Math and science can be found everywhere! Numbers, data, patterns and counting are all part of everyday life and science. With a nationwide educational push towards Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), it’s important to recognize these principles in our own homes and know that you don’t have to be an expert to teach young children these skills.
One of the easiest places to encounter math and science is in the kitchen! You can learn basic math principles while following recipes and reading measurements. Your child can experiment and observe things transforming from liquids to solids when baking cakes and cookies or even just freezing ice cubes and making your own juice pops. When you are cooking with your kids, be sure to talk through what is happening and why.
Add a little literacy to your chemistry lesson by reading Dr. Seuss’s “Bartholomew and the Oobleck.” Make your own solid/liquid concoction by mixing two cups of cornstarch, one cup of water and a few drops of food coloring. Slowly stir it all together and see what happens! Is Oobleck a solid? Or a liquid? Let your child decide!
The bathroom is another great place to explore science and math. When your child is in the tub, it’s the perfect time to learn the difference between objects that sink and objects that float, and tossing in a couple of measuring cups can expose your child to numbers and measurements.
Home and school are not the only places children see math and science in their everyday lives. Children encounter shapes and colors everywhere they go! The next time you are on a walk around the block or playing at the park, go on a scavenger hunt. Seek out only round objects or encourage your child to find all things orange. What two primary colors blend together to make orange? Advance your child’s learning by pointing out shapes that they may not already know, like that a stop sign is an octagon.
There are hundreds of Teachable Moment opportunities every day! Some are obvious, and some take a bit of explanation. Now, thanks to incredible research and efforts by Civitas, the Ad Council and United Way of America, these Born Learning Techniques are available to parents in simple forms. Nationally, Born Learning is being promoted through public service announcements and a wonderful website, www.bornlearning.org. Here in Colorado, Mile High United Way, Anna Jo Haynes of Mile High Montessori, the Children’s Museum of Denver and others have partnered to spread the Born Learning concept in our community.
