Location: indoor and outdoor

Materials: none

You can incorporate math into the daily routines in your classroom. Here are some ideas:

Getting dressed:

• Use numbers and counting by saying: “How many buttons do you have on your shirt?
• Using one-to-one correspondence by saying: “Here’s a sock for this foot. That’s one foot. Here’s a sock for the other foot. That’s two feet!”
• Using measurement and comparing sizes by saying: “Do you want to wear your short pants or your long pants?”

Meal Times:

• Using one-to-one correspondence by inviting a child to set the table: “Will you help me? Each person gets one fork, one spoon, and one napkin.”
• Using numbers and counting to solve problems by saying: “How many spoons do we need? Let’s count.”
• Practicing measurement and comparing sizes by saying: “Give the big cup to Ms. Monica. I would like to have a little cup.”
• Incorporating geometry and shape recognition into the meal by saying: “Your sandwich looks like a square. If I cut it this way (corner to corner), what shapes will it make?”
• Counting practice by asking questions like, “How many pieces of cheese do you want” “Do you want one or two?” “Let’s count how many raisins you have.”
• Practicing making comparisons by observing: “You have more pieces of apple than I do.”

Clean Up Time:

• Practicing spatial sense and using positional language by saying: "Let’s put your cars on the shelf and the balls in the box.” “Can you put three trucks here?”
• Practicing numbers and counting by saying: “There should be six dinosaurs. Will you count them and make sure they are all there?”
• Practicing geometry and shape recognition by saying: “You can put away the square pieces. Your friend will put away the round ones.”