{Playing Through Autumn Day 23} Acorn Math

After an unexpected hiatus (filled with illness, long hours at work, and transitioning L into a new bed), our family has finally been able to get back into the swing of things and focus on some fun! It has been a rough couple of weeks in our house, but I am so excited that L and I were able to get back to doing what we do best: playing! In keeping with our Playing Through Autumn series, I recently presented L with a simple bowl of acorns. I wasn't sure exactly what she would make of them, but as usual, she found a way to make the simplest materials engaging.

The first thing she wanted to do was count the acorns. She's been really into counting lately, so it was fun for her to have such a big number of items to count. Pausing only briefly to discuss the fact that squirrels eat acorns, she counted them for quite some time.

Our next phase of acorn-y goodness brought us to talking about the size of the acorns. L noticed that some were "teeny tiny" while other were "big, big, big." She took to holding one in each hand to check which one was the "littlest."

After that, we got out a cookie sheet and lined them up in a row. L loved scattering the acorns across the sheet and listening to the sound they made. Very musical!

I have to admit I was pretty impressed with what a simple bowl of acorns could do for my kid. Having never been much of a math enthusiast myself, I really strive to get L excited about mathematical concepts. All on her own she was counting, patterning, and comparing sizes, with very little prompting from me. Plus, since we have been reading so many books concerning autumn, she already had a pretty good knowledge base about the acorns. I love autumn for so many reasons, and now I have another to add to the list!

How have you been incorporating the season of autumn into playtime? Are your kids interested in any particular aspect of the season?

Pom Sorting = A Bevvy of Skills Practice

So, I know that pom pom sorting is nothing new under the sun, but I wanted to give it a shot with L now that she's getting a bit older and becoming aware that objects are different from one another.  I offered up this pom pom sorting activity using a muffin tin and spoons and was quickly surprised (and pleased) at just how many learning areas were addressed in one simple activity.

Fine Motor: L got a kick out of using the spoons to scoop the poms out of the muffin tin into bowls or from one cup to another in the tin. She quickly learned that the bigger the pom, the tougher it was to keep it on the spoon.

Sorting: I chose a variety of poms that were basically one size big and one size small. We had a lively discussion using the words big and small, as well as large and tiny.  Great vocabulary lesson for a gal who loves to chat!

Patterning: While I don't expect L to grasp the concept of patterns at this point, it was still fun to make lines with the poms - big, little, big, little, etc.

Color Recognition: L is really interested in color words of late and has been asking frequently about the colors of things she encounters. This was a fun and organic way to talk about some of the new color words she's working so hard to master.

This activity was so simple and yet had lots to offer (the best kind, in my opinion!). L enjoyed it so much that I just added the muffin tin and poms to her play area for her to explore at her own leisure!