Parenting in Focus: What are you counting?

Published 1:30 am Monday, July 13, 2026

Math is a critical skill for every child, and learning begins long before a child enters school. Research has consistently shown that children who enter kindergarten with early math skills — such as counting, recognizing shapes and patterns, and understanding basic measurement concepts — often have an easier time learning more advanced math later on.

That does not mean you need to sit your preschooler down for formal math lessons. Instead, look for ways to make math a natural and enjoyable part of everyday life. Math is everywhere. It can be found in science, art, music, cooking, sports, and many of the activities we do each day. Parents can play an important role in helping children develop a positive attitude toward math.

Here are some simple ways to help:

Ask your child to help put away groceries. Sorting items by size, shape, or type is an early math skill. Children also begin to understand concepts such as more, less, bigger, and smaller.

Pour water into different-sized cups and containers. This helps children explore estimating, measuring, and comparing quantities.

Help your child find patterns in clothing, artwork, nature, music, and daily routines. Patterns are an important foundation for mathematical thinking.

Use beads, blocks, or other toys to create simple patterns. As your child grows, encourage her to create more complex designs of her own.

Count anything and everything — steps, toys, crackers, books, flowers, or cars passing by.

Help your child learn to count using her fingers. Pointing to objects as you count helps connect numbers to real things.

Talk about how numbers are used every day. You might point out house numbers, prices in a store, scores in a game, or numbers on a clock.

Teach basic shapes such as circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles. Ask your child to find examples around the house or draw them herself.

Provide hands-on materials such as blocks, puzzles, and boxes that can be stacked, sorted, and arranged. Even cutting a sandwich into different shapes can become a math activity.

Use direction words such as in, out, over, under, around, through, and between. These words help children understand spatial relationships.

Involve your child in activities that use measurement, such as cooking, gardening, shopping, sewing, or woodworking. Talk about what you are measuring and why.

There are many other mathematical concepts young children can begin to explore, including time, fractions, estimation, and probability. The key is to make learning enjoyable and part of everyday life.

Start today by helping your child discover the math that already exists all around her. Encourage her curiosity, celebrate her successes, and make learning fun.

You may be helping develop a lifelong love of mathematics.