My 5 year old is loving all his busy work. I love that it keeps him busy, and this skip counting activity is great math practice, too. All these activities are initiated by Kiddo, not Mom!
Last fall Kiddo’s love of numbers and math led him to start skip counting. One day I made a few paper counters for him to play around with. I wrote the sequences 5, 10, 15… 4, 8, 12 … and 3, 6, 9 … on small squares.
Recently he started making his own — both extensions of my initial number sequences (he worked his way into the 200s!) and his own (he made his way to skip counting by 7s).
Even if your kids are not at enthusiastic about numbers as my son, give them a few counters to play around with. I like to encourage my fellow parents to offer kids a relaxed atmosphere to explore new concepts. It’s okay if they don’t perform structured activities all the time. A little free play with numbers takes the pressure off and allows them to make their own discoveries, a crucial part of the learning process.
I really can’t believe how much he gets into this. And how long he works at it. I am so looking forward to see how his math skills take off as he gets older.
Anonymous says
this is a great activity!! i'm always on the lookout for more homeschooling math games 🙂
i'm loving the books on your sidebar and will add them 2 our library list!
great job & thank you 4 posting!
-jo
Raising a Happy Child says
He is definitely something. I hope his school has a special track for math 🙂