As you search for the best preschool in the Hudson Valley, it's important to find one that incorporates easy math and science projects. In the meantime, you can work on these subjects at home.
Here are 3 ideas to get you started:
1. Starting a collection of leaves found on a hike.
2. Guess how many footsteps it takes to walk to the mailbox, then count.
3. Measure flour to make cookies.
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The natural curiosity of a preschooler includes an innate desire to explore math and science concepts. But recent research suggests there is a huge opportunity being missed when it comes to the classroom experiences of preschoolers in these areas.
“The big message is that math and science is not being supported in the preschool classroom. If you see something it’s pretty basic like counting or matching,” says Kimberly Brenneman, Assistant Research Professor at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). “We’d love teachers to go beyond the calendar and weather.”
Brenneman says there has been a lasting payoff for early childhood education in other areas, like literacy, so the same possibility exists with math and science. “Kids are so excited by math and science. Let’s take advantage of it,” says Brenneman. “No one has told preschoolers that they have to be scared by math and science or that it’s hard.”
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Janine Boldrin is a freelance writer who lives in West Point with her husband and three children.