Education.com - Resource website

I was recently introduced to Education.com, a great resource for introducing fun and educational activities to young children from 2-11 years of age. No matter what their starting ability is you can utilise the site to put together stimulating activities for your child. With links to lessons plans (great for those home educators) and worksheets, exercises, stories and games there is something for everyone.

Education.com has over 30,000 educational activities available! Plus Guided lessons and progress trackers. You can subscribe to Education.com from $9,99 per month, or a one off payment of $298 gives you unlimited lifetime membership!

Activity: 

Make Math Fun with Buttons!

 

 

Have a lot of loose buttons lying around the house? Put them to use! Leftover buttons are the perfect tool for tactile math games and art projects. Children are attracted to the bright colours and shapes of buttons, so they're perfect for teaching important concepts like sorting, counting, and patterning. Here are four ways to turn those loose buttons into an easy and positive learning experience. Button up!

What You Need:

• An assortment of buttons (from your own collection or a bag at the craft store)
• Bowl
• Sheet of construction paper or card stock
• Glue

What You Do:

1. Sort the buttons. Dump the buttons onto the table or floor. Point out all the pretty colours and different sizes. Can she put them into separate piles? Have her sort them by colour first, then by shape, and then by size. Can she sort by two descriptors: colour and size?
2. Count the buttons. How high can she count? Have her drop the buttons into a bowl while counting. This will help her with one-to-one correspondence. Make sure what she says matches the corresponding button.
3. Button Patterns. Show her an AB pattern, such as red, blue, red, blue… Can she continue the pattern? Can she make other AB patterns? How about an ABC, or other three-colored pattern?
4. Make a Button Letter. Using the glue, write the first letter of her name on the construction paper. Have her glue the buttons on. Now she has a tactile letter to trace with her fingers. Make more letters as your child encounters them in school or at home, and she'll learn the alphabet in no time!