The Reggio-inspired math table encourages children to create one to one correspondence with numerals and small natural manipulatives. Our little table, a second hand find, is in our kitchen, and I regularly change out the materials we use to entice the kids to count and match numbers. They absolutely love it and are often working or passing by, touching or manipulating the items.
Our little table has been a lot of things for us since scaling down our toys {see : our new playroom i.e. we tossed most toys}, we created a nature table, and now I’ve decided to incorporate some mathematics learning. We began focusing on numbers 1 thru 5 in John’s preschool, but after a couple weeks, we are up to numbers 1 thru 9. It is exciting to see that my son can recognize the numerals easily. These invitations to learn have encouraged him to make correspondence between the numeral and corresponding the number of objects next to, or on top of the number. Not only that, a child is encouraged to place numbers in order, or could begin learning about adding and subtracting. They also can sort into groups, order the objects from smallest to largest, create patterns, so many options for learning and growing.
Just working with their hands creates opportunity and potential for new growth.
And the small parts play has been invaluable for our little ones. My daughter is often seen sneaking the little objects around the house and rearranging them with her dolls and kitchen set. I love that she is using the small parts to exercise her imagination for open-ended play time!
Here are some of our set ups and materials we have used. Really, you could use anything you have on hand, or walk outside and gather sticks and rocks!
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Some of the numeral items we have include:
Sandpaper number cards {we love these and use them every day!!}
Wooden numerals from Michael’s
Wooden discs with numbers written with a Sharpie
Acorns with numbers written with a Sharpie
Little clothespins with wooden numbers glued on, a dollar store find! {these are similar}
Clothespins with numbers written
Our apple numbers cards from our Montessori fall trays
Our natural loose parts include:
Pinecones
Sticks
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More Reggio-inspired learning:
Reggio-inspired preschool math
Small parts play on the DIY light box
Reggio-inspired learning with shapes
Reggio-inspired playdough exploration
Reggio-inspired math with playdough and small parts
Need more open-ended and beautiful ideas for teaching children? Follow my Reggio-inspired activities board on Pinterest!
Follow Amy @ Wildflower Ramblings’s board Reggio-Inspired on Pinterest.
Your math table set-ups are beautiful!