Muffin math

The other morning my son and I made muffins for breakfast. He always wants to help, so I handed him the container of muffin liners and the muffin tin and let him go to town. Suddenly, it dawned on me that this was a great opportunity for adding and subtracting, without him even realizing it!

He was mid-way through filling the tin with liners, and I asked him to stop for a minute. First, we counted how many liners he’d already put in, then counted how many he still needed to do. Next, we counted how many total muffins we could make (12)… So, liners in + cups to be filled = 12.

Now, what happens if we take one of those liners out? How many liners are in place? How many still need to be filled? Hmm… those two new numbers still equal 12.

Measuring up

Ready for a secret? All you need to keep your 2.5-5 year old entertained for a LONG time is a retractable fabric (or vinyl) measuring tape! My son received a real metal one with a gift, but that one retracts too quickly and can easily cut those little hands that don’t know to be out of the way, so that one now lives in the garage. However, the measuring tape that I keep with  my sewing supplies is a much safer substitute… and worth at least 15 minutes of fun all on his own!

If your little one doesn’t already know the magic of pulling out the tape, then pushing the “magic” button to make it retract, be sure to show him/her that first. This may be enough fun for the first go-round with the measuring tape!

Once your child is comfortable with how it works, let him/her play with it to “measure” things on his/her own. Ask your child how long his/her favorite toy is, or how tall his/her favorite chair is. Work together to discover how long his/her arm is, and how tall he/she is (doing this in front of a full-length mirror makes it a lot more concrete for young minds, and gives an opportunity to make some great funny faces while you’re at it).

This is a great chance to talk about numbers, recognize numbers, talk about what “half” means, compare numbers, etc.

You may even want to enlist your new measuring expert to “help” you determine if a piece of furniture or a toy will fit in a certain designated space. Ask your child to measure the item, then measure the space. Write down the numbers. Which one is bigger? Will it fit? If your child answers incorrectly, let him/her see if the item will fit by him/herself.

Building on: Measuring healthy portions

Here’s an idea to build on yesterday’s post about volume.

Have you ever given your child full reign of the cereal box, and allowed him/her to pour his/her own breakfast? I’m betting what typically happens is that the bowl gets filled to the top, regardless of the size of bowl… Here we have a fabulous opportunity for your child to learn about healthy portions, and how to measure them.

In a similar fashion to the water experiment, here is an easy way to teach about healthy portions.

What you’ll need:

• a box of Cheerios (or any healthy dry cereal that your child likes)
• 1-cup measuring cup
• 1/4-cup measuring cup
• your child’s usual cereal bowl (which holds at least 1 cup)
• a “medium” bowl slightly larger than your child’s cereal bowl (which holds more than 1 cup)
• a “large” bowl much larger than your child’s cereal bowl (which holds several cups)
• a “very small” bowl, smaller than your child’s cereal bowl

This may involve some cereal spilling depending on your child’s fine motor skills, so use your discretion as to where this activity takes place.

What to do (adjust instructions if you’re using a cereal other than Cheerios):

1. Working together at whatever age-appropriate capacity is needed, have your child use the measuring cups to measure an age-appropriate serving of Cheerios into his/her usual cereal bowl. According to the Cheerios box, one serving of Cheerios for a child under 4 is 3/4 cup, and for everyone else it is 1 cup. Talk about how much space is left in the bowl.
2. Have your child pour the cereal into the “medium” bowl. Talk about how the amount of cereal looks smaller in this bigger bowl, even though you know it is the same amount.
3. Next, have your child pour the cereal from the “medium” bowl into the “large” bowl. Talk about how it looks like there is barely any cereal in this much larger bowl, yet it is the same amount that was in your child’s usual cereal bowl.
4. Finally, the messy part… Allow your child to pour the cereal from the “large” bowl into the “very small” bowl. Depending on the bowl you’ve chosen, it might not be large enough to hold the serving of cereal (which will cause the cereal to spill over and likely make your little one laugh!).

Discuss together which bowl held the serving of cereal the best. Was his/her usual cereal bowl too big? Would it be better for him/her to use a smaller bowl on a regular basis in order to know how much to pour to have a healthy serving? If so, which bowl in your cabinet would be a better choice? Or, was the bowl just the right size? (If it was, kudos to you!)

A cup is a cup is a cup

Lately, when I’m pouring milk into his cup, my 3.5-yr-old has been asking, “How much milk is that?” Sometimes, when overly tired, I’ll just answer, “Lots.” He’ll ask, “Lots and lots?” My reply to that is, “Yes. Lots and lots.” Clearly, “lots” is not a measurable quantity. What is staring me right in the face? A learning opportunity!

Here is a really easy way to teach your child about volume, and that, indeed, a cup is a cup is a cup.

What you’ll need:

• a 1-cup measuring cup
• water (your kitchen sink is a-ok for this)
• your child’s favorite drinking cup or sippy cup (which holds at least 8 fl. oz.)
• a small clear drinking glass (which holds barely more than 8 fl. oz.)
• a large clear drinking glass (which holds much more than 8 fl. oz.)
• another cup or glass of your child’s choice (which holds at least 8 fl. oz.), preferably one of a very different shape than the others
• a bowl (which holds at least 8 fl. oz.)

This may involve some water spilling depending on your child’s fine motor skills, so use your discretion as to where this activity takes place. Outside might be a good choice if your child is new to pouring liquids!

What to do:

1. Working together at whatever age-appropriate capacity is needed, have your child use the measuring cup to measure one cup of water (which is 8 fl. oz.). Talk about how the measuring cup is used when you’re cooking, etc.
2. Have your child pour the water into your his/her favorite drinking cup. Talk about how you already know how much water is in his/her favorite cup because you measured it with the measuring cup.
3. Next, have your child pour the water from his/her favorite cup into the small clear drinking glass. Talk about how the glass is almost full with the water… “lots” of water. However, we know that it is holding the same amount of water that was in the favorite cup.
4. Have your child pour the water from the small glass to the large glass. Suddenly, the water that seemed “big” will now seem “small,” in your child’s eyes. “Lots” is now “just a little bit.”
5. Again, pour the water from the large glass to the cup or glass of your child’s choice. Does it seem like there is “lots” or “just a little bit” now?
6. Finally, pour the water into the bowl.

Along the way, ask your child how much water is in each container. Keep coming back to the idea that even though it may look like “lots” or “just a little bit,” you already know that it is the same amount — 1 cup — because you measured it at the start.  It may look different because it is in containers of different shapes and sizes, but it is still the same volume of water. If your child is having a hard time grasping this concept, you may want to let your child fill each of the containers (now empty) with 1 cup of water from the measuring cup, and place the containers side by side to compare them.

So, the next time your little one asks for “lots” of milk, ask him/her, “How much milk do you want?”

Use a magnetic calendar

When children approach age 3, they often begin to have a fascination with time, but don’t yet have a way to grasp it. You may answer their excited question of, “When does the garbage truck come?” with “Tuesday,” but that means nothing if the child doesn’t know when Tuesday will come around again. Magnetic calendars are a great way to make this abstract concept much more concrete for your little one. There are many on the market, but the one I’ve found to be the best deal for the price is sold at Super Target, in the puzzle section. I think it was around $10, no more than $15, and I see years and years of use in its future. (I can not find it online, otherwise I would post a link. As of the date of this posting, they are still on the shelves at Super Target. A good, but more expensive, substitute is the magnetic calendar by Melissa & Doug.) The calendar comes with magnets for the dates, months, years, holidays, weather, activities, “firsts,” and other events. Depending on your child’s age and maturity level, you might choose to hang the calendar at his or her level, or you may need to keep it out of reach (to avoid the choking hazard of the magnets, especially if you have a toddler around).  We use the magnets on our calendar to keep track of what days we have doctor appointments, hair cuts, trips to the museum, trips to the library, when our library books are due, when we’re going on vacation, etc. We’ve even made our own markers using Post-it notes for when grandparents are coming to visit, and for that all important day of the week when the garbage truck stops by! (Garbage day is practically a holiday to most little boys!) The calendar also has magnets for the weather, so your little one can play “weather reporter” and update the weather daily (or as it changes through the day). An added plus is that the calendar will help with number recognition, counting, and, eventually, adding. So, the next time your little one asks what day it is, or when tumbling will be, send him or her to look at the calendar!