My four year old loves to measure!
He also loves playing with pom poms.
What happens when these preschool activities collide?
Pure math magic.
RELATED: Hands-on learning in our jam. Which is why we begin every morning with learning through play.
How do I teach measurement to my preschoolers?
I teach measurement and math through play, of course!
Play inspires children to take risks and encourages critical thinking. It is combining my preschooler’s interest with a learning measurement experience.
Here, my four-year-old is measuring and exploring capacity just as he did in this measurement pouring station.
He is working on discovering:
How many pom poms will fit into this jar?
Which jar has more pom poms than the other?
What happens when I fill the pom poms past the line?
The pom poms act as an open-ended material for my preschooler to pour, scoop to encourage hands-on learning.
So, Grab the painter’s tape. It’s time to get measuring through sensory play.
RELATED: Stop the endless Pinterest search and store your favorite ideas in your back pocket with our activity cards!
Measurement activities are simple to create at home and are hands-on.
This means that your child is touching the materials, learning by doing, and testing out new ideas. Boom. All are powerful ways to remember what we practice.
And fear not!
I am about to show you just how quick and easy play can be for kids at home, and how entertaining it will be for your children.
My two-year-old, my four-year-old, and my almost Kindergartener scooped and measured for a long time.
So grab the toddlers and the big kids, and let’s get measuring!
We know play is vital to little learners, but can sometimes become intimidated on the why and how to make this possible at home.
Guess what?
That is why I am here.
I am here to show you quick setup and simple execution to help your children learn through play as you catch your breath throughout your busy day.
RELATED: Learning measurement through play is something we do a lot, stay here to be inspired!
My preschooler doesn’t know it, but he is preparing for future essential math skills.
Children following the Common Core standards directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has “more of “/”less of” the attribute and describe the difference.
This particular measurement activity begins to explore capacity.
Here, all three of my boys are exploring fill vs. empty and how much space a certain amount of pom poms takes up.
Learning by doing is a significant part of becoming better at any skill! We must ease up on the worksheets and continue allowing our preschoolers to learn hands-on.
This measurement activity is all that and a bag of chips.
This sensory math activity is also helping my four-year-old hold his hand steady as he pours the pom poms into each container in order to reach the line.
Scooping into a container helps:
hand-eye coordination
strengthen hand and arm muscles for pouring milk into a glass with more accuracy
grasping objects with more proficiency
Let’s put this sensory measurement play together!
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Materials:
Sensory Table- 60 quarts under the bed storage bin – You can find these for a fraction of the cost at Target.
Small storage for pom poms shown here in our storage bin post.
Setting up play ideas are as easy as it looks!
Remember the “buffer zone” we talked about in How to Train for a Sensory Bin?
Here, the under the bed storage bin helps keep most of the pom-poms contained as the boys scoop and pour to measure.
Place the tape on each jar, keeping each jar a little different
Place pom-poms into a smaller storage bin.
Place small storage bin inside the larger storage bin
Place a large spoon into the bin for scooping.
Invite your preschooler over to play!
This measurement game is such a hit!
When will you grab the pom poms and get started?
