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Introducing the child to the concept of relative quantity

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Suggested Activities

• Usethingsintheenvironmenttocompare relativequality(e.g.,achildwithshorthairand atherapist/parent/siblingwithlonghair).Ask thechildtopointtotheonethatisless/more/ same.

• Showchildpicturesillustratingvarious quantities(e.g.,abaldmanandawomanwith longhair).Askthechildtopointtotheonethat isless/more/same.

Pre-Activity

Post-Activity

• Doawaterplayactivityusingwaterinclear plasticcups.Useameasuringcuptoillustrate howmuchwaterisbeingused.Foraddedfun, usefoodcoloringtoreinforcecolors.

• Makesillyputty(equalpartsofwhiteglueand non-toxicliquidstarch)oranotherfunat-school recipe.Talkaboutmeasuringtheingredients.

Whathappensifyouaddtoomuch(ortoolittle) ofoneingredient?

• UsingthewhiteboardsideoftheMagnetboard, drawtworocketshipsandaskthechildtouse themagneticsquarestofillupthegastank. Havehimpracticematchinghisrocket shiptoyourrocketship.

Cross-Curricular Activity:Sharingisagoodtopicfordiscussioninrelationtorelativequantity.Itisanintegralpartofthesocialcurriculumforpreschool-agedchildren,andfitswellintodiscussionsofmore,less,andsame.

• Showyourchildtwocups/glassesofdistinctly differentsizes.Askthechild,“Whichcupdoyou thinkholdsmorewater?”Filleachcupandthen emptythemoutintotwosame-sizedmeasuring cups(orglasses),todemonstratewhichhas moreandwhichhaslessliquid.Youcan addtwodifferentfoodcolorscoloringto thewatertomakethedifferenceevenclearer.

• Makelemonade!Thisrecipeiseasyandfun (1lemon,8oz.waterand2tbssugar)Whats more,itwillhelptoreinforcetheconceptof moreandless(ifit’stoosour,addmoresugar; toosweet,addmorelemon).

• Whenbakingwithyourchildren,havethem explorefillingupmeasuringcupswithdifferent ingredients.Askwhichcuphasmoreorless.Fill ameasuringcupupto“onecup”andaskyour childtofillupanotheronethesame.

Adaptation:Usinganadaptedmeasuringcup,allowthechildrenwithpoorfine-motorskillstohelppourtheingredientsintothebowl.

• Filleveryone’sglassestothesameamount atmealtime.Throughoutthemeal,discuss thedifferentquantitiesineveryone’sglasses (“Daddyhasdrankalotofhismilk.Thereisless milkinhisglasstheninmyglass”).

• MakeJell-OPudding,orKool-Aid.

At-HomeSuggestions

Worksheets(SeeAppendixA) Worksheet V – FillCosmo’sSpaceship

OverviewThebestwaytoillustratetheconceptofrelativequantityisthroughhands-onactivitiesorsimulationsoftheseactivities.Foryoungchildren,mixinguptwoormoreingredientstomakeaproduct(whetherit’scookiesorplaydough)isakintomakingmagic!Evensomethingassimpleasmixingpaintstocreatenewcolorscanbeathrillingexperience.Inthisactivity,weusethemagicoftheBubble-a-Trontointroducetheconceptofrelativequantity.

Aswith“big”and“small,”theconceptsof“more,”“less”and“same”arenotthatdifficultforchildrentograspwhenpresentedwithconcrete,real-worldexamples.Childrenarequicktopointoutwhenafriendhasmoreofsomething(e.g.,icecream,playdough,toys).Butwhenitcomestoacookingactivityorscienceexperimentthatrequirescarefulmeasurement,itismoredifficultforthechildtograspthesesubtledifferences.InBubbleRecipes,theBubble-a-Troncanbeusedtocreatespecialbubblesbyfollowingasimple“recipe.”Followingauditorycues,thechildmustmeasurethebubblesolutionverycare-fullyintobeakersovertheBubble-a-Tron.Doingsowillresultinfunandsillybubbles!

Suggested Reading

More, Fewer, Less (Hoban)The Doorbell Rang(Hutchins)Olivia’s Opposites (Falconer)

Bubble RecipesInBubbleRecipes,theBubble-a-Troncanbeusedtocreatespecialbubblesbyfollowingasimple“recipe.”Followingauditorycuesthechildmustmeasurethebubblesolutionverycare-fullyintobeakersovertheBubble-a-Tron.Doingsowillresultinfunandsillybubbles!

Major Objectives: Understand words related to amount (more/less,same)

Understand relative quantity

Cosmo wants to use the Bubble-a-Tron to make some really cool bubbles and enlists the child to help with the bubble recipes.

Activities Activities

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OverviewInthePoppingBubblesactivity,weuseconsistentelementsonthescreentohelpthechilddifferentiateleftfromright:thesunisalwaysontheleftsideofthescreen,andthejunglegymisalwaysontherightsideofthescreen.

Tip:MissionControlisnotinherentlydesignedasanavigationaldevice.Therefore,itmightbedifficultforthechildtotransferdirectionalknowledgetothecomputer.Tobemostsuccessfulwiththisactivity,reviewtheconceptsof“up”,“down”,and“left”and“right”withthechildimmediatelyprecedingthisactivity.Itmightalsobehelpfultodirectlytransfertheseconceptstoelementsonthecomputerscreen,andintheroomasthechildsitsatthecomputer(“Look,thedooristotheleft.”).

Popping BubblesIntroducing the child to directional awareness

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Suggested Activities

• Thebestwaytosolidifytheabstractconcept ofdirectionalawarenessistobuildupon thechild’spriorconcreteknowledge.Daily activitieslikeputtingonshoesorcoloring helptoreinforcetheseconcepts.While thechildiscoloring,tellhim,“Iseeyou areusingyourright/lefthandtoholdyour crayon/marker/pencil.”

• Reinforcetheconceptofleftandrightwhile sittingwithyourchildatthecomputer (e.g.,Iamsittingonyourleft).

• Stickstickerson(orstamp)oneorbothofthe child’shandsandlethimknowthat,for example,“Theladybugisonyourlefthand.”

Pre-Activity

At-Home

Suggestions

Worksheets(SeeAppendixA) Worksheet VI –TracingShapes•Worksheet VII – WritingLetters•Worksheet VIII – Cosmo’sMaze

Poppingbubblesisatactile,funwaytogetkidsmovingandinteractingwiththeirenvironment.Inthismodule,wealsousepoppingbubblestointroducechildrentothefourkeyelementsofdirection:up,down,leftandright.

In this activity, the child helps Cosmo travel around the screen towards the bubbles. Once Cosmo gets to the bubbles, they pop!

Major Objectives: Follow directions to achieve specified objective

Understand directional words (up,down,left,right)

Respond to cues in a timely manner

Suggested Reading

Which Way, Ben Bunny (Smith)The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss’s Wacky Book of Opposites (Seuss)

Post-Activity

Thehokey-pokey(“PutyourLEFTfootin…”)isafungamethatchildrencanplaywhilesolidi-fyingtheirdirectionalcompetency.Adaptation:Thisiseasytoadaptforchildrenwithmotorchallenges.Justchangethewordsabittomeetallofyourchildren’sneeds(e.g.,“Moveyourleftfootup.Moveyourleftfootdown”).

•Tryplaying“Simonsays”modelingandre- inforcingdirectionalwords(i.e.“Putyour handsUPintheair,”“JumptotheRIGHT.”) Taketurnsbeing“Simon”sothatthechildhas achancetopracticeusingdirectionalwords.

•Writinglettersandwordsisagreatwayto reinforcetheconceptsof“up,”“down,”“left” and“right.”Havethechildpracticewriting

uppercaselettersusingaprintoutshowing directionalarrows.(“Tomaketheletter“I” youstartatthetopandmove“down”.)If thechildislearningtowritehisname,lethim knowthathestartsontheleftandfinisheson theright.

Note:Directionalityinconventionalwritingdevelopsovertime.Childrenlearningtowritetheirnameswillsometimeswriteinmirrorimageorfragmentse.g.,(“MA”for“Mary”).Itisimportanttovalidatethis“invented”spellingasitisanormalpartofwritingde-velopment.Foryoungerchildren:whendrawingpicturesofhousesandfamily,pointoutfamiliarelementsthatrelatetodirectionalawareness(e.g.,theskyisupandthegroundisdown).

• Shellgame:Placetwopapercupsupside downputLandRonthebottomofeachcup. Askthechildtofindtheobjectundertheleft orrightcup.

• Whilegettingdressed,reinforcetheconcepts ofdirectionalawarenessbyusingthewords “up,”and“down,”“left”and“right” (“Putyourhandsup!”“Nowlet’spullyour shirtdown.”).

• Askingthechildtohelpsetthetableisagreat waytoreinforcedirectionalawareness.First, modelaplacesettingforyourchildwhile describingeachitem’slocation(“Let’sput theforkontheleft,andtheknifeon theright”).Then,askthechildtoset thenextplace.Finally,askthechildtotellyou

whichitemsarewhere(“Whatisthatonthe left?”)oraskthechildtoidentifythelocation ofanitem(feelfreetogivethechildverbal cues,e.g.,“Whereisthefork,ontheleftor theright?”).

• Amoreadvancedhomeactivityistouse arrowstomakeamapfromthefrontdoor orthekitchentothechild’sbedroom.You canmakeasimplefloorplanandthenask yourchildtodrawthearrowssayingwhether thereisaleftorrightturn.

Activities Activities