Why Math Is Just As Important as Reading

Posted on | by KD Novelties

Learning Math for Kids

Many parents focus on skills like reading when it comes time for their kids to start preschool or kindergarten, but math is an important subject to keep in mind, too. Recent studies have shown that a child’s math skills upon entering kindergarten can be a prominent indicator of their future academic performance. Math can be incorporated into so many parts of daily life, and many games even rely on math in order to be played properly or well. Help boost your child’s math skills with some of these simple, but fun math activities every day.

Count Everyday Objects
Counting simple things like how many apple slices your child has for snack time or how many forks and knives are at the dinner table can help kids get into the habit of not just counting but can help them have a better abstract idea of how numbers work, as well. Start with small numbers, generally no more than five, and add a few more as your child improves – they may be ready for a challenge!

Lined Up In a Row
Let’s experiment – take some coins and line them up together on a table. Have your child count how many coins there are. Now, spread out the coins but otherwise leave them be. Then, ask your child how many coins there are again. Don’t be surprised if they have to count again, but once your child begins to automatically know the answer, you’ll know they’ve mastered number invariance.

Fun and Games
There are plenty of family friendly children’s games that involve counting, such as Chutes and Ladders or Candy Land. These sorts of games are great for acquainting kids with numbers. Not only will they have to roll the die and need to recognize the number they get, but they will then need to count how many spaces they move as a result. For more advanced players, card games like War that involve addition can be helpful with simple math problems as well.

Spotting Shapes
It is also important for kids to develop a basic understanding of geometry and special relations. Blocks and other such toys can help with this early on, but as they learn the names and appearances of shapes, you can also have them identify shapes around the house and anywhere else you go, too.

Math for Kids

A Map of Home
Creating a map of your house can be helpful for a lot of reasons. Not only can it help your child practice spatial language and develop a deeper understanding of spatial relations, but it can also help when it comes to plotting a course for escape in the event of an emergency like a fire.

Helping Hands
Having kids help out with dinner can help them learn to read and introduce them to new foods, but it can also help them learn all about measuring. While there are many forms of measurement, one of the easiest things you can do with kids is prepare dinner according to a cookbook. Have them help you measure out all of the spices and other ingredients so they can become familiar with numbers and measurements as well as with words and food.

Babies Can Learn To Read Too

Posted on | by KD Novelties

Babies Can Read Too

It may seem pointless to read to a newborn – they can’t read yet, they don’t understand language, and processing images is still something they are getting used to. But these are actually great reasons that should inspire you to read to your newborn. There are some surprising benefits to breaking out the books early, and they can really go a long way.

Baby Bonding
Reading with your baby is a nice way to relax. Reading aloud can have a calming effect on newborns, especially since they can get used to your voice and find comfort in it. It’s never too early for bed time stories, especially when the sound of your voice in a calm, even cadence can get them to relax and get ready for bed.

Active Listening
Listening plays a huge part in learning language, so even if children cannot yet process or understand words, reading to them will play a huge role in their developing language skills. Plus, reading to kids can help boost their early vocabulary, too. You may feel tempted in every other hour of the day to babble on in baby-speak to your child but talking them in a normal voice with normal speech (though using simple words can be helpful) is actually more beneficial to children and their developing minds. Reading from a book to them on a regular basis can have the same effect.

Ready Readers
Making reading a common activity helps shape active readers, and kids who are read to are more likely to develop their own love for reading as they get older. Not only that, but listening can help kids become better readers, too. Once they do become familiar with language, they can learn to follow along as you read to them. Before you know it, they’ll be reading on their own! But it all starts early, so reading to children while they are still infants can make a difference.

Brain Boost
Studies have also shown that children who were read to as newborns not only have a larger vocabulary, but that they also exhibit more advanced mathematical skills than other kids their age as well. These same studies have also uncovered a direct correlation between how many words a baby hears each day and their overall language skills. One study even found that babies whose parents spoke to them a lot when they were younger scored higher on standard tests when they reached age 3 than children whose parents weren’t as verbal with them.

React and Response
Studies have also shown that babies whose parents read to them get used to the rhythmic pattern of their parents’ voices. This can be calming, but it can also help them better identify subtle clues in speech such as the mood of the speaker by their tone of voice.  Babies are exposed to feelings through the different sounds parents use when reading, whether it’s doing a voice for a character or describing what’s going on in the story.

Why Your Toddler’s Tantrum May Be a Good Thing

Posted on | by KD Novelties

Tantrum and Kids

Tantrums are one of the many aspects of the so-called “terrible twos” that make these early years so “terrible”. As children learn to grapple with their feelings and process emotions along with what goes on around them, tantrums can develop in their wake. While tantrums are often seen as a bad thing, there may be a silver lining.

Getting it All Out

As an adult, you may know how stress-relief can help to significantly change your mood. The same can be true for kids with tantrums. Before they are able to learn about, understand, and know to rely on coping mechanisms like exercise or even a nap, kids may resort to crying, whining, and throwing a fuss. Tears actually contain the stress hormone cortisol. When we cry, we are literally releasing stress from our bodies, which is what kids do when they cry while frustrated. Kids tend to cry for many reasons and not just when they are sad. Tears have also been found to lower blood pressure and improve emotional well-being, and for kids, releasing tears can be just what they need to relieve the stress and frustration they are feeling. For many kids, after an initial outburst, their moods improve. Especially for young children, this can be a sign that your child is at least expressing emotion and getting it out instead of keeping it bottled up inside.

Sleep is the Key

Kids often tend to get fussy when they are tired, so problems can be especially frustrating for them to deal with when they are already trying to process other feelings. A good cry or tantrum could take a lot of energy out of them, even if it is just a small or short burst, allowing them to sleep much better once they finally calm down. For kids who are still learning how to process their feelings, getting it out by crying can help to put them in a calmer mood once they are finished, allowing them to either sleep or relax a little before going about their day.

Sometimes Saying No is a Good Thing

Tantrums can often come after a “no” to something they want, and that can be a positive thing in the long run. By saying “no”, you are giving your child clear boundaries, especially when it comes to acceptable versus non-acceptable behavior. This is why it is important not to avoid saying no because you know it will lead to a tantrum. Saying “no” when needed can help in the long term, even if it isn’t convenient for you in the short term.