Sorting
- Buttons, dried beans/noodles, keys, shells, beads, etc. are all great items to have your child sort. Have your child place the items into various groups/piles and name how the group was formed. For example, the groups can be sorted by shape, color, size, thickness, types of objects (cars and not cars), characteristics (animals that have wings and animals that do not have wings).

Graphing
- When children first begin exploring graphing, it can be very basic. A mini bag of M&Ms can be used to create a real life graph. Have your child sort the M&Ms into piles by color. After the M&Ms are sorted, he/she can place the M&Ms in columns or rows by color. For example, all of the red ones would go in the same column or row. Graphing should be done in one of two ways (left to right or top to bottom). Other items to use for creating a real life graph could include different colored or shaped noodles, buttons (how many holes, the color, or shape), crayons, the color eyes of each member in your family, etc.

Shapes
- Find shapes around your house or neighborhood. For example, count how many times you find a circle or oval.
- Collect various objects from around the house and sort the objects into piles by their basic shape.
- Practice recognizing squares that are turned on their sides. A square turned on its side will look similar to a diamond. Also, practice recognizing different kinds of triangle. The three types of triangles are triangles with all sides being equal, triangles with two equal sides and one side unequal, and triangles with all sides unequal.

Time
- Have your child read digital clocks as often as possible. This will also help with number recognition.
- Set a small clock to a specific time (either to the hour or half hour). Have your child state the time. If correct, your child gets to set the clock and you must state the time. Your child is responsible for letting you know if you are correct or not. Continue taking turns stating the time and setting the clock until your child loses interest.
- Make a daily or evening shedule with the digital and analog time as well as a picture ofthe activity.
- How long is a minute? Set a timer for one minute and practice doing various physical activities for a minute. For example, jogging in place, coloring, touching your toes, waist bends, jumping jacks, etc. Discuss with your child why some activities felt longer or shorter than others. This will also get both you and your child moving. This is a good time to talk about the benefits of exercise.

Money
- Collect a small pile of coins and have your child sort them according to type.
- Have your child observe the various coins and state observations. Questions you might ask...
"What color is a ____?"
"Which 2 coins have ridges along the edge?"
"What is on the back of the penny?"
"Which coin is the largest/smallest?"
"How much is a ____ worth?"
- Have your child "pay" for various activities or items. To "pay," your child must name each coin and state the value.

Addition and Subtraction
- Roll two dice. Have your child count out small objects for each number rolled. For example, you roll a 3 and a 2. Count out a set of 3 and a set of 2. Then, have your child push the sets together and count to find the sum. For additional practice, your child could write the number sentence for the problem just completed.
For subtraction, roll only one die. Count out the appropriate number of objects. Roll the die again and take away the appropriate number of objects to find the difference. Again, your child may write the number sentence for an additional challenge.

Patterning
- Many of the same items that you collected to have your child sort make great items to pattern. Have your child physically place various items into a pattern and then name the pattern that was created. For example, red car, blue car, red car.
- You create a pattern and have your child complete the pattern (repeating at least two more times). Again, have your child name the pattern.
- Have your child look for patterns in the world around him/her. One example is the stripes on a shirt.
- Every pattern can be named with letters. Red car, blue car, red car would be an ABAB pattern. Blue car, blue car, red car would be an AABAAB pattern. You begin with the first item and call it A. When the item changes, you call the next item B. If two items are the same, they will have the same letter name. Once this is introduced to your child, you can name a letter pattern and your child should be able to reproduce the pattern with a given set of objects.

Numbers 0-20
- The children need to be able to identify the numbers 0-20 as well as represent the number with objects. To incorporate both number recognition and counting objects, fill a baggie full of small objects such as beans and write the numbers 0-20 on individual index cards. Each number should have its own card. For example, the number 7 would be written very large on its own index card. Shuffle the index cards and have your child pull one card from the pile. Using the beans (or whatever item you have collected), have your child count out the appropriate number of items. For example, if your child pulls out the number 13, he/she will count out 13 beans and place them on the number card. Continue in the same manner until your child loses interest. Please do not have your child do this for every number in the stack. We want your child to enjoy learning and not become bored with the activity.
- Another skill that your child should be able to do independently is count a given set of objects to 20. To do this, take a random number of objects from 1-20 and place them on the table. Have your child count the objects and state how many are in the set.
- The index cards can also be used to practice placing the numbers in order from 0-20. Have your child place the cards in a line on the floor starting with the number 0 and ending with the number 20. By the end of the year, your child should do this without using a number line or other source as a reference.

Measurement
- Place 5 small objects in front of your child. Have him/her order the objects from tallest to shortest and then shortest to tallest. Remind your child to place the objects against a straight edge to ensure that the measurements are correct.
- Draw various sized lines on a sheet of paper. Have your child roll play dough or clay snakes the same length as the lines on the paper.
- Show your child an object. Have him/her find another object as close to the same size as possible. Or have your child find an object that is longer or shorter than the given object.

Fractions and Symmetry
-Fold a piece of paper in half. Cut along the fold then open to reveal a symmetrical design.
- Fold a piece of paper in half and then open. Paint half an object along the line and then refold. Open to reveal the whole object.
- Practice cutting shapes into equal peices and then taping back together to reveal the fraction.