List

of example math games

for children

24-30
months

24-30
months

Paper Bag
Matching
Game

Where Is
It?

30-36
months

Build a
bridge

20-24
months

Train
Tracks

Gather at least
two of several
common objects.
Use two paper
bags with the
same things in
each bag. Pull one
item out and ask a
child to reach in
and find one in the
other bag. No
peeking! Just
feeling!

Hide a toy and
give the child
clues to find it:
Wheres the
bear? Can you
find her? Shes
under something
green.

When playing
with blocks, show
the child how to
make a simple
bridge with three
blocks. Can the
child copy you?

Draw two long

lines on a large
sheet of paper.
Then, show your
child how to
draw lines that
connect them.
The design will
look like a
railroad track.
Bring out the
trains or cars to
play on the
railroad track.

Toddler Math
Milestones


Number
Between 1-2 years old, a child
usually understands the concept of
more and enough but is unable
to explain it.
At 2 years of age, many children
understand the word one and
two and may even recite the
numbers in sequence at the end of
the second year.

Measurement
Between the first and second years
of life, some children will explore
quantity by filling and emptying
containers with water or sand.
Throughout these early years, many
children will believe that a single
cracker broken into many pieces is
more food than the same unbroken
cracker.
(Conservation
and
reversibility)

Pattern, reasoning & algebra

By the middle of the second year,
most children will begin to see
patterns in their environment. They
will understand, for example, that
night and day follows a continuous
cycle. They also are becoming aware
of man-made patterns, such as color
patterns on the wall.

By: Alban Zohn, Paul

Jarusombuti, Scott
Virshup, & Tyler Eng

Myths

Myth: For young children, learning

mathematics is less important than
developing early literacy and
language skills.
Research findings: "Mastery of
early math skills predicts not only
future math achievement, it also
predicts future reading
achievement and it does so just
as reliably as early literacy mastery
of vocabulary, letters and phonetics
predict later reading success. The
oppositereading skills predicting
math successdoes not hold up.
-Greg Duncan, Northwestern
University Educational
Researcher
See more at:
http://www.northwestern.edu/new
scenter/stories/2007/11/duncan.ht
ml#sthash.Vv67ry64.dpuf

Why is math so important?

Surprising Research Findings

Surprise 1: Given opportunities to learn, young children possess an informal
knowledge of mathematics that is amazingly broad, complex, and
sophisticated.
Surprise 2: Teachers vastly underestimate what their children know and can
learn. One study found that more than 80% of the students could count out
nine marbles, but the adults estimates were from 20% to 50% (Clements &
Samara, 2009).
Surprise 3: All students need math intervention. Its important to support
math programs for all demographics including children in poverty who tend to
be developmentally behind children with more resources.

Source: Education Commission
of the States (2013)