Although you may not think about introducing graphing in preschool it can help children look at numbers in a different way.
Graphing can help children:
- Count quickly
- Quickly group items
- Compare
- Discus information
Age:
3 1/2 and up (make sure your child has a solid understanding of one to one correspondence)
Materials:
- Lego
- Paper
- Colors markers or crayons
How to :
Collect a few handfuls of legos and put it in a bag or bowl. Then have your child sort them by color. When they have sorted each one you can show them how to draw a graph. You can do it or if you feel they are able and want to draw the graph they can do it as well. As you write down the numbers have your child count the number you are writing make sure to space them out so that one equals 1 lego 2 equals two legos, and so on. Then ask your child what color legos they have sorted. Blue, Red, Yellow, etc. using the appropriate colored marker write down the colors. Then one by one have your child line up the legos to the appropriate number. When you have graphed each of the colors ask you child questions to help them read the gram. What color legos to we have more of? Which do we have less of? Are there two colors with the same amount of legos?
Objective:
Introduce graphing and help your children see numbers in a different way. When graphing your child is working on many skills. Sorting, counting, analyzing, etc.
Other Ideas of what you can graph:
- Legos
- Fruit
- Beads
- Shapes
- Toys: cards, balls, Magna Tiles, etc.
If they can count it you can graph it
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