to set the table?”

Grab and Count Gather a set of objects, such as toy cars, blocks, or foam peanuts. Ask your child to grab a handful and count how many he or she grabbed. Then, ask your child to predict whether you will be able to grab more or less. Try it and find out. Your child can also grab two handfuls and see which holds more, the left

hand or the right.

Which Is Longer? Another major focus of this unit

is comparing objects to see which is longer. Find

opportunities to ask your child about the length of

different objects; for example, “What do you think

the longest part of this cereal box is? Do you think the cereal box is longer than the milk carton? How could we find out?”

Playing Compare We have been playing a card game

called Compare that is similar to the familiar card

game, War. You could play at home with a deck of

playing cards. Each player gets half of a deck of cards and puts them in a pile facedown. Both players turn over their top card, and the person with the greater number says, “Me.” Ask your child to explain how he or she knows which number is greater. The game is over when all of the cards have been turned over.