Math Supplement for Pre-K

[STXkjo]

I typed this and deleted then typed again. I know there are different thoughts about how much school time is appropriate for this age. DS1 is young and we are working through LHTH pre-k. It is a review for him but I don't really want him to be ahead of his age b/c I think in a few years it will kind of balance out. I'm trying to decide if I should be supplementing with math or just let it be. He knows how to identify numbers through 100, we haven't really worked on it but he asks a lot of math questions when we are driving in the car so we just talk through a lot of stuff. He'll use his fingers and say "5 + 2 =7". Other than our talks in the car we aren't doing anything for math and I'm trying to decide if I should be. Right now he is doing about 30 minutes of LHTH and about 15 minutes of a reading lesson, so 45 minutes a day and only 3 days a week. I'm wondering if there is something we could do maybe just once a week or as he is interested. Does Singapore have any pre-k materials? I've been reading so many math curriculum reviews and I'm not sure where to go from here. How long is a typical Singapore lesson? I've also looked at Life of Fred. Does anyone have experience with that program? I'd appreciate any and all suggestions! Thanks!

PS- I should mention that I'm not the most creative person when it comes to making up my own curriculum, I really need something that is planned for me or we just never get around to it.

[Carrie]

I'm so glad that you are getting a chance to use and enjoy LHTH! We pray it may be a blessing to your family.

I'm not sure how old your little honey is right now, but typically for young kiddos writing is a barrier to doing a "formal" math program. LHTH has a complete math scope and sequence for pre-K kiddos, so you will actually cover your math bases very well just teaching through LHTH. The math portion in LHTH also is meant to help kiddos develop their fine motor skills in writing numbers etc., which is another needed part for math.

If your little honey is 4 or so, you could consider doing Earlybird Kindergarten Math along with the plans in the LHFHG guide. If he isn't that old yet, I'd instead lean toward just talking about math things when he brings them up. It is easy to count with kiddos while you are traveling in the car, talk about shapes and sizes, count small snacks as he's eating them, talk about four stuffed animals being one more than three stuffed animalsl, etc. You can look through the scope and sequence at the beginning of LHTH to get an idea of typical math concepts to cover for a young child. These are located at the front of your LHTH guide.

Getting books that have mathy concepts in them from the library is also a great idea, or you could request them for your son's birthday from any gift giving friends. Anyway, if he's younger than 4, I wouldn't rush into a more formal math program, as he'll need good fine motor skills to do the pages as much as just knowing mathy concepts. I'd instead lean toward doing LHTH as written and just adding math conversations and books to your day as the thought arises. I wouldn't make a formal push of it though, just follow your son's lead.

Blessings,
Carrie

[STXkjo]

Carrie, thank you so much for your reply! He is almost 4. I was back and forth on LHTH or LHFHG but I opted for LHTH based on his attention span, not really where he is academically. I'm not sure if that was the right decision but I also have a 2 year old so I liked the idea of them doing it together. I LOVE the idea of picking up some math books from the library. It never even occured to me to do that Honestly, we hardly ever go to the library. I just want to encourage him to think mathematically since he is interested in it and that may be exactly what he needs. Thanks again!

[Mommamo]

I have a mathy daughter, and I remember when she was that age. I did start using a math program with her at that age, but it was done informally without really writing. It was a great lead-in to Singapore and the math ideas written into LHFHG and following guides. Nevertheless, I really wish someone had just told me to have fun and play when she was that age. Okay, well maybe they did and I didn't listen. We also used TONS of books from the library. I can't even begin to tell you how many wonderful math books there are. Fun, living math books. There's Sir Cumference. I love those books. It's all different geometry terms and skills written with a fun Knights/castles theme. The Grapes of Math was well loved at that age. I could go on and on. Using those in conjunction with LHTH, as well as just discussing math in your day to day life, playing games like Uno (my 3 yo plays that with us so I'll bet he could do it if you haven't tried it yet), free play with dominos, identifying shapes and patterns, maybe getting and informally playing with an abacus, will really be plenty for that age.

[STXkjo]

Please go on and on! I've never heard of any of those. I've tried to gather living books on my own from Half Price Books, just as I find them but I don't know which ones are best. Thanks for those suggestions! I'd love if you could tell me some others that are good

[StacyinOhio]

I just ordered Family Math for my Pre-ker. It sounds like whag you might be looking for. I plan to start the earlybird math in the fall.