3.5 yo "math"

[MarieWith3]

My 3.5 yo boy frequently asks to do math, though I'm pretty sure it's because math is the only thing we do where I print off pages for the kids to work on (Math Mammoth). I usually grab stuff online, and he does whatever he feels like with it, and I'm good with that, but if there's any not-too-expensive workbooks anyone can recommend, I'd appreciate it. For example, I like Kumon books fine, but they're too expensive for this purpose.

 

He can color fairly well, and scribble out a letter or too, along with mysterious runes. He can cut with scissors, but gets frustrated at trying to aim cutting along a line, so that should wait.

 

Thanks for any help!

[IsabelC]

My 3yo is the same, and I actually just grabbed a couple of preschool numeracy books that they sell in newsagencies and post offices here. She's just finished "Beginning to Count" which mainly involved counting up to 10 objects and writing the numerals. I thought this was just busywork but was surprised that she can now read all the numbers, where before she could only recognize 1, 2 and 3. She's now started on "Beginning to Add and Subtract" which entails extremely simple sums in a pictorial form. Maybe you could get something similar if your little man isn't ready for actual curriculum as yet.

[redsquirrel]

MEP reception year. It was made for 3 year olds. You can do a board search for more info.

 

I loved doing MEP reception with my youngest.

[rocketgirl]

I started Math U See Primer with my 3 1/2 year old today & she could do it & it was fun :) I actually bought it for my first grader because I didn't know if she'd be ready for Alpha. Until now my 3 yo and I have been working on a shape book and colors book that I bought at Dollar Tree, and with magnetic numbers 1-5 & lots of counting. We've just been doing it for fun & when she wants to (not every day or even most days). Yesterday she counted 12 barrettes in a pack I was buying at the store, yay! Usually she'll count 1, 2, 3, 19 :)

[jenbrdsly]

I have some ideas on my blog for hands on math activities for 2 and 3 year olds, in case that helps. Good luck!

[Spy Car]

Miquon. He can learn through play and solve problems with C Rods himself. Great for this age.

 

Then add MEP.

 

Bill

[boscopup]

Rod&Staff's ABC series are great for this. The first one, Adventures with Books, teaches colors and shapes and such, with some coloring, cutting, and pasting. Then you go to Counting With Numbers (the 'B' book in the series is Bible Pictures to Color, so just a coloring book), which teaches how to count to 10 and how to write numbers. My middle son started book A at 3.5 and did book B at 4. I really like the way they teach how to write the numbers. I keep meaning to make posters with those sayings on them!

 

Another thing you might be able to do is give him the pages your other kids have already done. If he's just wanting to "do math" but not actually do math, he might like scribbling on a page with numbers on it. My 2.5 year old has DS2's Singapore EM book A that is already completed. He loves "doing math" with his brothers and knows that that is HIS math book. :D

 

And definitely give him C-rods to play with. They are magical. :lol:

[FO4UR]

Cuisenaire Rods and cm graph paper.

 

$ store workbooks (It's OK if he doesn't understand it all...he's 3.5yo...but maybe he can start matching the rods to make simple additions, etc...and whatever keeps him happily busy...)

 

 

I took the binding off of some Kumon books and put them in page protectors. That saves on the $.

[Farrar]

Agreed with the C-rods. My boys especially liked the things where they had to fill in a shape with the C-rods in different ways then compare the length of them all lined up. But we also did all those first games around age 4 - staircases and so forth.

 

Also, dot-to-dots and number mazes if he can recognize his numbers pretty well.