My four-year-old loves pom preschool measurement!
Truly, coming up with pom pom preschool measurement was a no-brainer.
My four-year-old loves playing with pom poms, and he also loves to measure. What happens when these preschool activities collide?
Pure math magic.
RELATED: Hands-on learning in our jam. This 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 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 we 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 a 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 explore 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 helps my four-year-old hold his hand steady as he pours the pom poms into each container 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
You know we love pom poms! We use them again and again with this list of pom pom activity list.
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 is 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 into measuring.
First, place the tape on each jar, keeping each jar a little different height. Place pom-poms into a smaller storage bin inside the sensory bin.
Finally, add a large spoon into the bin for scooping and invite your preschooler over to play!
This measurement game is such a hit! It is just one of the 40+ Indoor Games we play often.