10 Tricks to Get Your Preschooler Interested in Math

Math is as exciting to most of us as scrubbing that weird slimy grey bathroom gunk from between the bathtub’s tile. You’re not likely to hear a joyful little, “Yeah! Awesome, mom!” when you whip out the flashcards.

Then there are the worksheets. Oh, the worksheets. No child ever begged mom (or dad) to download and print those crazy-boring pages.

So, what are you supposed to do? Maybe pack the kiddos off to kindergarten knowing all they’ve learned about counting comes from a kind of creepy blood-sucking muppet?

Ok, so even those of us who aren’t exactly mathematically inclined (in other words – those of us adults who might not remember anything after third grade math class) can still help our kids learn.

First, if you’ve stumbled upon something online that is called the ‘Early Childhood Mathematics Standards’ (or a similarly schoolish sounding title), don’t feel obliged to follow it to the letter. Reading it may lead you to believe that your 3-year-old NEEDS to learn algebra and that she MUST master geometry.

Chilling, right? Unless you’re already a pre-k teacher, don’t worry about these types of guidelines.

Second, learn how to make math interesting!

1. Ditch the worksheets.

How many seconds of writing the number ‘5’ over and over and over and over will it take your 4-year-old to completely zone out? I can’t say for sure. But, in my experience my kiddo phased out of ‘worksheet mode’ in under 10 seconds.

But, seriously – busy work didn’t do the trick when we were little, so why would anyone think that in the last few decades something has changed? If you’re a die-hard worksheet parent, take a moment to watch your child actually do his ‘work’. What does it look like? Um, boring. Right?

Your now-preschooler has between 13 and 15 more years of school. And that isn’t even counting college, grad school and getting a PhD in 16^th century German literature (which is sure to land him that coveted title as smartest barista). He’s got years of busy work ahead of him. Why start now?

2. Don’t take over.

Hey helicopter mom, back off! It’s the fifth try at adding two and two. Your 5-year-old still hasn’t gotten it right. She’s using her cute little counting bears and is oh-so-close.

While it’s tempting to give her the answer, don’t. Hang back and let your child take ownership of her own learning.

Yeah, we all have that instinct to jump in and help out. After all, would you let your child stand in the middle of a busy road without grabbing her away? Of course not. News flash – math isn’t a busy road. Did she make a mistake? Sure. So what?

If you start giving her the answers now, you won’t stop. Do you really want to be that mom? You know, the one who’s calling the professor begging for a re-test after her 20-year-old ‘kid’ tells her that she got a ‘D’ on her sophomore math midterm.

3. Make a move.

My 4-year-old son was a constant motion machine. Running down the driveway, jumping onto the carefully planted shrubs and stomping through the mud were part of the daily routine. That’s not to mention the oh-so-helpful little swirls, twirls and dances, spewing dirt from his Thomas the Train shoes all over my white tile kitchen floor (I know, who gets a white floor and has kids?).

The point isn’t to whine about my dirty floors. That’s just a fact of life. What I do want to get across is my son’s need for speed.

Activity equaled excitement and interest for him. Forcing him to sit and compare fractions or work quietly in one place just wasn’t ever on the agenda. Instead, counting hops around the family room or bending his body into the shapes kept him busy, kept him mud-free and got him totally into math!

4. Be a sneak.

Don’t make math the broccoli of the learning world. You put it on your kid’s plate and he pushes it to the side, hides it under his potatoes and pretends he ate it without as much as giving it a whiff.

How do you get your preschooler to believe in broccoli? You stealthily sneak it into an omelet or add it to the middle of a buttery grilled cheese. Put math into a ‘grilled cheese’ of sorts by sneaking it in to everyday activities.

There are three oranges in the fridge’s crisper, two mittens hanging in the closet, six shoes by the front door, eight apples on the kitchen counter and 15 bags of poopy diapers from little bro. Count, categorize and sort them by size! Well, maybe not the diapers.

5. Play games.

No, not the mental kind. You don’t want to scar your child for life. We made our own set of math bingo cards along with playing the toy store board games.

Even though it’s almost a decade later, I still can’t shake the sight of my then-preschool-aged son tossing the Chutes and Ladders board onto the floor after a devastating loss. At least he was learning something, right?

6. Do math on the go.

You’re in an endless line at the grocery store. Now’s the time to make math happen!

How many cartons of juice are in the nearby display? Which box of candy bars has more – what about less? Can your child find a pattern in the watermelon’s seeds?

7. Serve math with a side of science.

I’m all about science – even though I’m in no way (at all) a scientist. I’m not talking about getting a jump on balancing chemical equations or explaining Einstein’s theories to you. While your preschooler isn’t likely to start out comparing atomic weights, he can compare how much water vs. corn starch you put in your ooblek or find geometric shapes on a nature walk.

8. Be kind.

Yes, you’re thinking, “Come on. How can you not know that six comes after five by now?” Keep the negativity where it belongs – far away from your child.

Provide props galore. I have to admit, there were times when I felt like an awkwardly cross-bred cheerleader-clown-football coach combo while shouting, “Yeah, kick that math problem’s butt. You go boy!” But, he completely fed off of my enthusiasm.

9. Get hands-on.

You’re constantly saying, “Put that down” and, “Don’t touch that!” Turn the message around and let your preschooler get hands-on with math. Let him pick up marbles and count them or move dried beans around to add simple sums.

10. Add art.

Math isn’t all about writing number after number. Sculpt a numeral out of clay, make a pattern collage or count the number of animals that your child paints in a picture.

When my son wouldn’t stay put and paint me a badge of good parenting (i.e., that pretty, pretty picture to hang on the fridge), I let him take the art into his own hands. Literally.

It’s probably no surprise that most kids find sticking their hands into puddles of finger paint gratifying beyond compare.  Even a CSI-worthy paint splatter can get math-y. Count the drips, drops or puzzle out what shapes your child made when he pressed his electric blue finger tips on your white living room walls.

Will math ever nudge a day at the trampoline park out of the picture when it comes to ranking super-exciting activities? Probably not. That said, you can beat the boring math blahs well before your child steps foot in ‘big kid’ school!