More Activity Ideas
- Clap a baby’s hands––say, One, two, three. Encourage a sitting baby to imitate each clap. For younger babies, hold their hands and clap with them. Count the claps aloud. Clap patterns together: One, two; one, two, three. One, two; one, two, three, etc.
- Play games that use math language, such as How big is baby? So-ooo big. Use babies’ home languages when possible. Show family members what their baby can do. Share the games with family members so they can play them at home.
- Enlist older babies’ to “help” as you put things away. Name items and places as you talk about what goes where. For example, say, Let’s put the juice in the refrigerator or Let’s bring Isabel’s bottle into the kitchen.
- Practice sorting with older babies. Start with two containers and two different kinds of objects, such as balls and toy cars. Let children put all the balls in one container and all the cars in the other. Offer just a few of each toy to start. Babies may want to dump them all out and play the game again!
- Make a baby obstacle course. Talk about how babies go over, under, around, and through as they crawl or climb. Help them find surprises hiding behind, in, under, next to, and on other things.
- Have a baby watch as you put a small car into a cardboard tube. Then add one or two more cars. Tip the tube and watch the cars come out. Talk about which one comes out first, second, and third. Repeat the game, and let the baby try. See if he can guess what will come out next.
- Play matching games with socks, mittens, and shoes. Start with a few items that have obvious similarities and differences. Once children master the game, they can learn to help with daily challenges, such as finding a missing mitten.
- Offer babies soft blocks or toys of different shapes and sizes to sort. In the lid of a shoebox cut two holes that accommodate the two different block sizes. Talk about the shapes and colors of each block as the child finds the right hole to put it in. Extend the fun and see if babies are interested in making towers.
- Choose some books for older babies that focus on color or shape, such as My Very First Book of Colors by Eric Carle or Brown Rabbit’s Shape Book by Alan Baker. Talk about the pictures. Can the baby point to something red in the book, on his clothing, or in the room? Can he point to a rectangle in the book, in the block pile, or around the room?
- Use play dough to make long and short worms or big and little balls.
- Introduce babies to recycling. Show them the different bins for recycling and trash. Use math language such as different, more, bigger, etc., as you place trash and recyclables in the bins.
- Play sorting and matching games. You can use toys, real objects, or laminated photographs of familiar people, objects, and animals. Have children match exact pairs, match one attribute (size, color, texture, etc.), or line up from smallest to biggest.
- Create a simple routine schedule that toddlers can follow. Divide a sheet of poster board into sections—one for each daily routine, such as reading, snack time, or outdoor play. Make a picture card for each routine. Make a star card to use for special activities. Each morning have toddlers stick the activity cards on the schedule (use double-stick tape). Refer to the schedule as you go through the day.
- Make math talk part of snack time. Toddlers can hand out the same number of apple slices to each child or help you count out cups. Show children how you cut a sandwich in half or cut a square into triangles. Offer toddlers banana circles, watermelon triangles, or cracker squares.
- Engage toddlers in simple cooking projects. Write an illustrated recipe on a large sheet of paper. Toddlers can help repeat the steps in order, help count and measure ingredients, mix and pour the batter, and finally eat the result!
- Draw mathematical patterns with sidewalk chalk for toddlers to step, jump, and play on. For example, have them jump a line of squares numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or hop on side-by-side squares. Count with toddlers as they play. When children have mastered these patterns, try forward and backward counting or counting by two’s. Check out “Sidewalk Math—We Count” at http://www.lesley.edu/sidewalk-math/ for more ideas.
- Play games, such as “I Spy” and “Treasure Hunt,” using math clues. Can toddlers find a square with red stripes or a small circle inside a bigger one? Can they look behind the rectangular bookshelf or on top of the round table?
- Make books of things that come in pairs (twins, eyes, birds’ wings), threes (tricycle wheels, “Three Little Kittens,” triangle sides), fours (puppy feet, car wheels, chair legs) and fives (fingers, star points, geranium petals).
- Offer older toddlers toys for building and patterning, such as interlocking blocks and pegboards. Ask questions such as, How many more blocks do you need to make your fence wider than my fence? Do you need a tall or short block to hold up the bridge? What color comes next in your pattern?
- Measure short distances with toddlers in giant steps and baby steps or in toddler steps and grown-up steps.
- Make a simple graph with older toddlers. Graph how many boys and girls are at your center, how many children like a favorite snack, or the number of immediate family members each child has. Use a large sheet of drawing paper for the graph. Give children stickers or color squares to show their choices or observations.