Amirah Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 hi i was just wondering about MEP Reception ? could this be done with a 2 1/2 yr old or 3yr old? i know of someone using it for there really young one but am not sure it would be too much or not. any other suggestions for a mathy kinda program for a toddler. i am new to homeschooling so i make be way ahead of myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 You could do some of the MEP Reception activities with a young preschooler but many others require fine motor skills that are more typical of a 4 or 5 y.o. Personally, I'd wait on MEP Reception and just do informal "hands-on" activities such as those from Family Math for Young Children and Math Play! 80 Ways to Count and Learn. I have also heard good things about this book for the Cuisenaire rods but I have no personal experience with it. Funtastic Frogs series is supposed to be good as well, but again I have no personal experience with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarango Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Yes. I would definitely use it for some fun math with a 3 year old. It is relatively easy to adapt to your child's level in regards to fine motor skills and the story aspect of the lessons really appeals to younger children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 That's pretty young for a book; I think MEP Reception is for 4-5 years old. How about some ideas from Hubbard's Cupboard preschool curriculum? (Shapes, classifying objects, counting, bigger/smaller, colors, measuring.) You might look at Ruth Beechick's book (The 3 R's I believe). The book Family Math has some suggestions for little ones too. Also check out Living Math. I would recommend the concepts of math in real life / with real objects. Ya'know: which of these cups do you think holds more? Uncle Joe is coming for dinner, how many plates do we need to set out? How many pieces should we divide the pie into? There are 6 cookies and 3 people, how many do we each get? Sort things by size, color, shape, - let the child sort then tell you how they did it. Order things (cups, toys, etc) by size, weight, shape. Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Some of the concepts taught in the Reception level might be okay for an advanced 2 1/2-3yo but the puzzles and fine motor skills necessary would most likely make it too difficult. My 4.5yo ds is great with puzzles, loves to build, and taught himself to do simple addition and subtraction, and he is still being challenged by the puzzles in the Reception level. He may have been able to do it a little sooner, but not too much. I agree with the others to simply play math games, talk about math in everyday life, and read living math books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Taking notes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Seconding the idea that while you may get some good ideas for activities from MEP's reception program, that seems really young to have a formal math program. We liked math picture books at that age. I think that some of those Tana Hoban math picture books are really good at that age - we especially liked More, Fewer, Less but she has a bunch that are also for geometry dealing with shapes. Also, Greg Tang's Math Fables series is for preschoolers about number sense. Plus the Stuart J. Murphy level 1 mathstart books. We had a set of counting blocks that were a bit like big, chunky Cuisenaire rods at that age that the kids really liked. And you can do some fun abacus games at that age. There's a Cuisenaire rods book about the alphabet and the rods as well that's cute at that age - I'm not sure if it's in print or not anymore though. And, of course, pattern tiles are fun at that age. Oh, and that's around the age that my boys really enjoyed the game Bzz Out, which helps teach numbers and greater than less than. It needs three players to work, but it sounds like you've got that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MangoMama Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Seconding the idea that while you may get some good ideas for activities from MEP's reception program, that seems really young to have a formal math program. :iagree: Third-ing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 My 3-year-old loves MEP Reception so far. :) She has advanced fine motor skills though, so that part doesn't trouble her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.