Make Connections: You and Me and Math
Created through the collaboration of TERC and YMCA OF SILICON VALLEY, made possible by the Heising-Simons Foundation.
Download files are in English and Spanish.
Children investigate geometry (shapes and positions like above and below) through animal-themed crafts, games, and puzzles.
Ages 2 and Up:
- Make playdough animals: long, thin snakes, oval eggs, round turtles.
- Put together dinosaur puzzles.
- Use geometric shapes, such as triangles, rectangles, and circles, to create animal pictures.
Under 2s:
- Investigate which animals fit through a paper tube.
- Find animal toys hidden under a cup and under a blanket.
- Find and hide animal toys under a blanket.
THEMES
Animals—fur, fins, feathers, and scales.. Use the unit for mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and insects.
Dinosaurs, Mammals, Ocean life … any animals, around the world!. Replace animals that don’t fit your theme with animals of a similar shape. Use the same activity and Talk About questions. For example, the porcupine (2A) could be a stegosaurus or sea urchin; the triangle fish (4A) could be a triangle cat. For more puzzles (3A and 3B), cut pictures into the same shapes as the dinosaurs.
MATH: GEOMETRY
As children are doing the activities, help them learn math by:
- Describing shapes and positions with math words, such as square, round, above (all ages)
- Encouraging children to explain how they know if a shape is a triangle. (2 and Up)
- Asking children to compare shapes: How are they the same? How are they different? (2 and Up)
MATERIALS
Ages 2 and Up:
- Download files
- Small paper plates (4 per child)
- Playdough in different colors (enough for each child to make and take home several creations)
- Two glue sticks
- Several sheets of brown and green construction paper (see below under “Other preparation”)
- Box of about 250 toothpicks
- Child safe plastic knife
- Six envelopes large enough for puzzle pieces for Activities 3A and 3B (see below under “Other preparation”)
- Construction paper (2-4 pieces per child)
- Tub of several hundred geometric foam stickers. Make sure tub includes many triangles.
Under 2:
- Download files
- Small paper plates (4 per child)
- Dish towel or cloth, if possible with animal print
- Two soft blocks, if possible with animal pictures
- Two identical plastic or paper cups
- Animal toy that fits in a cup
- Small sheet or blanket
- Chair safe for a baby to crawl under