Kiddie Math: Lid Patterns

 

Today's Snack: Cut up three kinds of fresh vegetables - perhaps carrot coins, small broccoli flowerets and celery sticks - and teach your child how to put them in different patterns. For example, carrot-broccoli-celery-carrot-broccoli-celery. Or carrot-carrot-celery-carrot-carrot-broccoli, and so on. Eventually, the child should eat the veggies. Try offering low-fat ranch dressing as a dip.

 

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A large assortment of plastic lids from milk or juice jugs in different colors

 

 

            Here's another example of how enrichment-minded parents NEVER throw anything away. Do you save the lids from containers as you recycle? If you don't, you could consider starting, because the lids are endlessly fun and free toys. You should remove plastic overlay from any lids that have them, and soak off paper labels in hot water with a little dish soap. Then dry, and collect in an empty ice-cream container or large zip-lock bag until it's time for your child to play with them.

 

            Here are some ways you can work with your child on math skills using lids:

 

• Sort by color or size

 

• Line up end to end and measure how long the line is

 

• Create repeating patterns

 

• Use as play money

 

• Stack and measure height

 

• Create a design and glue in place